It's not fine, because we don't like it. And the "wood overload" you are referring to is all brand new, so we're not painting over it. I guess you've never seen the inside of a log cabin. Looking for suggestions just for the beam. Thanks.

It could be painted the dark blue of the wall.

Or you could paint it the cream of the kitchen.

It might help if you could find somebody to work a little Photoshop magic to help you imagine how it might look if it were painted light or dark, clad in the same pine as the ceiling, clad in black metal, etc.

When I look at the first picture, my instinct says paint it dark blue. When I look at the second, it says paint it cream. Maybe try to the cream first and paint over it if you don't like it.

Have you considered not treating the beam uniformly across the whole space? In the kitchen, I'd try painting it the same as the wall color, so it doesn't compete with your pretty hickory cabinets. In the living area, I'd cover it with the same wood you're using for the ceiling.

^ ^ ^

Since the new wood ceiling continues into the kitchen, you could just cover all of the beam (kitchen and living room) with the wood