re: 10 vs 12 foot ceilings in new construction

I designed my own home and went into the design with the assumption that I would have 12 foot ceilings everywhere. By the time I finished the design I only had 12 foot ceiling in the living room, dining room, study and guess bedroom (all down stairs). The kitchen had 9 food ceilings.

All the rooms upstairs were 9 foot with 10 foot vaulted ceilings except the bathrooms and kids study.

If you use 8 foot doors and crown molding you will still get that "grand feeling" with 9 foot ceilings. Furthermore, a change in ceiling height from room to room really added a nice juxtaposition between each room even though some of the rooms were only separated by archways. That is, contrasting ceiling height turned out to be a nice feature.