We're building a cathedral ceiling in living room, w/peak at 14'. DH loves the paneled, "lodge" look, but I'm scared of the cost.

GC suggested using a good quality laminate floor on ceiling, but I'm not convinced the look would be "authentic" enough for DH. Yet the cost of installing engineered hardwood up there is very near the cost of having trim carpenter actually panel it w/wood (we'd have painter finish lumber on the ground, rather than after installed.)

Thoughts? Pics? Has anyone done this? I keep seeing gorgeous pics in magazines of light bamboo on ceilings; wondering if that look might be easier to replicate w/laminate than the more rough-hewn "pine plank" look more commonly associated w/an Adirondack style home.

(Not that ours is truly Adirondack, but DH isn't as close to the Modern side of the line as I am - that's where you see the bamboo look on ceilings more often.)