Geez, those beams on the ceiling are really oppressive since the ceiling is so low. Are you sure those beams aren't just decorative? The reason I ask is because of the strange butt joints I see on the side of the two beams. I don't think they are structural.

Also, can you identify that strange light above the sliding door and window on either side of the fireplace? Are those fluorescent lights?

If you need to keep the beams, I'd paint them, are they as oppresvie in person as they look in your photos? I'd make all the floors the same on the first floor, including the kitchen. I've had wood floors in my kitchens for years, never a problem.

Thanks for the input. Yes, those beams are structural, that back room was an additional put on by the previous owner. There are 2 steel beams that run horizontal and and 1 that runs across the room and are all boxed out with the cedar trim.

The strange light you are referring to is natural light from 2 skylights. I’ll include a picture of those.

So from what I’ve been reading it seems the best route would be to paint the cedar and that would open up my options on the color of the floor.
I really don’t want to redo the kitchen floor as it was just done a few years ago with a kitchen remodel.

I was thinking if the berms were white we may be able to match the floor closer the kitchen color.
Maybe a Lvp in grey with some brown tones.

I have to wonder if stripping the steel of the wood wouldn't be a better solution for the room.

Hmm. Interesting idea. The beams are red in color. Would you suggest painting them black or white?

I'm thinking the wood used to wrap the beams is so very sizeable, it has added dimension to the beam size itself. Well, the red cannot stay. Black is too dark. I'd lean white or a charcoal gray. Sometimes you just have to test the color in the space.

Did you shoot the photo while standing on a stair? Perhaps we are getting a distorted view of the room. Can you shoot it while standing on the floor?

I would use large format stone tiles for the floors, light in color,, non skid.

Not wood floors.

You could just continue what you have in the kitchen

I loooove those beams. They don't seem oppressive at all to me. And, no, I wouldn't paint them. What does look odd to me, though, is that only half the room has beams. The other half has a modern-looking ceiling. Someone would need to be more creative than I on this, but I think it would help to coordinate the halves of the room.

Something that bothers me more than almost anything, and it's so easy to fix..... The furniture arrangement. It looks like you're all set up to watch a hockey game in the middle of the room. Instead, optimal would be a set up where it looks like 5 people can be there and have a good conversation with each other. This guides the furniture layout, even if you don't frequently have 5 people conversing .

Where would you want people to sit, so you could all have a good friendly chat?

IMO the space needs a big rug, a coffee table, some side tables, and some lamps. With a good rug, I'm not sure you'd even need to do the floors!

Ok. Had a chance peek to look into the beams a bit more. So the 2 beams that run the length of the room , only one has a beam and the other is a false box. The other one that runs across the room has a beam in the cedar box. So taking the cedar wood off would not be an option as I think is would look a little goofy.

I think at this point the best option would be to paint the beams and ceiling the same shade of white and that would open up my flooring color options.