I'll have to find the picture of Tony Shaloub's house. Especially in a kitchen, I'd be sealing the wood because all that cooking vapor etches the wood, puts grease into it. And that will gradually make it darker and darker. Like Shades, I am a light lover. I like lots of natural light coming into my house. (Frosted? no, not the right word.) (Antiqued? no....) Whitewashed?....hmmmm. I love your gas stove, and I think the room will be delightful with a 9 foot ceiling. When we put the loft into my Teahouse, it had these exposed big beams holding it up, with one post in the middle of a 25 foot span. I like the solidity of the space now. However, to point up the beams, it would be good to have them contrast to the wood beneath them. At least a little bit. THE WORD IS PICKLED!!! PICKLED WOOD. And I love the way it looks. Still wood, but not hidden. Then sealed. I created an album of 12 photos private because they were not my pics, and I can upload a few here. If you want to see all of them, let me know and I'll send you a "friend" link to it. This is Tony Shaloub;s dining room look: These beams are further apart, which keeps it from lowering the ceiling height so much. Open rafter not beams I suppose. I think this was Lavender's vision too. Very rustic, a Florida cracker style porch ceiling, I think it was one of Sandy's pictures. And here we go with natural beams and infill of plaster painted white. Really old old kitchen space with log beams. See, I think after a long time the place gets dark so they end up painting at least part of it. Here is one I think the DH might like. It has heavy natural beams, some cross beams natural but the infill is white. Note they are further apart and contribute to a feeling of higher head room. All painted, very sophisticated, nothing left natural. A peaked up ceiling with open beams across the open space, stained dark probably to counteract all that white kitchen look, the floors are also dark wood. If you are gonna have wood ceiling, floors, beams, etc, you will have a wood cave. So paint something. Here it is reversed. They painted the beams, left the wood natural. This is a nice compromise. Also, the beams are far enough apart to leave the feeling of higher ceilings. And that's all I found in my files. Hope it wasn't too much.

Is it correct that these are "decorative only" beams, and serve no structural function? If so, then ask your builder to give you architectural elevation drawings of the space both ways. Then see what you think. I also recommend that you find a copy of the book by Architect Sara Susanka called the not so big house. I say that because there are a lot of contemporary and well designed homes in the book. You can see what you think when you see them. Her book also discusses how spaces that are too large can feel as though they are too formal and lack intimacy. Since it sounds like you don't want to be too formal, I think you would get a lot out of this book.

Thank you all....the house is still in the build mode....the third picture I shared is of an existing model. And yes it will look similar barring the windows where we are not doing the grids. It seems like most of you are leaning towards coffered ceilings - right? to maintain the harmony. The confusion we were having was driven by my wife's liking for the beams - but seems like they will be a misfit in the rest of the design....agree?

I think with the beams I would go with one color for walls and ceilings. It does not have to be white. What you need to know is what are your favorite color combinations and what neutral and what white you like with your colors. I think your bay window could really stand out with a contrasting trim. It would draw your attention to the window and the beams can fade into the room color. Pick colors you love, know how you want to incorporate those colors in your design, then pick a neutral, pastel or white that works with your colors. As long as the color combination makes your heart sing that is all that really matters.