What do you think of the two-story family rooms that have sprung up all over suburbia? It’s a trend that seems to have been spurred on by the McMansion movement. Everyone wants their house to look grand, and what better way than to have soaring ceilings and cathedral-sized windows? I’ll never forget the first time I walked into a house that had a two-story family room. I gasped. Wow! It was so impressive! I was in awe.
“You know what else it is?” the homeowner asked. “It’s cold in the winter because all the heat goes up to the ceiling. It’s noisy when we try to watch TV at night and the kids are upstairs sleeping. And it’s a huge waste of space. I’d much rather have an extra room upstairs.”
She went on and on. Once she got started talking about it, she couldn’t seem to stop. “Do you know how hard it is to decorate a wall that’s two-stories tall? And don’t even get me started on that window. How do you find window treatments to cover that?!”
It was an eye-opening conversation. And it stuck with me a few years later when we were house-hunting and saw one two-story family room after another, including one in a model home. We liked everything about the model except the tiny laundry room stuck behind the kitchen (already told you about that in my “Rant About Laundry Rooms“) and the two-story family room.
We told the builder we did not want a two-story family room open to the upstairs hallway. He said, “No problem. We’ll just create an extra bedroom or playroom in that space instead.”
Sounded good to us! It cost us an extra $5,000, and we had to bring the family room exterior wall in 4 ft for structural support purposes, but we use the playroom enough to make the sacrifice downstairs worthwhile. (You can see what my family room looks like here.)
What do you think of two-story family rooms? Are you tired of them, too? Or do you like them?
2/10 UPDATE: See what everyone else is saying about 2-story family rooms: The Two-Story Family Room Trend: Out or In for 2010?
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I have an semi-atrium ranch with vaulted ceilings and skylights and love it. However, the ceilings are kind of high and the most annoying thing about it…I have a hard time reaching a spider up there! LOL! It’s also too high for us to paint, so we had to hire a painter.
I really like how you decided on a playroom instead of the open family room. Great idea!
I bucked the two story trend as well and had an extra room put upstairs…it is a great way to get added square footage for less $$$ because all you are really adding is a floor. We had the two story great room in a previous house complete with the catwalk (a great place for kids to throw toys etc… from)it was so loud, everyone upstairs could hear every conversation taking place downstairs! We have seen a lot less two story spaces in the new construction in our area. A recent client of mine was downsizing and didn’t need an extra room and since they had given up a basement as well they decided to do double doors leading into a very large storage area, another great idea. I like cozy, intimate rooms and I don’t miss that two story space at all! I think your family room looks so much better than the model!
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I’m with you. It seems like a huge waste of space. I’ve visited a friend’s house with the two story family room and it is so very cold in the winter. I’d rather have the extra room.
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I agree completely, the noise factor was a big issue for us, with 4 kids trying to sleep upstairs, the noise really travels. At least that what our friends told us, so we didn’t buy a house witha 2 story family room either. I love your playroom and think you made a great choice. We have a finished room above our garage that can be a 5th bedroom, but we also use it for a playroom. Valuable space!
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Wow, this is great! My mom accidentally stumbled upon your blog and emailed me about it. I’m hooked on houses too and living in an area that is sorely lacking on good design. I’ll be visiting your blog to get my fill of beautiful houses!
As for the two-story living rooms, you nailed it! It is a noisy, cold waste of space!
Hi Julia!
Wow! You really got a deal on the extra space. I’ve built a few of these jobs after-the-fact over the last few years and the minimum cost I’ve seen is $20,000.00 and the highest one was a Master suite with a new bath up there for $90,000.00. So for $5K you did good.
Many, many. many people not liking that wasted space! Funny thing though, when the trend first started it was HOT! Times change.
My kind of post!
Tim
Remodeling Guy’s last blog post..Remodeling Guy Bailout Proposal (before amendments)
I think you made a wise decision.
Oh my gosh! I never realized you could create an extra room like that. And for only $5000?! Uh-mazing! Amen to everything you said about about 2 story living rooms. We have one now and it’s loud when the tv’s on, loud when the furnace or a/c come on, cold in the winter, and HARD TO PAINT!!! I resorted to painting a few of the walls I could actually reach because I’m not about to hire someone to paint them for me.
Whoa…you really got me going there
. Thanks for the post.
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We have decided to do a two story entry and great room in our house. But we took all of the concerns into consideration. We have a lot of windows to take up space so no need to decorate much. We also won’t be doing drapes on the top windows. We are doing radiant floor heating so feeling cold shouldn’t be an issue. Our design isn’t as open to the second floor either. We decided to just have a “look out” that has double doors, down to the great room and walled the rest off. The upstairs bedrooms are further to the back behind the playroom. Noise was my biggest concern. I am sure this is all terribly confusing, but I guess my point is that I am trying to have my cake and eat it too! I hope that once we move in I don’t change my mind!! Oh, and I believe your living room is just lovely, very cozy!
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I love this post! I detest the two-story family room. My preference is a cozy family room…much like the picture of yours! It does seem to be wasted space. Your playroom idea is an ideal alternative!
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Remodeling Guy–$20,000? Whoa. I wonder why it was so much cheaper for us? We thought it sounded like a good deal but had no idea it was THAT good. Ha.
Shannon–sounds like you’re making it work. We had moderately vaulted ceilings in our first house and the family room wasn’t open to any bedrooms, so we loved it. We could’ve used that radiant floor heating, though. The room was always cold in winter. -J
What I am wondering is whether this is a ‘trend’ anymore. Are many new homes built this way? I live in a small neighborhood built in the late 80s, not in the suburbs but not quite in town either (inside the perimeter – which means something in Atlanta – it means not the suburbs). Many of the homes in my neighborhood were built with 2 story living rooms, but the smart person who built my house (I am the second owner) put the master bedroom over the living room, so the living room has 9 1/2 foot ceilings, and the master is upstairs above it. I love it – I never liked the look of 2 story living rooms, I always liked the look of a living room that was one story with a reasonably tall ceiling.
Now, when I look at all of the homes on the market, I definitely think that the homes with the 2 story living rooms look very dated looking, and do not look very versatile. In fact, I was just looking at a home online this evening, on a great street, and it had a late 90s renovation that looks SO dated now…and it had a two story living room. I am so glad my house has good proportions and only a single story living room!
Great post.
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I hate two story family rooms!! I love the look of your living room, it looks stylish, comfortable and cozy! Your playroom upstairs is adorable!! I love the colors that you used in that room
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We have a 2 story family room and LOVE it. Love. Love. Love. I can’t tell you how much I love it. We have so much light. I did really long panels on both sides of the bank of windows for a treatment, but we don’t have anything to cover them. Right now we overlook empty farm land, but once a house is built behind us, we’ll tint the windows. We don’t have an issue with noise at all (we have carpet because a 85-lb dog doesn’t mix well with hardwood, sigh) nor have we had a heat/cool issue (we live in Texas, so it’s not as extreme as other areas).
The one problem we do have is decorating all that wall space. In fact, I really haven’t done much because I can’t figure out to do. I’m sure I’ll figure it out, though.
We have a lofted playroom that overlooks the family room, and I really like that, too.
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I love the way your house looks now! I used to want everything so open, but now I like cozy looking rooms! I enjoyed your post!
-Kim
I am SO GLAD to have found your blog! I’m a house addict, I even pay for a real estate license just so I can browse houses.
I completely agree with you, a two-story room anywhere is just a waste of space! I’d much rather have a room upstairs than try to dress or undress windows that HUGE. Thank you, I’m just hoping the public begins to catch on to how impractical they are!
Hello Julia!
I love the way the two story room looks-but I am with you on that. I would much rather have an extra room as well-good choice! Your familyroom looks great! I do love houses that have 9 or even 10 foot cielings. I also love two story entrys. We had one in our big house in Utah we built and it was wonderful! ~Smiles~Tam!
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Hey Julia – The reason it’s so much less at initial construction has to do with the framing and sometimes the foundation. If the house is planned to have living space there, they do things differently. If it’s done later, there can be real issues coming up with good load-bearing for the new floor. You made the right call doing it when you did.
Every time I’ve talked to people about this type of job they say “but the builder would have done it for $10,000.00″!!
The $5,000.00 is great period…just figure the cost per square foot out. I bet it’s the least expensive square footage in the house but will sell for the same price as the rest if you ever sell.
Tim @ Remodeling Guy
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I like two storey rooms where the climate permits it – ie you dont get cold winters or hot summers. It can be a great feature. But unless you liv in such a climatically stable plac it will be a pain to heat, a pain to cool and as many observed a real pain to paint! And an extra room is always valuable! Also you shouldn’t have a 2 storey room if the rest of the house is pokey and small roomed it will just look wrong.
Remodeling Guy–
Thanks for explaining that. Makes sense!
Ellycat–
I agree. I have a friend with a smallish family room that is two stories tall and it always makes me feel like I’m at the bottom of an elevator shaft. Sometimes the proportions are just not right. -J
When we had this house built we had a choice between our model and one that had a two-story great room. It was impressive, it had that wow factor, I liked the 1st floor master…but we went with our model because we decided it would be best not to have the two-story room. Everyone I’ve ever known that had one has had a horrific time heating and cooling. Plus I agree with you on the wasted space. We did get 9ft ceilings in our house, though. It just opens it up a little while still being cozy.
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Although I understand the sensibility of having lower ceilings, I also would love to have high ceilings. Our ceilings are only 8ft high in our home so I personally would like high ceilings…at least 10ft.
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Julia, that is SO WEIRD that you posted this! I just did a consultation today for this very type of room! AND I told her I’m going to do a post about it because of the very reasons you mentioned — we walk in and LOVE these rooms and then live in them and wonder, what the heck am I going to do with this? I still do love our two story sitting room and entry, but it has taken some time to figure it all out. Our heating and cooling bills aren’t bad at all for our size of house (and we’re in the midwest!) — actually less than many of our friends who have the same size or smaller, with no open plan.
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Hi Julia,
I know I have told you before but I just love your room. It is so so pretty! I am not a fan of the two story family rooms myself, too hard to get them cozy. I see you have a Kim Parker. She is my absolute favorite artist.
Hugs,
LeAnn:)
LeAnn’s last blog post..This really touched me today….
I adore this site, and this topic is dear to my heart.
I have a 750 SF great room with 21′ ceilings, horrible marble floors, and a ginormous wall of glass. We fell in love with it three children ago, with dreams of entertaining. As you can imagine, the room sits empty when we have company–they all pile into the kitchen (of course).
We’re getting ready for the big renovation, and considered putting rooms above it. Would have been less expensive to keep the footprint, and certainly cozier. I live in Florida, so the open plan is nice and appropriate. Finally decided against it, more because of my dream of big parties and because I love my 14′ Christmas tree.
It is loud, the kids throw toys over the balcony, and I cry after I visit cozy homes. I am really going the extra mile in this renovation–wood floors, quality rugs, better seating arrangements, even lighting I think can make this room feel tons better.
Last year we did bring in caterers, scoot out the furniture, and have a seated dinner in there. It was ALMOST worth all the grief that room has caused me!
IMHO two story family rooms should only be used at bedtime if you are telling more than one story.
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My husband loves 2-story vaulted cielings. I hate them. Last house had a open 2 story family room. This time, we only have a 2 story entry, and everything else is one story. I’ve finally conviced him, as he can physically feel the heat that is SUCKED up in the 2 story open foyer….than he writes the check to pay heating. Thanks for sharing the actual $$ amount for your extra room. I told my husband we would live here forever, and if it took building a room over the foyer, than so be it. Now I see it really can be done. Thanks!
I hate wasted space, that was a requirement on getting a two story! The only two story area in our house is the stairs and entry way. We have an extra bedroom and bathroom in that area!
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They do look nice in some homes, but personally, I think it is a total waste of space. I wouldn’t even want to think about the cost of heating a room that size in Ohio. Not with the hikes in gas and electric recently.
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I hate 2 story rooms! Our house (currently rented out) has a sloped family room. It goes from normal height ceiling on one side of the room to a 2 story height on the other side. HATE!
On a lighter note, I so adore your room. Those chairs are divine. I want to sit in one by a roaring fire and read some Jane Austen. Or chat with you. Either one works.
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I agree–get the extra space for the kids! These rooms are always cold! And I love it when kids have their own place to escape to…my kids do also and it seems to be evry important for them to have a place of their own, especially the teenagers!
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It is a total waste of space. Reminds me of (almost every episode of) Extreme Makeover Home Edition..
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I prefer yours, the extra room is much more use than a cathedral ceiling! Now I’m off to dream of beautiful large houses
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I agree with the waste of space in a two story room. I do like
the higher 9-10 foot ceilings found in older homes though. They give the illusion of more space without the problems of heating and cooling. Just a foot or two really makes a difference…
Your family room is very nice. I would have painted the walls a different color – aqua or blue gray – but that’s just because I love those softer colors. I love your black and white drapes and chairs!
Julia,
I’m so with you on this. We have a 2 story family room and I loath it for all the reasons that you mentioned in your post. I have looked into having a ceiling put over it and an additional room added off the landing upstairs but it is very expensive to do after the house is completed. We bought this house 5 years ago in a hurry because the house we were living in had sold and the building inspection came back bad on the dream house that we were about to close on in 2 days………..grrrr. We went down the street in the same area and bought the only other house available because we had to be out of our old house.
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I LOVE your family room!!! Hmmm…in some cases I like the two story family rooms- but I’m not sure I would have one. The thing I don’t like- which is the case in my house- is a really open floor plan. I hate that I don’t have any physical barriers between the living room, dining area and kitchen. Some day we might get adventuresome and add a partial wall between the DR and LR but we’ll probably (and hopefully!) sell before then.
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I can’t believe your homey family room is the same as that gargantuan one. I love a 10′ ceiling as much as the next girl, but 20′ ceilings are a no for me.
No way, Julia. I think the two-story family room trends are a waste of precious space! I totally agree with you and the homeowner quoted in your post.
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Yes, I agree with you, totally. I like the idea of more living space. And I love your family room decor. My bedroom is in black and white toile…but you used it more judiciously than I did. I have it all over, walls, curtains, and bedding.
I love the look from upstairs with the open balconies & hallways however I know they are very impractical and I would never want to tackle those windows. Yours looks much cozier and conversation friendly.
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I’m totally with you on this one!! Two story family rooms are loud, cold, expensive to heat/cool, and just a waste of space!
I think you are a smart chica! In appraisals square feet is where it is at! That being said, I am DYING to rip the ceiling off of our family room and kitchen…and just have beams and more head room. But must say, I don’t love those huge tall ones with all windows up high!
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I’ll never live in a two-story family room floor plan again. We bought one and loved it, had kids and then hated it. It’s not energy efficient either!
Now that we live in a new home with a cozier 10′ ceiling, we love it so much more and can be as loud as we want at night!
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We don’t like the two story family room trend. Our house is rather unique – our family room has a much higher ceiling then the rest of our downstairs and to compensate, one bedroom (we use it as a media room) and our laundry room are 3 steps above the rest of our upstairs. It’s hard to picture, but it works very well.
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Love your blog — just found it recently. I am currently in a house with a 2-story family room. It isn’t too big and the windows are all normal height except for one above the french doors. It surprisingly is cozier than most I have seen, mainly because it isn’t all that large. However, we will be moving soon, and I do NOT want another 2-story room. It costs extra to have it painted and is a pain to dust. There is a ceiling fan with a light (that we really don’t use) that has burned out. It would probably cost us $100 to have someone change a light bulb — scaffolding would be needed. also, I have just gotten tired of that look. The other trend I hope is over are super large, tiled in bathtubs. Takes to long to fill and wastes too much water, not to mention it’s hard to clean. And as we age, getting in and out of it can become difficult. Give me a pedestal tub any day!
Ours (in our last house) was 2-story in the entry way. I loved it. But we lived in the country and no need for a lot of window coverings.
I wouldn’t like it in an area we used a lot (I’m afraid of heights) for relaxing.
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I always thought the two-story look would be so cool to have. After reading the downside of your post, I’m glad that when we added on to our home about 10 years ago, we opted to put the master bedroom over the family room.
The lower ceiling in your family room definitely gives it a much homier feel.
BTW, love your photos on Angie’s site! So cool you all got to meet.
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It’s not my thing. It’s living in a model house or a museum instead of a home.
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It’s a big trend out West (taller windows for viewing the mountains). I have a two-story LR here in Tenn, so that makes two of them for me. Never again. #1) They make for a noisy house-if one person is awake we all are awake. Every little sound carries. #2) They are usually near the kitchen-all of the cooking smells go straight upstairs. #3) All that wasted space. #4)Hard to get the hvac controlled-wind up with too hot and/or too cold rooms throughout the house.
I used to live in an apartment with a two story living room and just hated it. Yes, at first we loved it, but it was so cold all winter. I think you made a very smart move adding that extra room instead, and I love your interior photos!!
I’m totally with you, Julia. It is makes me want to vomit to see the vast expanse of Sheetrock going up and up and up–to put it mildly.
There is a lot that builders do that I call fake architecture–stuff that people see and think they want. “Oh, honey, I must have art niches and ledges for my dusty fake plants.” But I tend to be snobby about that anyway. Just ask Clayton who has been househunting with me over the years. We have a running joke about tray ceilings. Ha!
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Oh, and your playroom is adorable! Smart move, girl!
angela | the painted house’s last blog post..Make a Ginormous Idea Board
I totally agree. The book The Not So Big House totally slams this trend too. I live in an old house and enjoy the airy feeling of 10′ ceilings, but many of our friends have the two-storey family room. Another thing I find silly about it is the fact that many of the homes with this feature are in newer subdivisions with smallish lots, and the “view” out the massive windows is of someone else’s house – and massive windows. I would definitely rather have an extra room upstairs, as in your house!
Julia,
I am so with you on this one. Not to mention cleaning those blasted windows as well. I would much rather have the extra playroom and cozy living room. I *love* yours~very tastefully done and one I would love to sit around and chat with friends in.
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I agree! Waste of space, bad for the environment! My friend who has a cathedral ceiling like that pays $500 a month for gas in the winter! gasp! I love your living room!
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Our architect designed our cathedral ceiling for our renovation – well I’d call it a small-chapel ceiling. Once it was roughed in, he dropped the ceiling, made it much lower than he needed to. It goes from about 8′ on the side to 11′ in the middle. I was upset. He said, “Terry, trust me on this, you won’t like the room with all that space up there.” He was right. The room is an impressive space but it feels great.
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We have a regular family room but a two story front entrance/foyer…Wow does the noise ever travel! I would never have that again…
We have the best of both worlds, we have a 2 story foyer with a catwalk where we have massive bookshelves and the kids can drop things down on our guests:). I love the light it lets in. We have a family room with 9ft ceilings with a master suite on top of the family room w/ vaulted ceilings. I will say the master is a little big, but on the up side it is fun to have the kids come in MY room to play
Wish I had your playroom though. We have the upstairs laundry and massive master bath. (where we could entertain in)..the upstairs could have been a better use of space, but I love my ground floor, so I guess it is worth it.
We have a petit manoire in France, parts of which are 700 years old. As part of our restoration we are converting some of the barn into living quarters. The main entrance will open into a living room that will have 2 mezzanine floors and a ceiling reaching to the barn apex at 10 metres. So far away… you won’t be able to see the cobwebs.
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So much of the current Mc”architecture” is “for show” without much thought or for that matter quality behind it. At least that’s my opinion from what I’ve seen. The two story living room is just part and parcel.
That is not to say that I don’t love multi-level rooms. I grew up in a mid-century modern (1958 contemporary), and it had a multi-level living room and family room. The ceilings had massive exposed cherry beams and it created a sense of connectedness through out.
You can’t see it too clearly, but I googled it and you can get a bit of a feel here http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&hs=2Hb&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=5830+Marlborough+Dr.+45230&fb=1&split=1&gl=us&cid=0,0,9643015091307901054&ei=yeSSSa-QKdeitgeOmJTWCw&sa=X&oi=local_result&resnum=1&ct=image
What worked is that you could look out over the living room from the dining room and also see outside to the view. The family room merely lifted the ceiling up to the angled roof line, again exposing massive cherry beams. Both areas were well separated from bed rooms and both areas created visual interest and brought the outside into the house.
There was a lot of thought put into that home. Such can not be said about many of the McMansions.
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Hi Julia!
I agree, in most cases these soaring ceilings create more negatives than positives. While it is nice to enjoy an open airy feeling in most cases this can be accomplished with 10 or 12 foot ceilings and an extra window or two.
As a decorator I’ve had the experience of helping many clients “warm up” and “cozy up” these cavernous rooms. In every case it adds considerably to the budget because scaffolding is usually needed to do the painting and, in some cases the added trim work that I usually suggest to give the space the cozier feeling they are looking for.
I do feel that an open 2 story foyer is an exception here, as that opens up an often dark and cramped area.
I personally am not impressed by a 2 story room…but rather by a room that is thoughtfully decorated and arranged reflecting the personalities of those who live there! After all…isn’t that what really makes a house a home?
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BTW…enjoyed your last post about Blissdom…I want to know more!
Kathleen Ellis’s last blog post..Valentine Vignettes…..
Hi Julia,
I totally agree with you. Our last home had a two story living room and it was so loud! I would much rather have an extra room that is usefull! Our current home has a two story foyer as the stairs are right by the front door and I like that, however noise still travels a bit too much.
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So glad I found your site! I’m currently trying to decorate a two story family room and it is a pain !
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I cannot. CANNOT stand them and they are everywhere as we look for a new home in a newer city than we come from (colonial New York). I could not understand why anyone would want them until I read your post – grander? No. No. Grand is 12 foot ceilings and staggeringly gorgeous custom drapes in European goods, tasteful art and fabrics, showstoppingly gorgeous mouldings, real crafted woodwork and handlayed parquet floors. Grand! No, not even close.
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We live in a 1955 ranch house, and so we don’t have a two-story living room. We do have an open beam ceiling though, which gives us basically the cathedral height ceilings. I like the height of it, it’s easy enough to clean cobwebs with a mop or extension handled duster. What I don’t like: hot in the summer, cold in the winter – there’s no layer of insulation. It’s very dark – the dark wood ceiling absorbs all of the light. We had to put in track lighting just to make it bright enough in the evenings to be able to see well enough!
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At some point the soaring 2 story grandroom home may go by way of the 1970’s contemporary that also features that type of floor plan. In my mind, the Mcmansion movement is merely an updated version of an earlier trend. Both have the potential to be a realtor’s worst nightmare.
I live in southern Appalachia and the current popular trend calls for the log home version of the Mcmansion with soaring ceilings and lots of wood – too much, for my taste. The architecture seems so out of place in this region and better suited for Colorado or Wyoming. Authentic hand hewn square log homes with normal ceiling heights are much more in keeping with the environment and the culture in this part of the country. In fact, most historic log homes and farmhouses that I’ve toured have ceilings less than 8′ feet high! The pioneers could not afford the wasted space, much less the wood and fuel to heat it. Our 100 year old farmhouse has 7 1/2 foot ceilings in most of the rooms. Closets and windows are minimal. We did vault an upstairs bedroom and added two skylights to open up the space and bring more natural light into the room. We left the other bedroom ceiling at its original height and the room is barn shaped. The original wood walls are painted creamy white to brighten both rooms. I’ll let you guess which bedroom is warmer in the winter!! I have to say we do enjoy our night sky view of the stars and the moon via the skylights. We call that room the lofty barn.
Seriously, can I just say I LOVE you for posting this?? It’s not that I don’t like when other ppl have it, but we are in the market for a home, so we’ve seen LOTS and my husband and I always complain about the waste of space! You could have another whole bedroom and POOF! You posted the PERFECT example! Fabulous!!!
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Sarah Susanka from The Not So Big House Book series has some interesting thoughts on the the two story living room trend and how it does inspire awe and grandeur…but is that what you really are wanting from your living room space? She goes into a lot more depth and it really makes sense when she explains it….and like you said, it goes right along with the McMansion era.
Anywho, I like your living room MUCH better than the two story version. And how fabulous to have that extra upstairs space?!
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I prefer the coziness of the lower ceilings…I don’t know I just always felt that a “family” room should close and cozy.
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I’m surprised more people didn’t mentioned the dislike of vaulted and two story family rooms when we were looking at the first and last home of the Home-A-Rama last week (the most popular). I looked at them again paying particular attention to these details. I personally like them and I think they add so much to both designs. I think it all comes down to the design and execution of the space. But I guess I am defending the honor of my two story great room.
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I have a two-story family room and although it makes the small space look much larger, I have a hard time finding the right scale for wall decorations, I completely avoid repainting because it’s so difficult, and it doesn’t feel homey like a family room should. I would love the extra room upstairs, but I am also nervous about changing it because buyers in my area seem to like the grand expanse of space above their heads! If I had known all this when we were building, I would have done exactly what you did and built the extra room upstairs.
You know… I hadn’t really thought about this before, but it makes complete sense. Of all the issues your friend listed I think the thing that would bother me the most is the loss of heat; how can you enjoy your family space with cold feet?! (Okay… my personal issue! Ha!) And drapery on the windows of the model home you shared with us? That would be a challenge!! I think it’s terrific that you were able to customize your home to include the extra room upstairs… your family room is fantastic and, unlike your neighbours, you’ll benefit during resale with the extra bedroom!
Thanks for sharing this perspective – it’s one I’ll remember!
Victoria (one half of DesignTies)
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Interesting!
Being one of those small businesses that homeowners come to for interior decoration of those rooms..I have to say that I TOTALLY see that building trend coming to a slow down. (but, in our area the real estate is not moving either, so..)I have even had one client..after they moved in, make her open space into another room.
Personally I think the way you do, the loudness is a total factor, not to mention the heat and the cleaning factor.
Its also very frustrating to see people try and decorate “up High” with teeny tiny items, or try and cover the whole 20 foot wall with mish mash. Its much nicer to have 8-12 foot cielings and decorate accordingly, with lovely curtains and accents that fit accordingly, and dont take a 10 foot ladder to put up!!
Love the blog, sista..just love it!
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Thanks for this wonderful posting! We see LOTS of these two-story rooms around Dallas — and so many of them are cold, unwelcoming spaces! The only thing in them that matches the sheer size or height of the room is the huge television! And I loved the “elevator shaft” remark too! And so true — too high ceilings with a small amount of floor space is too common around here. Your own solution to the problem was brillant — a cozy, charming family room PLUS an additional play space/bedroom will certainly play well to the bottom line — if you ever decide to sell! Well done!
Jan at Rosemary Cottage
I completely agree. We built our house when the trend was starting big and we decided against it as well. I really hate to waste space, plus I tend to like a vintage look and there is nothing traditional about that giant expanse of drywall. I do like 9 or 10 foot ceilings though. They are reminiscent of older homes. I was a decorative painter for years and recently decided to put away my ladder. One of the biggest reasons was at 50+ I no longer felt comfortable painting the two story walls. I want to be able to enjoy the next few decades injury free
Pam
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I have 4 children under 9 and let me tell you, an airplane taking off has *nothing* in the noise department on my house with it’s 18′ ceilings and travertine floors. I hate myself every. single. day. for building this house (if we’re being honest that we built to impress) and for the stress I feel with the deafening noise from 3:00 until 8:30 (kids’ bedtime). Not to mention the stress of the cost, and large environmental footprint we are leaving.
Also, despite the fact that people who come to our house think we’re living the dream, they don’t realize that it’s not even remotely comfortable for a family – my 8 year old told me “Mom, I like grandma’s house better (about 2,000 square feet smaller, lower ceilings), because it feels cozy. I don’t feel cozy in our house.” Bingo.
I think we are going to see suburban architecture depart from the super tall, open spaces of the last decade and a return to (maybe) some warmth. People are critical of 50’s-style, “choppy” floor plans, but no one can argue they wasn’t cozy.
It’s so interesting to hear all of your stories about your two-story family rooms and how they work (or don’t) for you. Apparently I’m not the only one with strong feelings on this topic! -Julia
For theorists this is pattern “190. CEILING HEIGHT VARIETY” from “A Pattern Language” by Christopher Alexander. If you have trouble thinking about ceiling height of 6 to 7 feet, imagine a canopy bed:
“Vary the ceiling heights continuously throughout the building, especially between rooms which open into each other, so that the relative intimacy of different spaces can be felt. In particular, make ceilings high in rooms which are public or meant for large gatherings (10 to 12 feet), lower in rooms for smaller gatherings (7 to 9 feet), and very low in rooms or alcoves for one or two people (6 to 7 feet).”
This isn’t the economic way to build spec homes.
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Great post today Julia!
I really don’t like those cavernous spaces! They’re ok for the WOW factor, but I prefer the cozy feeling of standard ceiling heights. Friends of ours have a 1 1/2 story family room off of their eat in kitchen….and those blasted windows. When the sun is setting it shines through those upper windows….right into everyone’s eyes at the dinner table. Talk about being blinded by the light!
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We bought a house this summer with a two story foyer and family room- there is a catwalk upstairs between the two. For every reason you listed, we HATE it! What a stupid design idea. I know, we bought the house, but this house had the best lot for the price- location, right?
After moving in we had to, for the first time ever, pay someone to paint the house and pay someone to put in a ceiling fan. Lord help us if the light ever goes out in it or the chandelier. The ceiling fan we bought is 60″ however we hardly get any breeze due to the catwalk.
In addition, the room is cold due to the direct-vent gas fireplace that has a flue that is permanently open. I have blankets piled in front of it to block the breeze. To add insult to injury, our bottom level is heated by propane gas which is very expensive right now. Needless to say, the two two-story spaces funnel all of the heat up to the catwalk. Our bedroom gets none of the extra heat because it is over the garage and has a short hallway leading to it past our door. The intelligent builder put the thermostat in our room so the heat pump comes on in addition to the propane furnace. If ours kids don’t sleep with their doors closed they roast.
Of course, they keep their doors closed anyway due to the noise from the TV.
Doesn’t this sound like fun?
One other downside- our kitchen has a cooktop on the island. The cooktop has a fan that pulls the cooking smells down, but it doesn’t do a good job. Where do the smells of browning ground beef go? Right up through the vaulted ceiling to the upstairs, where you smell it for a week. Frying is next to impossible unless you want the whole house smelling of grease.
My husband and I want to close off the room but we didn’t know it would cost $20,000!!!
Nicole–
I feel for you! We have a two-story foyer and can’t figure out how to change the lightbulbs that have burned out in the chandelier. We’re probably going to have to rent scaffolding, which seems kind of ridiculous, so we keep putting it off.
When we bought the house, we asked the builder how we were supposed to change the bulbs. The answer was: “Try not to use those lights much.” Huh?! So just hope they never burn out? What kind of an answer was that? I guess he hadn’t figured out how to change them, either! -Julia
We had an impressive 2 story in our last house, great for parties and entertaining, but yes, the heat and noise issues were also annoying. Our current house is much more homey with 9 ft ceilings. I also have a friend who’s a builder of the McMansions, and she also feels the same way about the 2 story family areas, but that’s what people want, because it’s impressive.
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*Love* how yours turned out. It is astounding to me how much more “homey” yours feels though the pics just by making that relatively simple change. It almost looks like an entirely different floorplan. For all of the reasons listed by the homeowner you talked to, I don’t think you could pay me to choose the two-storey family room. (To each their own, of course!)
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Yes! I’m with you.
I’m much too practical for the two story thing. It’s beautiful, like everyone has said. But the extra space is so much more valuable to larger families.
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We have a two story family room and foyer/formal dining and we love it. It isn’t any colder than any other room in our house, but we live in Texas, so it doesn’t really get super cold here. Heat does travel up, but even our loft area is not a problem. We also have 3 different heating and cooling units, so maybe that makes the difference.
We’ve also never had an issue with our 2 young children sleeping while we have friends over. In fact, my husband listens to the TV on warp 9 and neither one of the boys has ever come out at night and complained of noise.
We love our open house and the only thing we would change is the GARAGE ENTRY LAUNDRY ROOM! ha ha ha
Thanks for your wonderful blog! We are in the process of building a lake home and it is coming in handy while I’m in the planning and idea phase. -Rebecca
Whatcha need is an in ceiling aquarium! Forget 2 story ceilings! Think fish above you, or a cascading garden on all 4 sides, eith room to walk around it-the temperature up there would be perfect!
Seriously the 2 story thing is ostentatious and lacks sorely in the practicality dept.
The smaller living room was cozier and livable- you were right on the mark!
I love how they used the red…looks great! OH MY…where do you get black toile chairs like that???
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It is a good thing that you thought of that. Everything looks great. Nice and bright still, but with a lot more space!
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WoW!
The american houses are soooo lovely, i realy wish that we had some of those here i Norway. Norwegians use woodenhouses mostly and i will like to say, boring houses. Houses are interesting and fun to see how other people live too and how they decorate. You have by the way a very nice blog and interesting.
Greetings Norway
Thr route you took is so much better: great playroom and a lovely, cozy family room. The only time I long for a tall family/livingroom is at Christmas. I covet a ten foot Christmas tree like nobody’s business…!!!!!
Great post, as always!
Linda
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I agree with you 100%. We opted to have a “game room” put above our family room rather than the soaring ceilings. I think it makes the family room more inviting and cozier.
BTW… I just blogged about my renovation that you inspired! Come by and check it out if you have a minute.
Love this post! You are so right, these rooms are impossible to decorate or paint. The only area in our house that is 2-story is the entry way and while I do love the open feel, I dread the day we have to repaint. We will be forced to hire professionals.
love your site!
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My aunt and uncle had a two story living room about 20 years ago. I hated it because when you talked everything echoed.
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When my husband and I moved to Florida we both decided no more 2 story houses for us. We had one in Memphis and we hated it.
Love the look of a two story house. But, not for my personal living.
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Thanks for the post. I hate the two-story business, too. Give me a human-scale, cozy room with nice windows you can look out, anyday!
OMG. I knew I wasn’t the only one wishing I could close up that space. We bought a spec home. I immediately looked at the sep laundry room and the flat yard (future pool). THAT’S IT, never realizing the dilemma I would face with that cavernous room. But with the help of my design muse as well as my cheap labor husband, I’m making redemptions to the space for now until we can afford to add the 2nd floor.As one blogger said, the renovation after the house is built is more costly than in the initial build. All the ducting, extra support, etc. Gives me hope tho’
We too have the two story foyer…and we did have to rent scaffolding to paint it…crazy, crazy design. Give me cozy and warm and something I can paint standing on a kitchen chair any day! I love your family room…lovely job decorating the mantel…very nice and I love the mirror.
Ramona
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We have 9 foor ceilings and I like that but had no interest in anything more. I would have done exactly what you did. I love cozier, warmer…
I hate the openess of newer places. I always feel I am the odd woman out but i do. Give me smaller and dearer any day!
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I hadn’t really thought about 2 story family rooms. I live in Canada and I don’t think they are quite as common here. It wasn’t until my sister (who live in the States) bought a house with a 2 story great room that I got to experience what they are like. And my experience is that they are super loud. She has a open catwalk upstairs with the bedroom hallway coming off of it and a games room upstairs that is open to the catwalk and 2 story great room. She has ceramic tile floors and the acoustics are terrible. You cannot hear the TV downstairs unless you have it on really loud (but the kids in the games room can hear everything perfectly). The kids TV/video games upstairs competes with conversations taking place on the main level. She is currently getting quotes to have french doors put up on the games room to try and cut some of the sound carrying. After a week long visit with her 2 kids and my 2 kids I was ready to come home to my quiet, low ceiling house.
I have a 2 story great room….I love the look of it as our house is only 1800 sq.ft. It has a huge stone wall..no fireplace…a porcelain parlor stove that can heat the entire house…The easy part was decorating the huge wall opposite the stone wall….We hung a dozen antique Pennsylvania Railroad calendars in frames…I also painted that one wall navy blue so it doesn’t jump out at you like a light color wall would…The biggest problem it keeping the top blades of the ceiling fan dust free and ofcourse keeping the dust off the antlers of the Moose!! He hangs over the stove….
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Oh, your living room looks perfectly cozy! I think that the 2-story great room LOOKS beautiful and dramatic, but it sounds like it is not very practical. You are SO smart to call that and have the builder do a little switch-a-roo. I use to have a vaulted entryway and I do miss that a bit….but the space above that could have been vaulted is going to be my laundry room right off my master…which will be soooooo worth it! GREAT post!!
I have several friends with the two story family room. It can look impressive but it always bothers me that it echoes. When I come home to my smaller home, I feel cozy. No echo.
I totally agree with this post Julia! We had a two story family room in the last house and I hated it. I really tried to make it cozy, but it never really was. I’m so happy to live in an old house with 9 1/2 foot ceilings I could cry from hapiness
rue
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While I appreciate high ceilings in a home, I detest two-story rooms. I like a room to be cozy and two-story rooms are not. Plus, I would never want a room that I couldn’t paint by myself.
I am right now typing to you from my two-story living room in my brand new home. I’ll admit- the “wow” factor of this room is what sold me on this home. I will also admit- that I AM COLD! And our heating bill has been pretty steep this winter. But I LOVE this room! Is it all worth it?? I’ll get back to you on that… I’m going to put on an extra sweater now.
I agree – the one story family room does look more warm and cozy. The playroom is a fanatastic idea. I suppose the idea of a “two story family” room just sounds more appealing. You have done a great job.
Hmm, I’m thinking I’m really grateful for this post–I’ve never had the option of building a house and making this choice, but it will sure keep me from considering buying a house with a two-story family room. I think they’re ridiculous. And if I had the choise between ridiculousness and an extra room it would be extra room for me, please! Especially after living in a dinky hovel of a home with measly 7 1/2 foot high ceilings and one room that’s supposed to be living, family, office and play room.
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I agree about the two story family rooms. They are nice to look at, but I wouldn’t want one. Our foyer is 2 story (nothing grand, just two story). I like that, but I have noticed noise travels just in the foyer. I can’t imagine what it must be like with an entire family room plus the upstairs hallway looking down into the room. No privacy at all with that. No thanks. I’ll keep the 2 story foyer though.
Our family room has 18 foot ceilings and we love it. We bought the house b/c of the tall family room. I come from a home with vaulted ceilings. DH and I are on the tall side so an 8 foot ceiling makes us feel cramped. The rest of our ceilings are 9 feet tall. Decorating can be a challenge, but a fun one. I painted one wall as an accent wall. Finding decorations large enough for above the fireplace is a challenge, but I like it.
From the pics above, I would have bought the model. Incredible. We have a full basement, so extra space isn’t an issue for us. Oh, and we don’t have kids, so noise isn’t an issue either.
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I have always wanted one of those two storey rooms but I was concerned about the cold but also how do you dust up there? All you need is a spider to decide to make a web and you have a really ugly grand space.
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i almost bought a nice house like that with the 2 story living room or whatever it was back in 99. what stopped me from doing it was the simple fact i am scared of heights. i am scared to go 6 inches off the ground. it wasnt always this way. but, after a few falls. i dont know. i guess i am very happy and lucky to be alive. so i am truely scared of heights. so as my chicken mind was looking at those high off the ground windows. i said. man, how big of a ladder would you need to clean the windows. the gentleman said well you would need a big one. like a two story ladder. i about passed out and said no thanks……….he was trying hard for the deal and then i broke loose and said well my home is pretty cheep and i am very happy where i am living right now. besides i am scared of heights. he backed off. he had no come back to my fear.
personally i think you made a wise choice that will outlive any style trends this world goes threw. becouse after this depression (oh excuse me recession). people will be wanting homes more like yours and less “style”. you will have more “bang” for the buck.
What does it say that we want to live in a space that is not human scale when we are living in such an inhumane world. Why do we want to shout: I don’t give a whit about excessive energy use when now we need to conserve? My husband is 6′5″ and he prefers the Victorian wren of rooms he grew up in. I wanted a post & beam barn. We have a house that is neither but the interiors are nurturing with lots of books and things we inherited—some lovely, some not so—all with memories.
How funny about the problem of changing the light in a two-story foyer chandelier. We don’t use it very often for that very reason – so it won’t burn out and we won’t have to deal with changing it.
The only area that is two-story in this house is the foyer. We have a nice cozy one-story living room and family room.
I have been drooling over dramatic two-story rooms in ads but this blog has made me really glad that we didn’t wind up with one of those homes.
However, we have a vaulted ceiling in the master bedroom, and I love it.
Lots of houses here have two-story open plans because we’re in the south and it’s more practical than it would be in colder climates.
When my husband and I were house hunting, we loved the look of the two-story family room! Three years later we are wishing for a different layout. Does anyone have experience with construction projects to change the space, and costs??
Well, I guess I’m a little surprised that most people posting don’t like the 2 story family room. My husband and I built a house in 2007 and one of the things we loved about it is the open floor plan with the 2 story family room. I don’t find it particularly cold in the winter. Although I will say that the noise from the TV does carry. Perhaps I’d feel differently if we still had young children at home, but for the 2 of us, it is fabulous. Looks modern and stylish and we love the open look and feel of it.
I could see it not working for some people. If you have children, not only may it be a safety hazard, but you’re losing valuable space. My aunt’s house is like that. The two story living room occupies almost 25% of the second story of the house.
I, being just one person, love high ceilings. They’re one of the top three things I look for in a house.
My situation is vastly different! Last year we built our home with a beautiful 2 story family room and entry and although it is a little louder, we all love it! (Area rugs work wonders on quieting wood floors!) We have a large private lot edged with huge trees so we don’t need or want many window treatments. With all the windows and openess, it feels like the outside is always readily available. I absolutely love to see the snow covered trees in the winter, the array of colors in the fall, and the lush green in the spring (and most of the summer). Every evening as I go upstairs to bed I can look out at all the stars. I will NEVER have a closed up house again and I have more than enough space so that isn’t an issue either. We haven’t sold our old house yet because everyone who looks at it says that it feels closed in and they want the openess. Of course, I would definitely recommend radiant heating for the floors and even the driveway!
I like the 2-story family room idea – it is not practical but appeals to me. Noise is an issue but that was mostly remedied with rugs & window treatments, plus I am not too sensitive to noise. In fact, I like the fact that I can call out to my kids from the family room. Solid doors on the upstairs bedroom also help.
I have a small lot but it backs to trees and I am still awed on full moon nights when the moonlight cascades into the room. It is very bright and well lighted during day-time and on sunny winder days, we can warm ourselves with sunlight coming into a corner . Being in DC, the winters are not too harsh and manageable.
Cons are: dusting is a challenge and kitchen smells do travel up (so we are thinking about installing a vent to the outside).
Overall, glad with the choice I made. Its a very individual, subjective choice and I daresay there are quite a bit of folks that love this idea.
I am so sorry to hear that so many people HATE the home feature that I LOVE. Not only did I love my two story family room but I am looking for a residential plan that will also include a two story kitchen and morning room as well. I had a wooded lot and that was my privacy in lieu of curtains. As far as decorating the tall wall I had a two story stone fireplace that filled a large portion of the upper wall. It was enough for me. I too live in the DC area and found that the great room was my comand central. I could hear and see what my children were doing. Not to mention that my children loved running across the catwalk for my attention. My children are knew better than to throw anything over the railing so that was NEVER an issue for me. We would watch tv and do homework in front of the fireplace during the cold evenings and the heat would rise so that our bedrooms were toasty warm at bedtime. I can’t tell you how I enjoyed watching the weather through those huge windows….rain, wind, snow, spring blossoms. OMG so relaxing and meditive. I had no problem designing to the scale of my large room. I don’t know about the noise problems because when my children went to bed I retired to my master suite for a soak in my jetted tub or tv in my sitting room for private time. If I was entertaining a group it was done in my basement entertainment space. I also had a down draft vent on my cook top so smells weren’t an issue. The smells coming from a kitchen are a pleasant memory of childhood for most people anyway. How else would you know when dinner is ready.
I love to visit model homes and new construction homes in my area, and I can tell you right off the bat that I don’t like the two story family rooms. I don’t like the second staircase(s) put into some of the family rooms either. The windows are overrated. It has very little appeal unless it is professionally decorated (like one you see in a model home) with top of the line window treatments and all of the upgrades. By that time, it gets pretty expensive. Is it worth it? I personally rather spend the 5 grand on an additional bedroom upstairs! I also love how your den looks. It’s warm, intimate, and inviting.
I will go further to say (that, as a buyer) those two story family rooms would actually prevent me from buying the home. It’s almost too predictable, a cookie cutter of a room.
Your house looks beautiful, great job.
I bought a 2-story family room house and I love it. It is one of the most beautifully decorated rooms in my house. I used very warm colors and I bought large artwork from furniture stores to accent the walls. I get great compliments from everyone who enters this room. The key is to know how to decorate it, or have it done professionally. My windows need no treatments as my house backs up to a wooded area. I don’t have a noise problem, nor do I have a catwalk (which I don’t really care for). As a tall person I always felt a little “sqeezed in” in most homes. I never want to live in a house without tall ceilings again. It’s just a matter of personal preference.
Love my tall ceilings!! We have a fireplace that keeps the whole upstairs warm as the heat rises.
I have mixed feelings about this trend. We just purchased a home with a 2-story great room. I love the way it looks!! We haven’t moved in yet, but I have to say I am worried about the noise. I have 2 children, and no finished basement for the adults to retreat to after they go to sleep. My husband is way into high-end TV’s & surround sound, etc. My kids are very sound sleepers, and the room below is carpeted. I am still a bit concerned though! I absolutely love the look, one whole wall is covered in windows. The room has a gas fireplace with a fan, a massive ceiling fan, and the house has dual zone heat & A/C. So not too concerned about the temperature. We also don’t need any more space…this house is massive to us!! I agree with Nettay, I like the idea of being able to see & hear what my kids are up to!! As far as decorating, I think I am going to try to make it feel cozy with paint (with an accent wall), and lots of art one of the shorter walls.
I purchased my house in May 2009, and the 2 story family room and 2 story foyer was beautiful. Now that I’m here with my 4 small kids, its a nightmare. The noise travels. I can be in my master bath, they are in the family room and it sounds like they are next to me. If you have kids especially small ones, you might want to reconsider the 2 story family room.
I came across this site as I am searching for ideas to put a floor/ceiling on my two-story living room. Noise is a huge issue w/three kiddos, but also the extra room upstairs would be really nice. Unfortunately, at this point a structural engineer needs to be involved probably leading to big bucks for the project.
I loved it when we bought it, but now wish we hadn’t!
We have a 2 storey living room but the TV is in the family room, so do not have any issue with the sound. The living room is my favorite area of retreat. We have an open space outside with green fields and beautiful landscaping. The sky looks wonderful in the night. In winter, during sunny days, the living room feels much warmer than any other room due to the large windows on 2 sides . One of the reasons we went for this house is the living room. We do anticipate problems changing the recessed lights on the ceiling, but I did not have to change this in 2 years, so it may not be that frequent and we will manage somehow. If this was like any other room, we would hardly spend time here, it would be like the dining room that is unused most of the time. An additional bedroom would definitely helped us with extra living space, but again the it would be only one extra room with nothing special about it.
I am in the market looking for a house to get the tax credit. I found a neighborhood with some new homes available. I am torn between purchasing a home with a wooded lot and 2 story foyer OR Purchasing the same home with a bonus room placed above the great room w/ no wooded lot. Another houses would be behind me. Help!!!! Which should I choose?
SunMoonGlow–
Well, I’d choose the one with the bonus room and plant a bunch of trees myself! But that’s because I don’t know what we’d do without our bonus room. If you don’t think you’d use it that much, though, maybe the wooded lot is more important to you. A wooded lot usually raises your home value, so it’s definitely something to take into consideration. Good luck!! -Julia