Weed block fabric, bad. Weed block plastic, positively evil. That's all I'm sayin' about that. There's always going to be differing opinions about whether or not someone "should" have done Project X to his/her house, and I think it's rather a waste of time to discuss taste. But what I don't understand is when work on a house -- or a garden -- is done 90% of the way, when just a little extra push/time/money would've made it a great job. Examples? How about the houses that have "finished basements" -- but there are no switch plates, base moldings or light fixtures installed? Just a couple of bulbs dangling from the ceiling. How much more work would it have taken to add those little finishing touches that really complete the room? Or the back garden where they've splashed out on quality paving materials and had them delivered to the site -- but then they're dropped randomly onto the ground instead of being properly placed, and they're wobbly and unsafe to step on. Why not take the extra time to prepare the base and secure that material in a way that's appropriate for your climate and practical for people using it? Or the "sunroom addition" that's larger than a bump-out but too small to hold usable furniture... I was in one not long ago that was five by seven feet. If you could afford to hire the workers to pour the slab foundation and build the "room," how much more cost would've been involved in making that room 9 x 11 instead?

Thank you for the input. That is my worry that it will be too much for 9ft ceiling but the ceiling is textured and will have to be repaired from all the work being done on beams so we want to at least do a tongue and groove shiplap or beadboard layer since we will be working on it anyway and were just trying to find a way to tie in beams and post somehow but we are probably over thinking it. The house we just sold in Texsas had 13 ft ceilings and 7.5ft doors throughout house with a huge kitchen with 25 ft ceiling and all the fancy woodwork but are trading that to downsize as new empty nesters and live on the beach but these 9ft ceilings are going to feel claustrophobic for a while so I don't want to make it feel too closed in. Going for light and airy and open so you are probably right :) I just gotta crowdsource so I feel like I am making smart decisions LOL!

Size is one thing, the way the beam is located or utilized can telegraph that it is fake. A true structural beam rarely looks fake. A fake beam does not look real unless it mocks a real beam in every way. Make it look like it is supporting whatever is above it, and not like a bump on the ceiling.

To illustrate in more detail of what "making it look like actual structure" means, having the beams (rafters) disect a window or opening, or compete with soffits is usually a bad look and calls attention to it's 'fauxness.' In your case, you have the 2 windows, the inset cove, the entry area, and don't know what's on the other side of room. Here I just tried to count equal truss spaces in a pattern that avoided the windows and stuff, I hope you get the idea and can find a spacing that works to look like real structure and also has proportionate spacing in relation to the overall feel of the space and ceiling height.