Just because it's old does not mean it's pretty.

Leave the beams, insulate and drywall between them, to cut down on noise and dust.

I agree I think these beams will never be pretty I can’t believe I am saying this but if you want beams maybe drywall the ceiling and add some beams.

I thought maybe sanding and bleaching them would help. Maybe even "brown-washing" them with thinned down brown paint. Maybe I'm crazy to think they'll look good. I appreciate all the comments.

What look are you going for?

My suggestion is to dust them thoroughly and find some similar wood to test what you want. You can stain and then top coat with something. Given it is an old house, I would start with just a tung oil finish and no stain and see what you think.

I should add that if you want an even color, you will have to sand them extensively and stain them.

Thanks everyone! My plan for the ceiling was to try and clean, refinish and maybe seal the beams as I've always wanted a beamed/exposed ceiling (I love the look). I figured at least if I tried and it doesn't work out we could always drywall over it.

The last picture is what I would love for it to look like.

I've heard there are sites/ blogs used exclusively by people who dedicate themselves with restoring old homes. You may get more useful advice and find kindred spirits. Good luck!

Maybe....

You will need to sand it extensively to get that look. Since worst case you can cover it, here is what I would do. I would get a random orbit sander with a ton of 60 grit pads. I would pick a stain on the wood (the dark spots) and sand and see how much the stain fades. Then I would try various finishes in very small spots (so you can sand them off if you do not like them). It is hard to tell what the finish is on the picture, but it looks fairly glossy so either poly or waterlox would be my first tries. If you don't like those, try a stain and then top coat. Personally, I would just use pure tung oil (cut with solvent) as it will give a more natural look and not look like a floor on the ceiling and it is super easy to apply.

Frankly, even though it is a small ceiling you are talking mega work to get it to look good.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional in wood refinishing, but I am getting good at it and have done tons of research.

Personally, I would go darker to hide the stains and to minimize the amount of sanding needed. Something chestnut level or darker should hide the stains enough to make them presentable.

Thank you miacometlady for the sites, I will definitely check them out. And thank you evilfij for the advice. I've done some research but the suggestions from "houzzers" are the best!

Trinity--the boards you see above the beams is the subfloor for the upstairs. If you have a finished floor above you shouldn't have too much problem with noise other than some squeaking as people walk across the floor above you. Just be warned: don't look up when people are walking above, or you might get some dust in your eyes!

Here's a picture of a focal point in our living room-the fireplace area. This pic is after we ripped up the carpet and before we tore out the old drop ceiling that was hiding the plaster/lath ceiling underneath.

The second pic is the mess of tearing down the ceiling.

Hi Nancy! The upstairs floors are carpeted except for one room. I'm thinking this should help.

Another pic of fireplace with old ceiling.

Are you keeping the bead board? Are you painting it?

We took it off and probably going to leave it off. It's a nice quality oak beadboard but the ceiling is higher now. The drywall underneath is pretty damaged because, for some reason, we glued the beadboard. Any suggestions are welcome.

A couple pics I just took without the beadboard.

Drywall can be fixed. It is an old farm house, it should not look perfect or new.

Anyway, you could paint it, but as long as it is not wood colored walls you have more flexibility to get the ceiling finished in a different color wood. I would just start experimenting. Pick the beam with the side facing the wall (where you will never see any mistake) and go to town.

Thank you so much evilfij. I'm definitely learning as I go.

So am I; learning as I go that is. Since you have such a lovely old home, I would try to use traditional materials and methods. If you want some cool farmhouses to look at, check out Brognard Okie. He did very authentic recreations of farmhouses in the first half of the 20th century. I was in one of his houses and it had exposed beams like yours, but they were whitewashed so that is another option. There is a free pdf book of his work if you google. In short, anything new will look out of place. Anything perfect will look out of place. Focus on preservation, character and making it look period correct.

That sounds great! I really want to keep the character of the old country home. Now that our kids are in college I have more time. Less money, but more time. Thanks for the reference to Brognard Okie, I just did a quick google and now I'm really inspired.

The subfloor will still probably squeak, but the carpeting should help with footsteps..

Thank you Nancy. I laughed about the "dust in your eyes" comment because that just happened where the wall meets the ceiling when I was cleaning yesterday.