proably if you sign up for Houzz you can post---its free--and fun

Test some washes on the back side of a beam. First you will need to clean the beams - brush and water, brush and water - use two buckets of water - clean and dirty and when the clean one starts to get bad, replace the water.

I would suggest you use a warm soft gray like edgecomb gray from bm to wash if you want a french country look - you thin the paint 1 part water to 2 parts paint. You wash it on and the tannins in the beam read the grain right through. You can wet the beam down first with water if you want more coverage / make it easier to move the paint around - some old beams are so dry that they totally suck up whatever you throw at them.

Lots of work to close the open ends, but there is definitely a lot of character in those rough hand hewn beams. You may be able to mask and spray the whole ceiling if you have enough experience to get an even application.

I can't help with how to white wash, but I have another suggestion. Paint only the ceiling white and leave the beams their natural color. You could varnish them or better, apply a natural wax or oil to them to make them shinier and less barn looking. The painted ceiling would make it lighter like you want but keep the character of the beams. I'm attaching some pics, but they're a little blurry-sorry. I would love to dig into my ceiling and find beams! That's why I have these pics. I have thought about adding them!

I save my pics upright, but they end up sideways on here. Anyway, most of these images are where I took pictures of my computer screen with my phone. If you go on Lowes.com you can search their inspiration rooms for ceiling beams or anything else and get thousands of pictures. That's where most of these came from. I think my brother used tungsten oil on his wood ceiling and didn't have to do anything else to it. It turned it a beautiful rich color.

Tons of beautiful home photos featuring ceiling beams right here on Houzz! http://www.houzz.com/%22Ceiling-beams%22

Agree---Houzz is a wonderful resource! You can see pics and talk with professionals!

Wire brush the beams. Then paint with lime paint. If paint is too opaque then sand down to wood to get desired finish. This will produced a beautiful old world finish.

The wire brushing is a wonderful way to clean and prepare the wood - but also a way to raise the grain in prep for paint. If you want old world beams from new, the contractors trick is to sandblast them before they go in. You have old beams and wire brushing both before and after painting will give you more control over the finish. TJ - I found virginia lime works - lime paint is sold as powder that you reconstitute - lots of good historic colors there.

Have you guys talked about how you will treat the open wall between the beams? Will you patch drywall in each gap? Looks like you have also removed some walls - how exciting to discover the beautiful bones of your place - good luck and keep us posted!

Frienze and Texston plaster also sells a lime paint that can be tinted. We have used this product successfully and there is only thinning no mixing. Some of our lime work is on our French Decape project.

I agree with chrisinky. You have 203 year old antique beams! Let their natural character show and paint the ceilings white as a backdrop. Here are a couple of photos of 150 year old barn beams. Some had the remains of white milk paint that fell off during cleaning with soap and water and a scrub brush. We kept the remaining residue that was lodged in the crevices. Nothing else was done to the beam.

I agree, please don't disturb the beams. These are treasures !

Thank You!!! interesting suggestions .. ok we will white wash the wood in between first and see how it looks .. leave the beams o' natural. If it still looks too rustic we can paint them white and if thats still too rustic we can do the drywall and still leave the beams exposed. I do think they are beautiful!! now Im wondering how to white wash bricks :) (fire place ... Ill start a new thread)

I love it (not really) when a person asks a question and all they get back from folks is "Paint the ceiling...wax the beams or sign up to houzz." Would we all just STICK to the questions at hand here. I am looking to do the same. Mine were done once by the previous owner and I'm looking to do them again. They are not saturated in white, just lightly done. I get compliments from friends all the time. If you don't know the answer that is fine but keep you other suggestions ready for the person who asks for them. I think there was a total of five sentences that addressed the issue in all of this. I know you might think that sounds a bit harsh.....but........good! I meant it to be.

HI -- I love it (not really ) when someone posts a comment and is too impatient to wait for it to load and enters twice and then we get two ! This is harsh and I mean it !!!!

HI -- Thank You --- have a nice day Stephen --- perhaps you can comment another time when your not cranky !

That room shows a lot of promise, along a mound of work. Go for it.

Again, nothing about painting...my point exactly.

As far as your first comment, “they know not of what they speak,”

Oh wow!! Those beams are absolutely beautiful!! I wouldn't paint them at all. Paint the ceiling first then think about it. Here are some in our house and I did a textured Sheetrock finish in between.

ITuneiopoololl

Do you have a picture of your beams with the lime paint? I am thinking about doing the same thing and would love to see your results!