One of the best ways to open up a house is to use tall windows and give the place a view of the sky. This was done in older higher ceiling buildings with transom windows over doors and standard windows. An 8' to 9' ceiling doesn't leave much room under the headers to do this.
But here is an advance framing technique I developed that allows you to use a beefed up rim joist or first or last joists to do the work of the header. This frees up the wall for windows right up to the ceiling. As a bonus it eliminates some studs and some of the header lumber in most cases.
(http://www.countryplans.com/images/transom.jpg)
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the old ancient building I went to university in had transom windows in every room...And it made the huge quarry cut stone building seem light and airy...
I personally love them....
Good article John