I love them, but most "exposed" beams you see online are Faux beams. I wanted to do the wood beam look, but DH was opposed.

We are having 10' ceilings with a painted coffered look.

Yes, many of the photographs of interiors with exposed beams are really fake beams. You can always tell by the facts that, more often than not, the "beams" are wider than deep and spaced further apart than actual structural beams would be.

My advice would be to do fake beams as if they were truly real, or don't do them at all.

If you don't don the beams up front, you can always add them later. If you're not concerned about the added cost, raise the ceiling to 12'+ but that may require you to modify your HVAC system design to accommodate the additional space. It's a great look and I'm planning to do a combination of exposed beams and trusses in my build.

With that said, 10' ceiling should be fine.

IMO the beams need to be part of the construction not some add ons after and IMO 10’ ceilings are as high as I would even go for the reason that heating and cooling $$$ are always going up and you gain nothing by going higher . So if the beams can be exposed with the new plan then do it if they need to be added forget it.Sorry but IMO fake beams always look fake no matter what material they are made from.IN the pica above obviously an addon in the entry.

Yes, OBVIOUSLY, they are an add-on, but guess what, I LOVE them :) And I love my HUGE 7x14 walk-in pantry and I LOVE my tall ceilings...lol. To each his own ;)

what is above your living room? is there another floor up there? you will be reducing the sound insulation between upstairs and downstairs.

or is there an attic that will reveal an angled ceiling when opened up? that will be gorgeous for sure. you'll need to think about how insulation gets added back in. it will either need to be tucked between the rafters and drywalled in, lowering the new ceiling 6-8" or so. or you can rip off the roof decking and get it installed under there-- much more expensive of course.

MOST people don't care that the beams are fake. They're decorative and look amazing IMO.

Yes if they aren't structural, then they are decorative just like anything else you might add to your house (mantle, built-ins, etc). People always forget that your house is for you and no one else! Go forth and install the decorative beams your heart so desires! Then hubby can take your devices away. 😉

If you can raise the ceiling height in order to have the beams make sense, do it. The builder will need to be mindful of how to keep the kitchen/eat in ceiling at 10' so that your beams in the great room have a soffit in which to "end".

I am one that cares if the beams are fake, especially if they are not placed in a manner where they would be structural. In shead's case, all I would need is another glass of wine and I would be fine. She earned the right to place the beams anywhere she darn well pleases.

Hi Jaimi-

If you like it, go for it.

I like your photos.

I am not thrilled with the light fixture with scads and scads of hanging globes with exposed bulbs.

Yes, OBVIOUSLY, they are an add-on, but guess what, I LOVE them :) And I love my HUGE 7x14 walk-in pantry and I LOVE my tall ceilings...lol. To each his own ;)

I do love your beams!!! I wanted to use the X idea in my breakfast room, but it was going to look offset.

And you have me beat on the pantry. I wish mine were a few feet longer. It's only 8x10.

I just realized that your photos have helped me tremendously! As you may remember, we will have a great room. Kitchen on one end, and family area on the other. I will have a set of built-ins in the family room that I would like to paint a historical green/gray. Normally, if they were in a different room, I would paint them to match the white trim. However, I am having white kitchen cabinets on the other end of the room and feel like the two sets of cabinets would compete with each other. Especially since they are not the same type. That's why I want them a darker color. Anyway, I am having dark stained French doors in the great room. I was afraid that having two different colors of cabinets, dark stained doors, and white trim in the same room would be too much. Seeing your stained beams and mantle convinces me to go ahead with the plan. :-)

@User, I can’t wait to see your built-ins! Mine are SW Mindful Gray which is one shade darker than my wall color and kitchen cab color.

@Mark Bischak, Architect, you’ve earned the right to be an authority on fake beams by virtue of your profession. And, ironically enough, as if 2020 could get any crazier, I developed a allergy to grapes. My last glass of wine in October nearly landed me at the ER :( I had to level up...lol.

Sorry to hear about your allergy, can you at least still eat chocolate?

Mies van der Rohe: "Less is more."

I hope you're not trying to apply that to chocolate.

When I get to it, there is less because I’ve had more ;-)