How do you have the rest of your home decorated? The beams do visually cut across the space and painting it all one color would help if they aren't decorative. Keep with the flow of the rest of your home though. I like the idea of cork flooring as well but you might want to lay some pieces down once you decide upon the walls as the patterning can vary quite a bit. You can change the color of the cabinetry too so the fireplace remains the centerpiece if you want it to be so.

I would say take all the beans down that u can or paint over then white so you don't see them as much. Right now it is way to Judy and by keeping everything the same color I think it will look bigger

I would also say take all the wallboards you have along the wall down. Smooth out walls and paint kinda off white or a grey tone with satin paint and see about what you could put on your fire place to bring out more color of the brick. I think it should be more of strong red brick color instead of a pink.

I guess you can add beauty with few unique wall decors. Check out few cool options here -

http://smallthingsafterall.com/wall-decor-and-accents.html

Thank you - I like what you are all saying but a little sad that no one likes ceiling beams. I've seen some wonderful rooms with them in it and our ceiling are quite high. However, they will have to stay as they can't easily come out. We will remove all other trim and place drywall over the stiple on the walls and the ceiling. Do most people prefer an all white ceiling? I was thinking also of a grey or white walls. The wainscotting was actually the same color as the beams but in a desperate moment a year ago we primed them thinking we would just paint the wall over temporarily all in one color. As you can see these similar beams (structural) are also in the family room. This house was a custom built house in the 70s. Thank you for taking the time out to help me out.

If you like the beams and they tie in with the rest of the house then you should keep them! The beams in the picture above seem a little further apart. In any case, I'm no expert, but I do know that you are the one that is living there and you have to do what makes you happy. :) Maybe removing the other trim pieces and re-painting the room will be enough of a change and update for you. If you are hesitant to change the beams right now, leave them until you can see them with the other changes!

We just bought a tudor home too which has ceiling beams (like yours) in the family room and kitchen. We are getting the home remodeled as I type.
What I am getting done is painting the walls and ceilings the same color and the ceiling beams painted white to match the trim/baseboards. Attached is a pic that I was inspired from!

http://houzz.com/photos/388143

You have all really helped with this process. I do like the pic above and since we need all new furniture too, we will definitely have a new look no matter what. I'm thinking that we may just try painting the beams and ceilings one color and if we hate it we can drywall it smooth and at least know what course to take. I love the two colors but it is a small room.

Typically you would see beams and the wood fenestrations aligned and coordinating. In this case they are not. I would remove the panelling and wood fenestrations on the walls. Smoothing the walls will definitely look cleaner and less dated but can be costly. The fireplace is very dated. Not knowing whether it is gas or wood-burning, I would opt for a more minimalistic insert or use the chimney as wood burning without the insert so that the black on the chimney does not stand out so much.

Leave the ceiling beams, but remove the wall boards... smooth the wall and ceiling over, stripe down the paint on the beams. Paint or stain the ceiling beams a darker color, it will give you a nice contrast.

The fireplace is airtight wood burning. Yes, the insert is not original. We have started demolition because this is something we can do as well as new drywall so less of a cost. I'd have to look into other options for the fireplace. Neat thing is we found a key when we pulled off the wainscotting. I love all the colors of the furnishings in the pictures you are sending. It's giving me ideas.