'feel'. is the actual square footage/layout or what it feels like? i say that b/c i recall when we sold in '06 our very experienced, decades long realtor commenting about a change he was observing in younger buyers that he thought would become much more common. he was seeing less focus on actual square footage vs. perceived or 'felt' space. he could show multiple homes to a buyer and despite identical amenities they would most often opt for a more costly option with less square footage if it had higher ceilings and other design elements that gave the perception of more space. i've noticed that where we live now as well that people to this day seem to have the same mindset-a house i wouldn't give a second look at b/c of the lack of actual usable space is frequently favored b/c of it's high ceilings. put some non accessible shelving kitchen cabinets that go up to the top of a kitchen wall in a house and it somehow feels more spacious to a potential buyer.
Both but more leaning towards how you feel within that space.
We lived in a 1500 sq foot rental house, one level, slab. and the kitchen table, kitchen and family room area was all open to each other except they built a wall that formed a semi-hallway and allowed for an island of sorts even though it wasn't in the middle of the kitchen. Had that house had walls separating them where the kitchen table had walls and just a doorway through the kitchen and the kitchen had a wall towards the family room area it would have been an awful layout, dark and too closed in. As is 3 rooms (2 of them bedrooms, 1 essentially a bedroom but lacked a closet) and the main bathroom along with the linen closet were scrunched together in one area. The master bedroom closet and bathroom having a bit of separation but just off of the family room.
Our home now, the main living area is actually less than the rental house. It is about 1,360 square feet (there's an upstairs and then unfinished basement that add to that). It has a bedroom (used as an office), a full bathroom, a kitchen with an island, a bump out for the kitchen table, the great room and the dining room. If the main living space was bigger but the dining room was completely closed off and only had 1 open doorway to walk through just that minor change alone would significantly alter the feel of the house especially combined with what we did putting a wall in the middle (see my other picture to another poster) rather than leaving it completely open. We def. didn't like completely open concept but we do not like too enclosed feel either.
High ceilings is actually quite nice TBH and we have that too. The front bedroom upstairs actually has the highest ceilings maybe 11 or 12 feet and it's to compensate that it's just a wee bit smaller than the other two bedrooms upstairs (aside from the master bedroom) but it also has its own bathroom but does not have a walk in closet like the other bedrooms just a double door one with no shelves built in. Unusable space to have the ceiling that high? I mean sure but it does give a bit more wider feel. We have a double story foyer and I love it. I think we have 10 ft ceilings in the main level, 9 in the basement and either 8 or 9 feet upstairs.
The room I grew up in at my mom's house was super tiny but had half of the ceiling part of the roof structure so it slanted way high. It would have made putting in a ceiling fan in there really difficult (so we never did) but it made a huge difference in how I felt in this room that only a full sized bed fit from one side of the wall to the other in an alcove, you could not have done any other bed in that room.
One big thing my husband and I talked about when building our house was what things cannot really be changed after the fact and what can. When looking at a home unless you're going down to studs and rearranging things a perspective homebuyer may see that higher ceiling as a pro because changing the size of the room or the layout of the entire house less feasible so if it makes it feel bigger that might be the way to go. I hear ya on non-accessible cabinets (I'm short so it doesn't take much) but taking it from our rental house where there just was no storage really at all save for some of those kitchen cabinets I would take storage 100% all day long. The cabinets may not be used on a daily basis and be something you need a step ladder for but still. Above our fridge is a deep storage spot, no I can't reach it really but it's been great to have. So maybe that part is eye of the beholder there.
Pennsylvania, in particular, has loads of them, as does Vermont. Not all of them are pretty, but the best Craftsman-influenced versions tend to be really lovely.
