Of course, this is a personal choice, but to avoid a wood-drenched look, and making the room feel too top-heavy, choosing a light color, different from your floors is best for low-ceiling beams.

Utah-based Custom Wood Beams can renew, refresh and renovate your home. Rand Wilson says their beams are a timeless and historical form of construction that give any space more depth and interest.

Further inside, the living room features a wall of windows looking out on to the covered back porch. The living room and kitchen ceilings are lined with wood beams and unique light fixtures.

Berglund says transparent wood panels can also be used for windows, and semitransparent facades, when the idea is to let light in but maintain privacy. The optically transparent wood is a type of ...

Beams have to be installed over the top of all windows and doors. What is a good way to insulate these, as the solid wood creating the beam doesn’t have a very high R-value. — Beth S., ...