Oh (((hugs)))! I am so sorry this happened after all the work and care you went through to have them perfect. I don't really have any suggestions, other than using whatever furniture refinishers us to remove stain. Perhaps you could find a refinisher in your area to get an opinion?

FWIW...they still look lovely to me in the second shot...darker, sure, but I can still tell that they are old and can see the patina.

You might try sandblasting the beams. It will leave the rough sawn intact but should get the stain out. Another avenue would be to sand them out which will leave them smooth. After that, burn them with a propane torch just enough to surface burn the wood, then wire brush. The harder grains of the wood will stand out more than the softer giving it the original rough sawn look. The easiest would be to replace, but as you stated, it was hard finding the ones you have. You might try wood reclamation/ wood salvage yards in your area or put in an ad in hope that someone has an old outbuilding with some beams available,( meaning tearing down the outbuilding, no doubt).

No solution but SO SORRY :(. Hopefully someone can chime in here with a fix . . .

Thanks for the kind words nini, and sierra, I like your ideas. I am wondering if I should just have them sand them down (not completely, some of the dark could still be there) and then beat them up again, hammers, adze, chains, etc. and the torch idea (didn't know about that one), then stain in a lighter color with some highlights and blackening in strategic spots. The wire brush is a good point as well. I wonder if we could wire brush off some of the stain to lighten them?

Ain't communication wonderful? The stain probably will be somewhat lighter after it dries. At this point, waiting for that to happen is about all you can do. Then on to Plan B if necessary.

Our house was Cypress siding. After many years of restaining it was almost black. So we power washed it and all of the stain came off. This was outside not inside, but the sand blasting is a definite possibility, but it could possible smooth the wood and not leave it with much texture.

I like your ideas of strategic sanding and leaving some dark areas, distress and light stain. If you have some scrap pieces or cutoffs laying around, you can experiment on those as well, just stain them the same as the painters stain, let it all dry and play around with it and see what you can come up with that way. Best of luck!

I'm so sorry this happened!!! I will say in the pic (the way it is now) does not look bad at all. It actually looks like you have some darker stones on the fireplace, so from the pictures it does seem to blend well. And, had I not seen the original and known about what happened, I would never thought anything of them other than wood beams look great in a room! That being said, if it were me, I'd personally tackle it a few ways...

1) Call a few reclaimed wood places and ask them about a potential replacement and a potentional solution. There are so many ways to make new wood look old, I'm sure they will have some suggestions to restore these as best they can.

2) I wouldn't have the builder touch anything until I researched more options -just to be sure - you don't want them to make it worse. But, once I had some possible options, I would definitely have him try to fix them as you want them.

3) At the same time the builder is trying to fix them, I'd still have him (or you?) see if you can find replacements. And, if you find them, that's great and you can just have him switch them out.

Good luck...and it will all work out....(it may be a little stressful in the meantime....but that just gives you an excuse for a glass of wine or a martini!)

So sorry! If it's not the look you want then it's not, but I just wanted to say that the oak beams in my 300 year plus cottage in England were almost black! No stain ever - just centuries of age. In fact it was common for people to paint their beams matt black to simulate that patina of great age. It's not easy to tell from your photo but those stained beams of yours sure look beautiful to me just as they are!

Could you give it a few days to see if they grow on you? I hope the beams eventually bring you joy - however it is achieved.

I know how you feel! It's so easy to have a vision of exactly how you want the space to look...you can see it so clearly...and then something happens and it's not at all what you wanted or planned. It can be very disappointing!

That being said...I like the darker beams, too. I thought the same thing sis3 just said...they look like an old English cottage. Very nice with the stone fireplace and painted bookcases :)

I can see that the darker stain might change how they are going to work with furniture finishes and fabrics you plan to use in the space, but if you can still adjust those, it might be one of those 'happy accidents' that end up being one of your favorite things about the house.

Please live with it a few days (as already suggested) and think about how you like the space as it is. Would it work with your overall decor? Does the old English cottage look match the rest of your design? It could be really beautiful.

Thank you all for the responses. I feel so much better knowing they don't look completely awful. It was shocking because it was not what I expected, but this has happened before -- paints, etc. at first glance weren't what I expected. But, this was big to me. I have some sample cuts of the beams and I can play with them, but I am hoping it could just be an adjustment issue and that it will be OK after some time. I am so happy to see that this could be a desired effect! Thank you all -- this is why I love this board --- truly great ideas and real experience, as well as understanding of why this is a big deal! THANK YOU!

Oh my three sons, how I hate that you are going through this after all your hunting for just the right beams. But I do like the look with the darker beams as they are now. They still have age and character even though they are darker now. Hugs and let us know how this works out for you.

Sorry about your beams, that would kill me too! Here's an idea that popped into my mind, I have absolutely no idea if it would work. When we refinished our old hardwood floors, there were areas that were stained and discolored. We bought a product in the floor refinishing section that was basically a bleach for wood. It removed the stains (water spots, urine stains from previous owner's pets) but didn't make the wood lighter than the undamaged wood. I think we even used it on a spot where there was marker on raw wood and an area we used the wrong stain on. I have no idea if this would work for you, but maybe it's worth a try in an inconspicuous spot? Maybe it would bleach out the stain but leave the patina.

I'm so sorry this happened. It sucks !!

But, I do think the beams look quite good stained. Give it a few days. I have my own similar story-I ordered salvaged elm shelves. Instead of cutting them on the end that goes against the wall, they cut them on the exposed end. Instead of a nice patina edge, I had a raw edge that's a different color.

Aaaaaaa! I'm so sorry this happened! I swear, everybody's got cell phones these days and yet despite my begging, I've still not had a single workman pick up the phone and ask before he does something permanent that we didn't discuss!

I can only imagine what you've got invested financially and mentally in those reclaimed beams. But seriously, they are absolutely gorgeous! I know it's not exactly the look you'd worked toward, but I agree with pps7. Give it a few days. They still maintain their history, and they look pretty darn swoon-worthy with your stone and paint color.

so sorry that happened. it can be so frustrating. I'm not sure if it will help, but you can try asking in the woodworking forum. there are a couple of really expert people in that forum that might know of some bleaching products or other solutions.

oh just wanted to add one more thought. when i refinished my dining table, i used a product called furniture stripper (sold in the same aisle as paint thinner usually). i'm not sure if you tried that. it is a gel that you apply to your wood and leave on for about an hour or so, then you wipe it or scrape it off. that stuff is very powerful, it eats away the varnish and stain on finished furniture so that you can refinish it. sometimes it requires two or three iterations of it to get the wood really clean of stain.