I have seen just about everything: beams left stained wood, beams painted a vibrant color with a white ceiling, beams painted white (or gray or other neutral) with a colorful ceiling, beams painted one color and ceiling painted another color, both painted same white ... I think the thought process really depends on the rest of your kitchen. What are your tastes, how much fun do you like to have? Some decorating styles have more of a tradition of it than others, but there's definitely room to make it up. Another consideration may be the rest of your house, and your site. I live in the city, where many people's ceilings are visible from the street as people walk by a little lower than ground level. I can't see into most people's rooms, but I can see many people's ceilings! So someone who has an interesting medallion, or beams or a mural (lots of artists in my area) is a pleasure to see on a cold walk home. If you have, perhaps, a siting area where you can see a portion of your kitchen ceiling out of the corner of your eye when you are sitting, then it might be nice to have an interesting ceiling. Something to consider.

I have a fan in my kitchen and while I find it a distinct relief in hot weather, I can't have it on while canning or any cooking that requires consistent, steady temperature control, as the fan tends to blow the flame around. That's fine - I turn the fan down or off for a while. It hasn't killed me yet, so it isn't that big a deal. My house is a Craftsman and I looked high and low for an appropriate-style ceiling fan that wasn't scary-expensive. Apparently I was hunting Unicorns. I settled for a basic simple fan style that at least doesn't look all wrong, even if it wasn't what I'd envisioned. It was cheap, and can be easily upgraded down the road. Not much help, I know - I have box beams all over my main floor (although not in the kitchen) but the light fixtures are not in the beams. Here is a link that might be useful: My Amost Mostly Finished Budget Craftsman Kitchen

My den and kitchen have dark stained beams and ceiling. I would like to lighten things up, but would still like to see the natural features of the wood. I would like a “white washed” effect. Advice on how to do this?

For our 1970s remodel, we painted the walls and ceiling (not tpungue and groove) white and left the beams dark (we actually re-wrapped them and stained darker because the old ones were reddish cedar ans wouldnt take stain). We have light floors. the contrast works.