i don’t want the fake ones to look fake either. My plan is to use real wood boards to make faux beams and then stain them, closely matching our mantle color.

We have to have posts in those areas because its load bearing. instead of them being ugly drywalled posts, I want to encase them in wood so they arent just functional , but look nice also.

Is the wall there leaving? Or are you proposing trimming the wall with the appearance of beams?

Either way, all the beams and posts should match.

Consider eliminating the existing fake beams. I believe in continuity, but fake supporting fake is too fake.

Sorry, I re-read my original post and realized I missed a HUGE detail! Yes, that wall and the windows will be removed. What is on the other side of it will be the new living room. Yikes, i really left out the whole reason for the beams!

In other words, which of these walls are you mimicking?

The opening or the far wall with the window and door?

Also, when you say trim, do you just mean the faux beams or will there be door and window casings, as well? Also, will these be the only beam and posts you intend to add, or do you plan to do all of what would be present if structural?

The beams that are currently up on the ceiling are actual beams. They’re massive painted redwood beams. I started sanding some of it to get to the pure wood, but that paint is on thick. Looks like that might be my best bet though. For a second, I thought about painting them a lighter wood color and then going back over it with a wood grain tool. Seems like a waste though because the texture is already there, just under all that paint.

Maybe faux beams is the wrong term. I want to encase the load bearing areas with actual wood that I’ll stain.

They really should match, and cladding your new posts to match the old beams is perfectly fine.

I can't imagine stripping those old beams, but that might be what you gotta do if you don't want your new posts to be dark.

Sanding the dark beams and rafters is not worth the monumental effort (in my opinion) and may not even give you the clean end-product raw wood that you want. Are you sure it is paint and not dark penetrating stain? And are you sure the beam and rafters are redwood and not Douglas fir? A supporting beam of that size is usually Douglas fir. Additionally, in the process of sanding, you are likely to mess up the ceiling -- big time. I think you should leave that ceiling as is and match the new beam and posts to the existing beam. And the ceiling beyond should match the color of the neighboring existing ceiling. Don't worry about the dark beams/rafters not matching the hearth. What is the style of your house? If you are dead set about wanting the lighter color for the rafters, beams, and posts, then I think it would be a lot easier to just sheathe the existing beam and rafters with a thin (like 1/4 inch) "veneer" of wood that you can then stain whatever color you want. I've seen this done on "This Old House" and a skilled finish carpenter should be able to do that so that it looks perfect. This may be what you are referring to as "fake beams." It will probably have to be done using Douglas Fir because long redwood boards to accomplish the sheathing are almost impossible to get, and are very expensive if you can even get them. Your new beam will likely have to be Douglas fir (or possibly even steel which you can then sheathe with wood). A lighter stain like you want would be doable on good quality Douglas fir. A structural engineer will specify the type and size of the beams and posts to carry the load.

If the existing beams are actual structural members, you should remove the drywall from the bearing wall to see what structure exists in the wall. There may be beams and columns in the wall that only need exposing.

If the existing beams are decorative wood beams with no structural value, consider removing them.

You’re going for a fachwerk or chalet design?

The home was built in the early 80’s and is a ranch style with cottage elements to it. The areas to be opened up with the remodel appear to have large dark redwood beams, so I’m assuming the exposed beams are also redwood. I could be wrong though. The black beams were painted, such a shame to have all that beautiful grain covered up! Cladding the beams in wood veneer is definitely a sound option. I just need to weigh out my options now I guess.

"Cladding the beams in wood veneer is definitely a sound option."

My .02 is that will make them look like fake beams. I do not think I would clad the verticals with wood because even though you are using real wood, it will still look contrived and exactly like wood cladding.

Why not just a steel beam across that opening ?

Cladding the existing beams is an option; however, the cladding would likely be made from smooth material and it appears you prefer a more hand-hewn rustic look to beams. There is a styrofoam faux beam option but those a fairly expensive as well.

Personally, I would investigate whether or not the existing beams could be removed and replaced. We had a local company mill our beams and our builder's trim guy hand-hewed them himself. It was around $1500 for all of that. The color didn't turn out exactly as I'd wished (builder/painter error) but I have learned to live with it after some sage Houzz advice to "let it go"....lol.

If you can span the opening without posts (even if you have to reduce the size of the opening to do so), consider not adding any wood beams/posts.

Maybe it would be better if the beams in the vaulted room stand out like they are supposed to and don't compete with other woody bits.