I love a good revived thread. :-) My good deals are all from eBay this time. My desktop computer is not quite four years old, but since it gets a lot of use and we believe in "lifecycling" electronics I've been casually looking for a good deal on a somewhat high-end refurbished PC to replace it. Before I found anything, my computer quit. Just refused to turn on. I researched possible causes, and called in my expert: my son. The power supply was a common source of the problem, so I bought one on eBay for $20. Nope, that didn't do it, but we kept the replacement in the computer and held onto the old one as a spare. Next we replaced the motherboard ($70 on eBay). Yes! The computer works fine at this point, but we figured since the hard drive has been spinning all these years, why not replace it--or add another, which is what we did--rather than wait for it to fail? So I bought a 1TB SSD drive on Amazon ($100), and now have a "new computer" for under $200. Also, I've been wanting an L.L. Bean tan canvas "barn jacket" for a long time but was unwilling to pay over $100 for it. Even eBay prices on them aren't usually tempting, but this time I found one for under $20 including shipping. I love it! It really is "like new," and I look forward to wearing it when spring starts to make an appearance. All I need now are olive green "wellies" for our muddy season.

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!

Yes, it's possible to have a structural beam over a door or window, BUT it needs to run to a structural post or wall that it can sit on. The beam cannot sit on the door. That is a structural beam over the door ... it is supported by the structural post to the right and another to the left of the door (In the next room over). Here, again, the beam goes across and is supported by the posts in the middle and to the left of the closed door and on the right side of the opening. This is section of house is post and beam construction ... and the oak pegs are not decorative. Those are the floor joists, and the shiplap is the subfloor. You could chose to install a ceiling if that's too much beam.

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.