The Beauty and Chaos of 12-Foot Ceilings

Imagine ceiling so tall, that even your tallest friend stretched out can’t touch them! They go with windows so big, you can use them as doors!

There isn’t a wall or ceiling in this house that hasn’t made us laugh, cry, or wonder what on earth we were thinking.

Take the sitting room. When I first used it as my office, plaster was literally hanging off the ceiling. We nailed plastic sheeting across the top just to keep “things” from falling on my head. (No one talks about that part of fixer upper life!) Oh, and upstairs? Haunted vibes and raccoons. Enough said. That was not an option for my office when we moved in. NOPE. No way.

Then there was the dining room. When we bought the house, it had a drop ceiling. We thought: weird, but okay. Then Clark and his brother tore it down and discovered the truth: the plaster above was a wreck. One corner had massive water damage. So instead of fixing it, someone decades ago just popped in a drop ceiling and called it a day. Sooooo, that got all new drywall and plaster too.

Our main-floor bedroom? Above it lived 80,000 bees. 🐝 Yep, the ceiling had to come down completely. Plaster and drywall gone. And while we don’t miss the mess, I do miss that glorious honey smell (if anyone finds a candle that mimics it, send me the link, please).

And don’t get me started on the grand entrance. That ceiling was being held together by… wallpaper. Cracks, crumbles, chaos. Now? It’s one of my favorite rooms in the house. I say room, because it’s big enough that we once fit a sofa, a loveseat, AND an entertainment center in there. All at once.

Finally, the upstairs. Imagine a cocktail of raccoon urine, bee residue, and “mystery” smells. You could practically bottle it as Old House No. 5. Now? Fresh, clean, and totally worth the trauma.

Sure, the plaster fought us every step of the way. But when you pair it with those 12-foot ceilings and 10-foot windows? Magic. We wouldn’t trade it for the world.