Sounds like it might be a bit of overkill. The rest sounds lovely.

These are two very different looks. Adding tongue and groove will add a lot of warmth and character. Drywall is cleaner and more contemporary. This house feels more like the former to me.

What about the outside? I posted on your prior thread

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/floor-plan-review-please-dsvw-vd~4711270

Just curious if anything changed.

Are the dashed lines at the entry and hallways also beams or are those cased openings?

Not sure what you envision for beams in the vaulted ceiling great room? Which direction were you thinking of running the t&g? If you add the t&g to the ceiling consider how it will resolve at the walls, esp in the great room. Some kind of molding? Die into the drywall?

If you will have ceiling lights, consider how will those be placed in relation to the beams/sprinkler placement if needed/etc. ?

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Great comments and photos- appreciate the time and thoughts.

PPF - here is our front elevation. You will see some red notations meaning a) we removed the faux shed dormer and b) we added a couple extra windows (laundry room) to balance out the exterior while adding more light.

You will also see that we moved the "service" door into the mud area next to the garage and put a roof over it. When I looked back at my previous thread and reviewed your comment I have to give you credit for your keen eye (and my husband who doesn't read these posts at all but had a similar 'aha' moment)

you might notice we also changed the main front entry to a small gable - this to give the 'main' entry a bit more importance.

Oaktown: I believe we have abeam at hallway down to garage side; cased opening where great room goes to guest bedrooms; beam at front entry. I will check with builder on how he plans to finish beams into wall. I know he has done this before. As for direction of planks if we do add the T&G, darn good question. I will look at pics and see what is appealing - I see from photos you posted they have been installed both parallel and perpendicular to the beams.

Thanks for the update on the exterior.

Plank ceilings typically run perpendicular to their support, so here we have beams, purlins, then the planking which runs parallel to the beams.

With no purlins, it would run like this.

The great room with its higher ceilings might be a good place to use wood, drywall might keep the kitchen and dining lighter and be easier to maintain.

The dark ceilings demonstrate how they create a dark, weighty interior space. You may not want to follow this sort of direction. Lighter ceilings tend to not only be more airy and open, but also create a greater volumetric effect.

Beware homongeous trusses--real or fake. Avoid if at all possible. And for that matter avoid fake beams. They are always detectable. Look above!

good point.

What about a T&G ceiling with light tone matched with the beams of a medium tone? And the beams will indeed be real wood.

Yes, for a color scheme that will certainly work. For the beams to be convincing, however, they will need to be sized and spaced in such a way as to truly appear structural (assuming they are not). If they are actually structural, that solves the all too frequent decorator problem.

It looks like the beams are already laid out in the plan with appropriate spacing. There seem to be enough windows and doors and a tall enough ceiling to bring in plenty of light. I'd have no issues using a wood ceiling in this space.

We have given thoughtful consideration to all suggestions - thank you. I would like to ask another question - not sure of Houzz protocol about starting new thread so forgive me if I err here.

We have a beautiful elk antler chandelier and thinking about where to install in the new house ... great room is obvious choice. We could hang it from the middle beam in the room - other opinions? Here is a pic. Size is approx. 42" side-to-side and it is about 28" high ... without the chain. In this picture we don't have a very high ceiling in the entry so had to squish it close to the beam..

PS To give you all an idea of our aesthetic, my husband is a bow hunter and ranch/hunting style house is naturally where we lean ...

May I ask, of the pros - what makes the beam selection/material/position, etc "feel" correct, even if they are not structural? Is it just years of experience in looking at them and thinking "those could be holding up this structure" vs. "well, that's a 'peel and stick' beam!"? Or are there "thumb rules" for choosing how to do it and do it well?

Structural beams supporting 2x6 tongue and groove decking would be spaced around 3-4 feet with relatively heavy snow loads. The spacing is determined by the decking, by going to a thicker decking the spacing can increase. For non-structural beams the spacing can be whatever feels right. And, the spacing should work with the rest of the architecture of the home. Cabinets, windows, doors and fireplaces should all be carefully coordinated to work with the beam spacing.

To me this home is feeling more like a wood ceiling, even reclaimed wood for the bow hunting family in Montana.

Summit is correct. The size and spacing of beams is based on the load they carry. But seldom is a structural beam spaced more than approximately 8' on center, and the beam itself is always deeper than it is wide. The actual beam depth is also based on the load carried, but a ratio of 4 X 10 or 4 X 12 is common.

When one sees a beam every 12 or 15 feet on center, and the "beam" is square or wider than it is deep, it's obvious to a first year architectural student that it's a "lick and stick" job.

After considering comments, our 'home' style, and a conversation with our builder, we are indeed going to add T&G to the great room ceiling - much thanks for the feedback.

Our year-long adventure will begin in a matter of weeks and we are excited to get going ...