This article will discuss the benefits and styles of vaulted ceilings in residential homes.
All About Vaulted Ceilings
Fratantoni Design • October 14, 2020
All About Vaulted Ceilings
Whether you’re remolding or building a new home having a vaulted ceiling may be a feature you want to consider. Many of the custom homes we have designed for our clients have included unique ceiling designs that bring more flair to the space. Vaulted ceilings have been around for centuries not only for style but function. If you’re looking to include a vaulted ceiling in your home this article will discuss the different styles and benefits of including a vaulted ceiling in your home.
All About Ceilings That Are Vaulted
Whether you’re remolding or building a new home having a vaulted ceiling may be a feature you want to consider. Many of the custom homes we have designed for our clients have included unique ceiling designs that bring more flair to the space. Vaulted ceilings have been around for centuries not only for style but function. If you’re looking to include a vaulted ceiling in your home this article will discuss the different styles and benefits of including a vaulted ceiling in your home.
What are the different types of vaulted ceilings?
Barrel Vault – A Barrel vault is a curved half-pipe shape that connects the two walls. This is a simple design feature that you can use to open up space by bringing in height into space. Barrel ceilings are a common design for hallways.
Cathedral Vault– A Cathedral vault is the most common where the ceiling follows the sloping sides of the roof. The cathedral ceiling allows more room on the adjacent walls for large windows that bring natural lighting.
Groin Vault– The Groin Vault consists of two perpendicular barrel vaults that meet in the middle to create a center point. This type of ceiling is also most common in hallways
Why should you consider having vaulted ceilings?
Having vaulted ceilings in your home can be controversial for some homeowners. Some people may argue that high ceilings lead to a high air conditioning bill. However, if you love the style of a vaulted ceiling there are benefits to having them in your home. This way your home can benefit from having vaulted ceilings.
Higher ceilings create more wall space for windows that let in natural light. Natural light and high ceilings also mean you will be using less artificial lighting. Another benefit of this is the natural lighting can be used to heat and cool your space during the day. This is a great feature for homes in more temperate climates. The reason is during the day the natural light can help moderately warm up your space during the day. At night the high air that escapes to the ceiling will have cooled and be brought down to cool your space. This is a sustainability technique that has been used in architecture for centuries before air conditioning existed.
We suggest you speak with your architect about the best space in your house to utilize a vaulted ceiling that will benefit from the natural environment to heat and cool the space. If you’re looking to start a custom home project, feel free to contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.
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Designing a luxury home on a sloped lot or hillside property presents both extraordinary opportunity and complex architectural challenges. For discerning homeowners seeking panoramic views, privacy, and dramatic elevation changes, hillside living offers a rare chance to create something truly iconic. At Fratantoni Design, our luxury residential architecture firm specializes in custom estate design tailored to the land itself. Sloped lot home design is not simply about building on an incline. It is about engineering intelligently, designing strategically, and maximizing every vantage point while preserving structural integrity and aesthetic harmony. If you are considering building a luxury home on a hillside property, understanding the architectural process is essential.
In luxury custom residential architecture, the grand entrance is one of the most important design elements of a high end custom home. The arrival sequence defines the architectural identity, enhances curb appeal, and establishes the tone for the entire luxury estate. At Fratantoni Design, we approach every luxury custom home with intentional architectural planning, ensuring the exterior elevation, motor court, front facade, and grand foyer work together to create a cohesive and unforgettable experience. Below are the core components of designing a grand entrance in luxury home architecture.
Architectural planning is one of the most powerful and often overlooked drivers of long term property value in luxury residential real estate. While materials, finishes, and décor certainly contribute to visual appeal, the true financial and lifestyle performance of a home begins long before construction. It begins with the architectural plans. Strategic custom architectural design determines how a home functions, how it ages, how it adapts to changing lifestyles, and ultimately how it is perceived in the luxury housing market years or even decades later. For homeowners investing in custom luxury homes, architectural planning is not simply a preliminary phase. It is the foundation that protects and grows the value of the property over time.
When designing a luxury custom home, curb appeal is far more than fresh landscaping or a new coat of paint. True estate level curb appeal is rooted in architecture. It is the intentional balance of scale, symmetry, materials, and structural detail that communicates prestige, permanence, and craftsmanship before anyone ever steps through the front door. For affluent homeowners building a custom residence, the exterior of the home sets expectations for everything that follows. Luxury architecture is not decorated. It is designed from the ground up to make a statement. In high end residential architecture, curb appeal directly influences perceived property value, emotional impact, and long term desirability. The most memorable luxury homes are instantly recognizable not because of trends, but because of strong architectural fundamentals that stand the test of time.
When designing a truly exceptional custom home, luxury is not defined by square footage alone. At the highest level, luxury architecture is about how a home functions, how it supports daily routines, and how seamlessly it adapts to the way a family lives, entertains, and evolves over time. The most successful floor plans are those that are intentionally designed around lifestyle, not trends. At Fratantoni Design, we believe that the blueprint is the foundation of everything. Before materials are selected or architectural styles are refined, the floor plan must be thoughtfully developed to reflect the realities of modern luxury living.
When planning a custom luxury home, it is tempting to focus first on construction timelines, budgets, or even finishes. But the most successful residences do not begin with building. They begin with architecture. Architecture is the framework that shapes every experience within a home. It determines how spaces flow, how light is captured, how proportions feel, and how the residence responds to its site. Long before construction begins, architectural planning defines whether a home will feel cohesive, enduring, and intentional or merely assembled. For discerning homeowners, understanding the role of architecture is essential to creating a home that stands the test of time.
Luxury residential architecture in 2026 is no longer about dramatic facades or oversized floor plans alone. Today’s most discerning homeowners are seeking architecture that is intentional, refined, and deeply connected to how they live. True luxury architecture balances beauty with function, vision with precision, and creativity with technical expertise. At Fratantoni Design, luxury architecture is approached as both an art and a discipline. Every home begins with a clear architectural vision, carefully developed to reflect the client’s lifestyle, aesthetic preferences, and long-term goals.
Luxury homes demand more than beautiful design or quality construction alone. The most successful high-end residences are the result of seamless collaboration between architecture, interior design, and the build process. When these disciplines operate in isolation, even the most well-intentioned projects can suffer from misalignment, inefficiencies, and costly revisions. At Fratantoni Design, we believe the value of an integrated architecture, interior design, and build approach cannot be overstated. This collaboration is what allows luxury homes to feel cohesive, intentional, and exceptionally executed from concept through completion.
When building or remodeling a luxury home, the order in which professionals are brought into the process matters. One of the most common and costly mistakes homeowners make is involving interior design before architectural planning is fully developed. While interior design plays a critical role in how a home looks and feels, architecture is the foundation that determines how a home functions, flows, and endures. At Fratantoni Design, we believe architects should be involved before interior design begins. This approach ensures that the home’s structure, layout, and proportions are thoughtfully planned to support both aesthetics and livability from the start.
Luxury homes are no longer defined only by what happens inside. In today’s most exclusive estates, the outdoor spaces are just as important as the interiors. True indoor outdoor living begins at the architectural level, long before the first piece of furniture is placed or the landscape is installed. At Fratantoni Design, we specialize in creating custom floorplans that blur the line between indoors and out, crafting homes that feel connected to their surroundings while offering the highest level of comfort, beauty, and function.
