We have a large L shaped living room with black beams on the ceiling and a large red brick Inglewood fire place with a black beam above it. I would like to make the room brighter, and thinking of painting the beams white, but concerned its a lot of work if it looks wrong!
Shot-blasting (AKA sandblasting) the beams will bring back the natural warmth of the wood, which matches perfectly with the red brick, the natural tones within the wood once treated post blasting will bring a level of depth to the room, and brighten it up making the space feel larger too. The natural 'sandy' undertones of the wood will blend well with a country theme, and even a more contemporary scheme.
Choosing to white wash/ totally repaint to white will certainly allow more light to reflect throughout the space, giving a brighter, airier feel to the room.
It really depends on the scheme (look) you would like to go with.
A country, classical warm homely feel would be better with the natural wood.
A more contemporary or a more chic, luxury scheme may benefit more from the white.
Think about what furniture/ accessories you have for the room, and how they will work with either the natural or white.
Whether it's shotblasting or a chemical peel you go for, if you've got gloss paint on the beams get it off so that the poor things can breathe! If you do it yourself, be prepared for the long haul -- I've already discovered at least three different coats of paint on my beams.
Once you've got the beams breathing and back to their natural colour, give it a while to get used to the new colour and see how it looks. If the room still seems dark, try a slightly diluted lime wash, which will still allow the beams to breathe.
Michael Jhala
Angela Gilham