Hi there, just wondering if this post still active? I was curious as to what the final verdict was and how came out? I also live in Pac Northwest (Kirkland) and have same (worse problem)! Our house built in '56. Dark (redwood color) cedar slate ceiling with dark stained support beams....which makes for REALLY dark ambiance. After 13 years here I've grown really tired of the dark and am really tempted just to go get paint sprayer and just cover everything with white! But I love my rustic wood....in dilemma! Uuugh! Dark vs rustic. My wish is to keep wood but make raw/lighter? I really liked how previous post recovered beams, they look great! Looks like from what I'm reading...sanding down rough and stain might be impossible (unreasonable). I have yet to see or hear of anyone actually has done it??? Eeek! Curious to see what you decided to do?

I think your room with the ceilings look great!!!! We have the opposite problem as we want to remove the white paint from our tongue and beams (from former owner) and restore to original look like yours. Make sure you want to paint it as it is a horrendous job to remove if you change your mind or don't like. Anyway, you have a lovely home. Enjoy!

personally I like the dark beams,,but I would paint out everything else trim doors, window casements,,except fireplace trim..in a soft white,,BENJAMIN MOORE BALLET WHITE is a beautiful chalky white ,walls flat or eggshell and trim semigloss,,then large abstract art with a natural subject,,see artist Steve Nederveen,,he is brilliant and affordable..the A window wall needs something, like a low long console,great for storage and the 2 large pieces of art above, don't overlook the importance of a great vintage style chandelier in your vault..good luck..and always check kijji!!!!1

ps maybe paint out white book case in fireplace cubby,pick a colour close to your trim..and add some colourful glass pottery in shelves..either real or homesense doesn't matter as long as you love the shape and colour..not everything has to match if your collecting,

as long as it doesn't clash..

I see this link is old but I googled what to do with my dark beams and this thread came up. I just bought a house and I have the same problem. 1979 house with rough espresso beams. My taste is more light rustic natural and I'm not sure if I should paint them white or even try sanding them. The idea of getting them covered with more wood seems costly and counterproductive. Maybe someone can make a suggestion

Has anyone done this yet? I just moved into a house from 1974 with dark espresso-looking beams. Mine are painted, though, not stained. I would love them to be natural wood - looking and am looking for suggestions for the easiest and cheapest way to do this.

My extremely determined husband initially tried to sand off the white paint on the beams, as well as on the tongue and groove. Then he purchased Citristrip which allowed him to scrape off a lot of the paint. (A messy job.) However, the problem is, you don't get all the paint off that way. We were then told to try and faux paint the beams so they would look like wood (with some wood grain paint kit you can buy). That said, if you have a lot of time, patience, along with a strong neck (looking up can kill the muscles and joints), I imagine any of these techniques will work. As for us, we decided to embrace the white tongue and groove and painted the beams a dark brownish color from Dunn Edwards after my husband only had two beams done in four months! Then I found out through a book that the architect, William Krisel, used this same color in his mid century modern homes in the past. So we are happy. Regarding all the photos here, I think all the ceilings with the dark beams are quite stunning. Good luck to everyone and take care of your necks in the process so you don't have to spend extra bucks on a chiropractor.

ro25ah, do you have a photo? Just curious: Kristen and Nick, did you end up changing your beams?

@sdsunn Not the greatest picture, and it keeps flipping sideways, but you get the idea. Maybe if they were stained instead of painted it wouldn't bother me as much? I am just going for a more natural look. I also heard about painting it to look like wood which seems like the easiest option especially since they're already a shade of brown. My sister is trying to convince me that I can unscrew them, take them down and do whatever I want to them but I haven't looked into that yet.

@ro25ah, I don't know how it looks in real life, but I think it looks great in the photos. Congrats on your new home!

Kristen Swann, you did a great job with your room; it's evident that you know what you're doing. In my opinion, everything in the room works colorwise and you know how/where to place things. Thanks for sharing your photos and have a wonderful holiday season.

Hi Shelby, I'm going to be starting a project much like yours, what did you decide to do?

To the OP: I would do hardwood floors throughout to match the dining room, paint inbetween the beams a color to match or just a shade lighter than the new floors, take out the white bookshelf next to the fireplace, replace with stacked firewood, and remove the mirror. Put a mantel up in the darker wood or put a large brass wall sculpture over the fireplace, like a Jere, for example. I see you have a lot of traditional furniture and color palette, which can be hard to make work in this type of home.

guys, this thread is *10 years old*! the OP has figured something out! start a new thread!