We have raked ceilings in our new split level extension that follows the fall of the land (and in the rooms that were part of the skillion sections of the old cottage) and I love the sense of space they give and also the fact that the inside reflects what is happening on the outside of the house. We have used ceiling boards (painted white – I didn't want to feel like I was living in a cigar box) both in the old cottage and in the new section and they certainly add an enormous amount of visual interest to the rooms as well. However, I endorse the comments about the added trickiness of light fittings. Pendants with rods are out and pay particular attention to the little rose/canopy thingies that connect pendants to the ceiling – make sure that they sit flush with the ceiling and don't have weird unsightly bits that you can suddenly see because of the angled ceiling. We have successfully used LED downlights with a recessed diffuser and dimmer switches to make sure there is no glare but if the raked angle isn't too extreme they are a definite possibility.

thanks all- we in south australia. most homes we have lived in are character homes that have original high ceilings so having the 2400mm ceilings feels more enclosed to us personally. I've researched and hoping we can expose floor joists and line them with gyprock to 'raise' the ceiling height to the lower floor. upstairs we can vault the ceilings and add skylights to open it up

Renovating or restoring as many Victorian features as possible .....Should the 3300 section of your hallway have the original cornice, retain/restore, Many Victorian terraces have a bulkhead along the hall with arch and corbels.

1800mm on a 2740 ceiling height is small. What height, off the floor level, are you starting your 1800mm windows? If you started them at 500mm from floor level, this would give you are nice high window. It would be the cost of the extra wall from floor level. weigh this cost against a 2057mm window. I have 2740mm ceilings and all my living windows are stacker doors at 2340mm. If you are having curtains, you could have your 1800 windows, and have the curtain drop from the cornice of the 2740 ceiling height. This would disguise the low window. But then this also would be an extra cost for the length of the curtain.