Eric. Yes, they're exposed, and my first idea was to notch them for the LSL's, but that would have taken a lot of chainsaw work, and take the strength away that I would get for full span beams. But it would have looked better. The old beams were submitted as part of the cross section plan I submitted. The clerk forwarded this to the their engineer who recommended these beams. Worry wart as I am, I was kind of a pain in the $#$#, and went back repeatedly to emphasize the existing structure and all the potential problems of the current setup. They rechecked their figures and said it was OK. Actually my original plan was to support the ceiling dead center, and they recommend a 5 1/2 X 14in for that, but it would have hung down past a living room window on one wall. They said the double beam was a better option for weight distribution, and they said full dead weight starts to come into effect a distance away from the walls as they are holding up part of the ceiling. They seem to be comfortable with the setup and seem to know what they are doing, and their guys have done many on contract. Buildings such as mine run every 3rd home around these parts. The partition is a good idea, and actually would look kinda nice, but the "boss" wants it open. I've done a couple of fancy arches in this way also. The following year I'll see what happens to my top wall beams, and note if any torquing happens, and watch the sag as well. I'm also reinforcing the top logs in the corners with 1/4 X 3in strapping, since they are only dove-tailed on the bottom edge for the last beam. (The old Scots knew what they were doing.!!) These logs are 15inches thick. Thanks for the tip. Andy

What about putting a shallow hutch down on the rust colored wall where you have your "Sorry about the Mess but we Live here" sign (Love it! LOL) The bottom half of the hutch could be used for toy storage if it's not needed for kitchen stuff, and the top half could be for "pretties." Sometimes these hutches can be had inexpensively from thrift stores and Craigslist, and you'll be well prepared for painting it and making it your own. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/designer-cottage-shabby-chic-style-entry-burlington-phvw-vp~186307) [Farmhouse Entry[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/farmhouse-entryway-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_741~s_2114) by Burlington Architects & Building Designers TruexCullins Architecture + Interior Design Another option could be a very small cozy couch down there where people could come hang out and sit in the kitchen while you're working, or you could sit and read the paper and half a cup of coffee, look up recipes, etc. A rocking chair and little side table or a couple of petite chairs with a little side table between them might work, too. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/kitchen-traditional-kitchen-new-york-phvw-vp~1021897) [Traditional Kitchen[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-kitchen-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_709~s_2107) by Locust Valley Interior Designers & Decorators Deepdale House LLC A painting or mirror could go behind the chairs in place of the window: [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/the-wingate-2012-eclectic-family-room-louisville-phvw-vp~1346790) [Eclectic Family Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/eclectic-family-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_720~s_2104) by Louisville Home Stagers Home Staging Specialists A small desk could go there if you need a "command center" for the mail, phone, keys, calendar, charging station,cookbook storage, etc. Here's one example. You could check Houzz, pinterest, or google images for many more. [[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/laundry-mudroom-traditional-laundry-room-detroit-phvw-vp~1192450) [Traditional Laundry Room[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/traditional-laundry-room-ideas-phbr1-bp~t_753~s_2107) by Milford General Contractors M.J. Whelan Construction Or a shallow armoire could go there to hold brooms, mops, cleansers and so forth if you don't have a dedicated place for them. If you really wanted to get fancy, you could do a little electric or gas fireplace down there to cozy up to (Craigslist?) Good for you tackling this project. I bet you'll love it when it's all done (and I hope you'll come back and show us pictures!) : )

Thanks for the exterior photo. I was wondering if there was someplace on the exterior of the house where you could also place a couple of beams (above the garage doors?) but there doesn't seem to be anyroom for them. I would put it up and if you or your wife don't like it at some future time, leave it up and just paint it. It will help to define the space between the kitchen and the eating area. I live in a post-and-beam house. A lot of people don't like them but I do. The beam between the living room and dining room is painted and is very similar to what you are doing. We have vaulted ceilings but our rooms aren't very big so the living room only has one large exposed beam with one post. When we renovated the house we vaulted the eating area/family room and exposed another beam.

wow- Sophie. Thank you for that information. I will try to avoid using the term 'farmhouse' if it offends folks but I think you could make a similar argument for almost every post on houzz so it seems to me a bit irrelevant for this type of public forum. I have designers- several of them- with great reputations in their respective fields. Unfortunately, since everyone is so busy, if you want attention to details, I have found it is essential to review all drawings myself (civil, structural, architect, and even the geotech and survey) and look for issues. I have found an overabundance of them- some very serious- that I have personally corrected probably saving about $65,000 at this point with no change in the house design. For this particular design issue (ceiling height), I was not presented with the option of exploring different ceiling heights or given a preference for whether or not I like large crown molding etc. The 10' ceiling was plunked down by an architect on the drawings and now it is near impossible to change as we have our permits and in our city- changes are not only expensive but would mean a return to the planning department and public review. My research and questions and legwork are definitely making my project much better than leaving everything up to designers - nobody cares about 'your' project as much as you do.