I think the beams are heavy given the ceiling height. If you paint them the wall and ceiling colors, they won’t be so overpowering.

Before I addressed the beams, I'd do something about the general level of lighitng in the house. That will help determine how to address the beams.

You cannot light a house by overhead lighting alone. It's visually lowering your ceiling. Where are the table and floor lamps?

After I solved the lighting problems I'd reassess the color on the walls.

Once that was decided then I'd consider what to do with the beams, but at present I would not touch the beams without addressing the lighting issues.

In looking again, I do think that the color of the walls is contibuting to the overall lack luster appearance of the home. I fear if you paint the beams it will be a cascading domino of items you will change to get the best appearance.

The walls were JUST painted grey, per my designer. So, are you thinking I should start over, paint the walls white throughout the house? I'd still hate the honey colored beams. When I purchased the house, the honey pine was EVERYWHERE. I have painted a good portion of the honey pine, upstairs and in all the bedrooms! I am afraid to paint the living room, dining room and kitchen beams because once I paint them, there's no going back. I need help! I love the photo you have attached, but those beams are not the same as my horrid honey colored beams. I actually LIKE those beams. Mine have a terrible orange hue. UGHHHH.

Any chance you could leave the beams natural and just paint out the trim / crown around the top of the walls?

I too think white on the walls, instead of gray, would be even better.

Paint the walls Navajo white and suddenly the beams are much less orange. You’ve chosen a wall color literally opposite them on the color wheel which emphasizes their natural warm tones. At this point you can paint the beams, strip and restain them, or change the wall color. Your choice.

Navajo white with beam taken from your picture:

Your designer should have had a more complete plan that incorporated the beam color and your preferences. Get a better designer and discuss a whole-house color scheme. https://www.fromhousetohome.com/whole-house-color-scheme/
I agree that you should be afraid to paint them because there's no going back. And for the sake of continuity that adds value to a house, I am depressed hearing you already painted upstairs, depending on what you painted. Closet doors? OK, I'll get over it.
By the way, I don't like honey colored wood either. So I'm not criticizing your taste and preferences. The fact that it has come around again from the 1980s just makes me laugh. But what is interesting is the new color schemes coming with it. There was a Houzz article recently showing a home with honey wood, cool cream walls and accents in a greyed sage green and plum/wine. I could tolerate honey wood with that color scheme. Maybe it's not your cup of tea, but it's an example of how treating the honey orange color as part of an overall color scheme can help you live together in peace. Ever see the movie, "Beetlejuice"?
Orange green and purple make a triadic color scheme. Orange and blue make a complimentary color scheme. Orange, red, and yellow make an analogous color scheme.
You seem to rigidly stick to neutrals like you don't like color at all or are afraid to drive it. Hallett & Company is right that the wood is so dominant because of everything else in the background being so neutral. If you like cool colors instead, go with either a complementary (add blue) or triadic (add green and plum). What color grey are the walls? Blue grey or green grey or orange grey or what? That will help you decide if you don't want to repaint.

Contrast is important. With your grey walls and yellow-orange wood, you already have dull vs bright. Both are mid-tones. Time to add some light and dark. So when you decide on your color scheme, take some time to select some dark and light versions of the colors that you like. Let's say you hate all color, then your grey becomes black and white. Your honey becomes a dark warm brown and a warm near white. Blue? Dark sophisticated navy and cream. Orange-green-plum wine? Choose dark greens and plums and add splashes of cream.

I think the beams are the best feature you have. The grey wall color doesn’t jive with the floor or beams - a big miss by the designer.

I think try changing the bulbs everywhere to LED 4000K then see what it loks like. I do not like lighting that lights the ceiling so a change of chandelier too. Wall color IMO last thing to choose first you furnish the space . Pine does not take staining well so that IMO is the last thing to try and if you love the beams then try bringing interest down from the ceiling with more interesting rugs , great art etc all things that take the eye away from the beams

I’ll ask again - what are your renovation plans? If it includes the floor stain color that will go a long way to help right the ship.

Are the beams sealed? If not, they should be easy enough to stain. If sealed you would probably have to have them stripped before staining. Would not advise painting them. That, I think, would lead to an awful look.

Thanks everyone! When I purchased the house, the walls were white and the honey colored pine beams were still, honey colored. I hate them with a passion. I love a dark wood beam or a natural color beam. I could live with those options, but I cannot live with the honey colored, orange hue, pine beams. I agree, the grey walls do NOT work with the honey beams. But since I just paid a designer, and a painter, a ton of money to paint the walls grey, and to stain the floors grey, I now have to deal with beams. Even if I re-paint the walls white, I will have to deal with the honey colored beams. I don't like the orange hue. Perhaps I can stain the beams a less orange hue, in order to highlight the grey tone floors (and maybe even re-paint the walls white). I appreciate all the help and suggestions. I will re-read each one and try to find a solution...

Sounds like staining the beams is the only option for you.

People paint beams all the time. White will look fantastic.

If you paint them, paint the same white paint as the ceiling so they blend. You can see your ceiling looks darker in your photos. Because the posts are at people level, use an enamel so the wood is soft to the touch. Don't forget to prime.

I think you've whitled down the options to stain darker or paint, since leaving them honey-orange pine is not at all the look you want. I would consult with someone about how feasible the stain will be, who can come out and look at the beams themselves to see how they are finished, etc. As someone else mentioned, stain is not always reliable depending on the wood types and especially with the amount of beams in the space, so you want to set a realistic expectation. Also, the space already looks cramped and overwhelmed by the beams and the really dark grey finish on the fireplace, so I would hesitate to go darker.

If I had to change them, I would do white painted beams and white ceiling. Fix the lighting in the space as mentioned above, and I think that will make a difference for you as well. Then you will have a much simpler palette for bringing in your furnishings as you won't have competing tones in the beams, walls, flooring, and fireplace.

If I lived there? I actually like a honey beams, but I do dislike the grey your designer picked out with the other colors in the home. I would have done all white walls/ceiling (a warm white like suggested above would be lovely). Earthy accent tones with the furnishings and finishes, I love the sage suggestion above but a range of tones and colors would work. I would also do something different for the fireplace finish; with the lighter floorig and the space in general the dark grey stone feels harsh to me. But that is just personal preference, and I do understand not being able to live with some wood tones, especially with the amount of the beams in the space!

Curious, did your designer make a 3D mock-up of how the space would look with various finishes? This would give you the ability to test out a white beam vs different other stain options to see what you like with the current paint color.

Your beams are fighting with your floor colour, staining them the same as the floor colour would be a big improvement.

@User My designer's aesthetic was to go with various shades of Grey, which I didn't totally agree with. It's an Island house on martha's vinyeard and I thought it should be lighter tones. He did not give me any mock ups, unfortunately. You ideas are excellent. Thank you so much!

The grey walls wouldn't look nearly as bad with woodwork stained a Kona brown. There is an elegance hierarchy with stone at the top, followed by wood. And within stone or wood there's additional hierarchies. People do paint woodwork all the time; that's true, but it still takes the whole house a step down in elegance. It becomes "cozy" or "charming" or "cute" or "homey". If that's what you want... Go for it. There's nothing wrong with going for those vibes.

I would white wash them to tone down the honey color and try to get them close to the color of the floors. It will involve lots of sanding to remove enough finish to make a new finish stick. If you look at some furniture flipping tutorials, it's very common to apply a very watered down white paint to honey oak, just to tone down the orange.

Yeah grey was the wrong choice. There are so many grey days here on the cape and the islands. Especially this time of year. Here's a picture taken from houzz that shows white beams and tan walls with flooring similar to yours.

Bridge Street Residence Living Room · More Info

I agree navajo white for the walls.

The wall color is the problem. Your designer picked a dull, going-out-of-style gray. And on Martha’s Vineyard, I would be moving towards light and airy. Navaho White, as suggested, is a better idea.

Then reassess the beams. They will look better when they’re not fighting gray walls.

Many of the commenters here cannot seem to grasp one simple fact: you don’t like the color of the beams. No matter whether walls are gray white purple or neon green, you want to change the beams. Grab the low hanging fruit, keep it simple, go the path of least resistance and paint your beams white. Simple. Btw, your walls and floor look great.

One more thought - try covering some of them on white craft paper just to see what they’d look like in white.

You house is beautiful. I would paint the beams white. I think the floor and beams will always fight each other.

You have started down a path with the floor finish and new kitchen so best to forge ahead. I would suggest painting the beams in a white to match your kitchen cabinet white. Then, be open minded about the wall color (even though you just painted them - they do read rather green grey and your floor are reading pink grey). Really best to find the rug(s) and soft furnishings FIRST - then settle on a wall color. I’d suggest doing ALL painting LAST just to make sure you are getting all your tones right. Build from the rugs and soft furnishings.

I vote for white beams!

How about sanding them and stain them a different color? The last color of Jeans photo shop of darker wood stain would look better since just painted the walls grey. Also I think need to paint the trim for windows a different color from the walls.

@Lady K I hope you try a different stain, one that you like, maybe a medium mocha. Have you gone to a store with samples of wood with different stains to see which one's appeal to you? A high-end cabinetry store might be a good place to start.

Try staining them darker. You can always paint them (😢) at a future date. But seeing the mock ups from @Jean, I vote for darker beams.

I love the middle photo Jean posted - a white wash that lets a little wood show through. The darker beams make the ceiling look about a food lower.

Foot lowers I mean.

And remember, your designer works for you. In the future, if they are unwilling to listen to you about paint color or anything else please find someone else. It is ok to fire them.

@Jean I envy your Photoshop abilities!

WHITE! Light, bright & airy. Dark brings everything down.

Omg I love the beams as is! I would not have suggested gray paint but it looks fine..I would have went all white with the honey beams!

No Navajo White…way too yellow

SW White Dove

If you don’t leave them as is go white..do not go dark

I love neutral gray walls….my entire home is a neutral gray…great backdrop for all styles..gray walls are not going away..it really is a classic neutral…they are here to stay.

FYI, this is an example of beams painted the same color as the ceiling (BENJAMIN Moore Simply White). This is a beach vacation apartment.

@Lady K - What did you end up doing?

Still pondering all the comments! I do love the middle mock up from Jean with the white wash beams. I also love rpwoodard’s photo above, with the white beams. I think that may be the direction I go.

In addition, I think I will repaint the walls from gray to white, (but not anytime soon).

Currently looking at new furniture and lighting. Afterwards, I’ll move to whitewashing/staining the Beams. Down the line, I’ll repaint the walls white dove.

I truly appreciate everyone’s time and suggestions!!

And I’m not sure why I have 2 Houzz accounts? Lady K, aka Kendall Reid.

@Lady K I had that problem too. I had to change my account name in my computer, not cell phone. You don't have two accounts. Your account has your name plus a nick-name. Find your name and change it to your nickname and all will be the same again.

Houzz is also GardenWeb which causes accounts confusion and error messages between the app and online. You're not alone.