You need to weigh what you want more of when it comes to ceilings. Flat ceilings give you the oppertunity for attic storage. You can pretty much forget about that with vaulted ceilings.
As for heating costs, a lot of that depends on how tall of a vault your referring to. I have a small office that's about 14' wide the vault starts at 9' and rises up to about 13'. It doesn't have a bid effect on the heating of the space, but I do have a ceiling fan and reverse the direction in spring and fall.
As for wood siding.... I personally would suggest going to an alternative. Wood can be problematic in the Maryland climate, not to mention you need to consider how close it will be to grade, how big your overhangs are and which direction the walls to receive wood siding are going to be facing. For example, walls facing north don't get a lot of direct sun. As a result, moisture doesn't get evaporated and wall surfaces begin to mold. With vinyl, brick, and other siding materials this can be cleaned with a water and cleaning solution. Introducing more water to wood siding is the last thing you want to.
For painting wood.... Unless you want to do it again every year or two, I would not advise it. If you really have to have wood siding and it has to be a "color", I would suggest a transparent or semi-transparent stain. You'll still be re-staining periodically; just not as often (every 5 to 7 years).
Just my 2 cents....
They must have your kids confused with someone else's kids at the Mongolian BBQ.
