The white is actually a cream color and it is the window screens. the windows are casement windows, so the screen are actually on the inside. I am a builder and not a designer, so to answer your question about mixing stain and paint is my opinion. I think it is fine in most cases. Like if your doors are stained and your trim and baseboards are painted or vise versa. Or, if your windows were all stained and the rest of your trim was painted. Often times we stain the main cabinetry and paint the island. If you are doing wrapped beams. I would use cedar or doug fir. Also, have your carpenter cut the edges on a good table saw with mitered corners. When he is finished, but before you stain, mix the saw dust with wood glue and cram it neatly into the gaps. It should stain up great and leave the beams looking more real than feaux. Hope this helps

Ok. We were thinking of going faux with the beams just for convenience and ease of installation. Is that a mistake do you think? Do you know of any good faux beams on the market that we should order or ones to stay away from? We have the exact same casement windows as pictured above (with the screens on the inside which I still think is weird). Just not sure if the white windows and stained trim around them will stand out too much. Would likely leave doors and baseboards white. Hmmm......