I think skylights is a fabulous idea! Instead of the beam idea. Natural sunlight is best and the room will feel happy! For the ceiling, how about just doing the lightest version of your wall color.

I say a mural

Skylights definitely tend to look more modern . I see very traditional to country French furnishing behind in the kitchen, so a lot of it is going to depend on the style you are trying to create. If you do beams, you can always keep it very simple as well. Best of luck!

I feel that skylights are fairly design-neutral. Particularly in this room, since it has a fairly steep cathedral ceiling. Visually, the skylights would be disconnected from the furniture below.

Put wood on the ceiling! Warms up the room! Did it on all our cathedrals ceilings and it is my favorite feature.

You seem to have good light from your windows in the room. Not sure I would add skylights. Sometimes they add a lot of heat and can bleach floors, rugs, and furniture. So if you add them factor in shades too. Add Beams and paint the trim color. On the ceiling between add a soft blue. That would be lovely. Then bring in more blue in accents, artwork and fabric.

You could do both. Add beams and a skylight in between :-)
Our skylights have outside screens (that we never close, but then again we have natural shade provided by trees). When it gets warm in the summer, we just open them and enjoy the breath of fresh air that comes through.

The point on matching the style of the house is correct in my book. Unless you're room is dark, I can't imagine just putting a skylight in to jazz the ceiling up. We too used wide planks on our cathedral ceiling and it does add a huge amount of drama and warmth to the room.

How about a smaller square or round window up toward the peak, but on the wall (not the ceiling)?

In this inspiration picture, note that there are also beams but what I really like is the paneling treatment in the peak area. It keeps that wall from looking like just one giant expanse of wallboard.

Here's another idea, with interesting beams instead of another window.

Valuable comments from you guys!

Ok, I'm sold on the beams...

I think this space could wind up a winner and the beams would be a significant architectural element to add to the equation.

I also really like the window on the wall idea...I'm over the skylight idea. And I think the trim against the wall is a very interesting idea. Maybe simpler than the window with as much if not more impact. Hmmm??? There will be a fireplace below this peak so maybe the round window would be awesome.

As far as adding beams...SHOULD THEY BE WHITE OR BROWN? And the idea of a HINT of blue between the beams sounds fun! If the beams are white. If the beams are white...what would be a good color? So far I'm looking at Behr Falling Snow. Does anyone do all trim in Satin instead of semi gloss? Or maybe just doors in Satin finish??

At this point the wall color in the kitchen and living room is SW Ecru. (Greenish Tan) But I'm open to suggestions.

So...brown beams or white...THAT IS THE QUESTION. Here are two examples, one of each.

Thanks everybody who is commenting!!!!!!!!

I vote for white beams, and pale blue between.

Thank you for that response. Yes, I think the white with blue is kind of like a delicious looking wedding cake...and who doesn't like that, right? lol.

I welcome more input, nevertheless. Do you have a granite color idea with the oak cabs and tan/green wall color?

Gee... try some decent lighting!

Your so right! I actually just had recessed lighting added last week and my electrician suggested I live with what we've got for a week or so and then we can add more.

Were you thinking that I should hang a couple of pendulum lights over the bar? I'm thinking about that also.

What were you thinking?? I need to know. lol.

Gosh...I just realized I'm fickle as can be. Because now I'm back thinking the skylights would after all perhaps be the most meaningful effect. I always say..."natural light is MONEY". It's that valuable. So why not add it. My last house I added skylights everywhere. Even over commodes! lol. And this room, despite 6 panels of glass...is not as bright as you'd expect. There are a lot of pine trees and this community really makes you get a letter signed by the president to cut a tree down...so I don't think there would be too much glare from skylights.

If the skylights are somewhat design neutral...do you think I could really and truly do the beams and a big skylights or two 2 by 4' lights???

How many of you think I need to chose ONE element?

How bout if I added some skylights in the kitchen...maybe the light would spread out to the living room...and then I could do beams without the possible infringement of the skylights???

Also, should I lose the fan and add a big n bold wrought iron chandelier?

We have a beam in our family room that we finally painted white. Thank goodness. It's actually bad feng shui to have a beam "cut" into your space. I still vote sky lights. Yep, natural light is "money". Imagine someone walking into your space...would they say...I love those beams...or "I love all the natural light"? Sky lights with a big fabulous chandelier. Oh Yeah!

I'm going t throw out another option for the ceiling, and suggest reclaimed wood. I think it's cleaner look could make a more spacious statement.

[houzz=]

If you're going for beams, my vote goes to white ones. We did have (white) beams on our vaulted ceilings, but I'm glad they are covered up with plasterboard now. Not easy to keep the beams clean and free from spiderwebs.
And my vote still goes to skylights. They would bring so much light to the part of the room that doesn't get the light from the existing windows.

There's a storm blowing here and I've closed the outside shutters of our skylights, just to be on the safe side. It is so much darker now, I forgot that we always used to have the lights on in our kitchen and in our dining space.

Okay, ignore the mess, just took a pic of my kitchen in its current state. I've been Houzzing, not cleaning this morning ;-) And I'll add a pic I took earlier with the shutters open. See the difference:

Hmm... I made the bottom pic a bit lighter. In the above picture it looks darker than it actually is. So this one gives a more realistic idea. Still... huge difference!

Some more ideas for you. I like this first one, since the skylight is only off to one side in I guess what is sort of a dormer idea. Looking at your pictures, it looks like the main part of your house is to the left. I don't know that you'd want a skylight on that side of your ceiling, that opens up a view to/from whatever other windows might be up there (is it a 2-story house this room is attached to?) Also in the first picture, notice the beam which makes an interesting statement of its own.







@carolins, thanks for showing those pictures of your skylight open and closed. What a huge difference. Do you get snow where you live?

I really like how skylights look in the daytime, but at night they are just large black rectangles in the ceiling. At night, do you get reflections of what's below?

Hi orangecamera,
amazing what a difference it makes with the skylights isn't it? We almost never close the shutters and I forgot how dark it used to be in our home.
They are black rectangles at night, but that doesn't bother me. We actually have lights in the top part of the skylights, not sure how I can explain it, will take a picture tonight to show how it looks and that looks pretty nice on the inside and on the outside too.

We do get snow here (the Netherlands), When it gets too bad we just take a soft broom and shove the worst off the windows. Not been a problem so far. We've had them for 2 years, could be 3, Time flies :-)
No irritating reflections from what's under it at night. At least, I've not yet noticed it ;-)

You've posted some really great inspirational pics.

Another idea I had against the beams was that in this case...the treatment would be a foux effect. And why not keep things as pure and real and honest as you can? It is what is is and it aint what it aint. Just one way to look at it.

Natural light is certainly real and yes...I can imagine folks walking in and saying, "wow...I love this natural light" rather than bothering to admire beams. Perhaps even using a low chemistry of the wall color on the ceiling could add some warmth in lieu of beams.

I'm a bit afraid to try a color on the ceiling other than a version of white. Does anyone else have a definitive opinion about this?

Overall I would say that the skylights versus beams will slant the whole new-design process into being more contemporary, perhaps.

I would add large rustic beams to the ceiling. Your room is large and there is no sense cutting it up with lots of small beams running across the ceiling. Add some drama with large (faux) rustic beams.

That does look fantastic I must say! I also love that herringbone pattern floor. Is that tile or wood? Thanks for your post!

What are you using on the floor? I would extend that same wood floor from the kitchen, add a big rustic chandelier... add rustic wood beams, and paint between Pale Powder by Farrow and Ball in matte or flat sheen. It is the most amazing shade of blue green...but just a hint, yet adds warmth and depth to any ceiling. Then find the softest gray with a hint of green. Trim in BM Cloud White (also paint out your oak cabinets in same using their impervo line. Trim out that half wall so it looks more like a cabinet and paint. The posibilties are endless of course...what a great room you get to play in!! Good luck!

Do the beams, and use Solatubes for natural light. They have low-E glazing and dimming vanes to completely solve any issues with excess light, and they are easy to integrate into your lighting plan. Beams will add a lot of interest and definition. Or even full panelling on the ceiling, e.g. limed oak or barn wood.

Angela, thank you for your awesome comment! I appreciate your input very much. I have a question for you. You mentioned bringing the wood floor into the main space. That has been a puzzle for me...because....this house is built on a slab foundation...and wood does not just lay down and act nice on concrete. The wood depicted is a very photogenic laminate material, about as thick as a credit card, and it's floated with a few air pockets that you notice when you walk on it. So...of course that product has to go.

But what to replace it with is the big question. I know everyone's favorite floor nowadays is wood. I love wood also, of course. But I'm thinking that some type of stone or tile would be more appropriate for this substrate. As well as provide superior endurance. And who knows, it might look pretty cool too.

Then it gets into real stone such as travertine versus the wood plank porcelains or any porcelain for that matter as I'm beginning to wonder if that material on a slab is not truly the king daddy of superiority.

What would you do?

Soberg, thank you as well. I'm afraid the solatubes leave my heart less than ecstatic although I think they are ingenious as all get out...I tend to think the best application for them is in closets or hallways.

As far as paneling on the ceiling...I know that looks good...but man...I just scraped the popcorn off these ceilings and refinished the sheetrock...lol. So you know I can't go covering that up with paneling. lol.

My question for you is: If I were to do the beams...should I use rustic or paint white. AND...do you think skylights could be between a couple of them without taking away from the effect...or even worse...just look plain weird???

@Whitfield Properties, I think you're over-thinking!

First figure out what style or look or mood you want. Because there are just so many good ideas out there, but until you figure out what YOU want, you won't be able to narrow down all the choices.

If you want to go with the idea of "real", then no more beam talk for you! :) Clear your mind of the beams! :)

Voila! Now we're back to the other two questions at hand: windows, and colors. I think you liked the idea of more windows.

So...wall windows and/or skylights? Once you decide yes or no to those, then you can narrow down shapes and sizes.

Color? I like a very pale blue on the ceiling. It gives a sort of "sky" feeling to the room. Is that too faux for you? I didn't paint my vaulted ceiling blue because (argh!) it's got popcorn texture and I didn't want to call attention to that. Your ceiling is brand new, so that's not an issue. As much as I do like a pale blue ceiling, I think if you go with skylights it won't look right, since you'll already be seeing the real blue sky. So I'd say blue ceiling OR skylights.

Now, what sort of mood or style do you want? From your comments it sounds like you want a "wow" factor. Search for pictures of vaulted ceilings and make an idea book of those that make YOU say "wow". Is it color? Is it windows and skylights? Is it a great chandelier?

Since you asked... I would do the wood look porcelain. :) I used it in my sons bathroom and everyone went nuts for it. So I replaced the hardwood in my kitchen and entry. Much easier to take care of then wood or natural stone, and I don't freak on the kids or the dog anymore!! :)

Wow. That is just what I wanted to hear. For this space I'm doing...what pattern and color might you recommend?

Would you run it throughout...even in the bedrooms? The cool thing about this is there would be no transitions! My favorite thing. However, I could bend on not having tile in bedrooms and do wall to wall carpeting there. Someone suggested if tile is used to heat it! What do you think of that idea?

I don't like them either. Don't try and fill wall all the way up but use very tall big art pieces on walls, nothing small. hang low, vertically pieces work best.

Paint ceilings white. Wall color can be bold. I like the gold you show. No beams, won't work. A chandelier big hang low. Add a couple in room. Add Recessed lights, and no sky lights.

Orangecamera, thank you for such a thoughtful and well described post!!! I really appreciate that. I agree that with skylights...a very neutral ceiling color might be in order. Like the plain-jane ceiling-white variety, perhaps?

One of the photos you so kindly provided gave me a new idea!

The photo with the single beam down the middle...well I know off the cuff that might beg the question, "really???" but...you see we have that fan hanging from a "block of painted wood" which I really despise. That's one reason I did like the beam idea was because I knew I could lose that annoying detail. But maybe a single beam...even painted white...might add some architectural interest, despite being faux...and I could add the skylight or one 4'skylight without there being a clash of elements.

Roman shades on windows. All should match. Take a color from walls, use a print.

Take color into kitchen and all rooms you can see. Stain cabinets a darker color add brush nickel pulls. No oak.

Is that a stove in corner.? Instead add a faux firepl between windows for a focal pt and for heat. Make it big to cover most of wall can go stone. Heavy look. Google.

Add beams crossing horizontally, as if to tie the roof together. These would be purely decorative, but aimed to give the room more intimacy. Then up-light from the top of the beams. You'r room will have far more visual interest.

Okay, I promised orangecamera some pics of how they look at night :-)

I have a vaulted ceiling in the family room with 2 skylights. Our skylights have blinds between the panes, but we rarely close the blinds. We have one beam that runs along the peak (stained in a medium color) with ceiling fan attached to the beam.
We use the fan a lot in the summer, while generally I do not like ceiling fans they are not so obnoxious with higher ceilings.

Our skylights open.

Natural light coming through ceiling is the best.