Andi_k, thanks for the suggestions. I have heard good things about waterlox. I will look for it. I was thinking of using it for my wood countertops anyway though I might have to order online as it seems like only specialty stores in my area carry it, accordign to the waterlox website.. Your beams are gorgeous! They go really well with your fireplace stones too. thank you!

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.

Thanks so much for all the replies! Redhead, the funny thing is that I do like stopping short of the beams for some of the furniture pieces we have. As you said, it does highlight the ceiling itself. But in the kitchen it drives me crazy because no matter what, junk gets shoved up there and the tops get horribly, filthy dusty. Yuck. Lalitha do you have a picture of your cabinets? I would love to see what going up to the beam would look like! I am leaning towards that solution right now, but still a bit on the fence. Countrygirl thanks for chipping in! Your new kitchen has such a lovely space, and I am hugely jealous of your beautiful window. PS. - I agree with you that staining your cabinets would look gorgeous with your new soapstone. I think the workers reluctance is due to oak grain being so hard to cover unless you take several time-consuming steps. But I would definitely paint the cabinets too. I am flirting with the idea for mine, too, but I love stained alder. Plus it gives me a direction for when we update the kitchen twenty years after this reno! Lavender lass, good to hear from you! The storage issue is a factor, as I can't reach up there too easily, but I plan on having a little step stool anyway so should not be a concern. And if stuff is going to be shoved up there anyway, I might as well make sure it is pretty and protected from dust - or fill up the space with display items. So I am still on the fence... I would LIKE to go to the ceiling, mainly because I would never have to clean the cabinet top. How's that for shallow reasons :)? It gives me enough clearance to use 15" cabinets on top of the upper cabs, which is nice. Also, I do like the look - up close. The problem is that as soon as I walk five feet away, I can't see a whole lot of anything between the beams. So I am scared of paying extra for something that isn't actually seen very much. Going to the bottom of the beams, then adding some molding, sounds like the better idea - but then it would be best to do extra-tall cabinets and just glass in the top part. Hmmm... That may be the way to go then????

Yeah I don't typically like fake ceiling beams, but I wouldn't find these all that offensive if they were white. Just make sure you use the right kind of paint or hire someone to paint them who knows what they are doing. There are sadly even a lot of "pro" painters who will come over, give you a cheap bid, and then just spray a couple coats of latex over it and call it a day. They will need a sanding, a sealing vinyl or shellac primer, and then a trim enamel made for wood, which means NOT latex. I will tell you that I think BM-Advance paint is overused on things it is not appropriate for like cabinets, but for trim the spray finish on that stuff will look like a million dollars on your beams.