Questions: What wood variety? Does the wood have any finish on it? If there is no finish on it, it's going to look dusty & probably pretty lifeless (esp., considering that it was sandblasted.) To get an idea of how a finish will warm it up, wet a section & stand back & see if you're satisfied with the look, keeping in mind that a finish will enhance it somewhat more than just the wet look. Penetrating oil would be my choice because the wood needs feeding. All the more because it's on the ceiling where the warmest air stratifies & cooks the life out of wood. (I hate to say it, but since it was sandblasted, sanding or scraping may be in the Rx to make it look it's best.) Another option might be using a semi-transparent oil stain. I'm including a link for reference. Note that this is an exterior product. If you decide to go this direction, be sure to inquire & sample interior formulations. Here is a link that might be useful: Semi-Transparent Stain

Satin interior polyurethane sounds good to me. It would not be shiny so you would hardly know it was there, but the smooth surface would make it harder for dust to stick and much easier to vacuum off webs and dust. Besides blocking the mildew. Make sure the wood is VERY dry before putting it on. If you wash it, don't let it be wet very long, and let the surface dry a few days in dry weather before varnishing.

Your inspiration photo is not a stain. It is the colour of the wood species with a coat of finish over it. Your ceiling is probably a different species of wood. I think yours is pine (I'm guessing). The inspiration looks like fir. Fir is a much softer yellow whereas pine can be a STRONG orange. You could strip the finish (which is probably an oil based finish that turns orange all by itself) and then see what colour you have underneath. Then you can SEAL it and then apply a few coats of WATER based finish over top to stop it from getting DARK ORANGE as it is now. You *might get it a step or two lighter....but it will not go as light as your inspiration photo. And the reason you need a sealant is TANNIN PULL. Many species of wood exhibit tannin pull (the orange colour bleeds into the surface finish = turns yellow/orange). This is made WORSE with water based finishes. Therefore you will require the sealant over top of the raw wood. Then you apply a few coats of water based finish. Again, I think you will get a colour that is half way between the two photos you are showing. Whew. All that work just to get a slightly lighter ceiling. Personally I would leave the beams, paint the slatted planks of the ceiling white (after stripping and priming...and priming again because of tannin bleed). Then I would tackle the flooring. It is easier to strip down to raw wood...and then look at a water based finish that will be two steps lighter. Those two things will get you CLOSER to your inspiration photo.

What did you decide? Lovely porches! We are at the staining point now with ours. I would love to see more pics of your finished pitches!