When building a new home or upgrading your existing home, there are many upgrades available to customize the home to your particular tastes. From the type of flooring to the lights in the ceiling, there are thousands of options available to make your new home uniquely yours. One area often overlooked during the process of selecting finishes or planning for fixtures is the ceiling. Keeping the following available options in mind when planning your new home can set it apart from the crowd.

Increased Ceiling Height - Simply raising the ceiling height to 9 feet over the traditional 8-foot finish can change the feel of the room and perception of size dramatically. Even mid range mobile home manufacturers have recently started offering this as an option on some of their models for a modest upgrade cost.

Cathedral Ceilings - A cathedral ceiling is a ceiling that has a center point higher than the walls. This is the most common type of upgrade to ceiling structure and goes a long way to increasing the overall perception of room size.

Vaulted Ceilings - A vaulted ceiling has one wall of the room taller than the opposing wall. The ceiling slants down to the lowest wall again giving the impression or illusion that the room is larger than it is really is due to the increased volume. If planned correctly, an often inexpensive way to upgrade your home during the building process. In many cases, this upgrade is little more than selecting the correct type of ceiling trusses.

Coffered Ceilings - One of my favorites, coffered ceilings comes in numerous styles and finishes from rich hard woods to simple painted drywall surfaces. The box like structure can be very expensive based upon the type of finish selected. Homebuilders have recently begun to use a variation of coffered ceilings in some areas of the home to highlight light fixtures in areas such as the dining room. If your home has the ceiling height to work with there are do it yourself kits available that are relatively easy to install. A handy person could build out a coffered looking ceiling using ordinary lumber and sheetrock with spectacular end results that can still get that ?wow? from someone entering the room.

Cove Ceilings - Often found in home from the early 1900's these types of ceilings while providing a classic and luxurious look are not nearly as difficult to create as would first appear. The quarter circle curve is usually accented with crown molding where it meets the wall providing a uniquely Victorian look. This look is best when the ceiling has a minimum height of 10 feet to provide a large enough radius for the transition from ceiling to wall.

Final Finish - The final finish can make a big difference in the look of your home and is something a do it yourselfer can change in an existing home. Removing an old acoustic ceiling or spraying a modern texture such as knock-down in its place, or in the place of having a flat finish might be just the upgrade you are looking for in your home.

These are not your only options available, but hopefully they have served as a reminder that when building your new home there is more to planning out your ceilings than selecting "white" or "off-white" for your paint color.