5 Living Room Decorative Beam Ideas with Reclaimed Wood

Have you never thought about what makes the difference between a regular old living space and a stunning room that leaves an impression? The living room is where you spend time with your family, relax after a long day, and entertain guests in the evening. If any room deserves to wow its visitors, it’s that one. 

As any visual artist will tell you, to make something beautiful, you need to know how to draw one’s eye to the right place and leave something spectacular there for them to find. If you are looking to paint this type of design over your home, the long, detailed lines of an antique wood decorative beam are the perfect brush.

The structure and heft of a box beam, matched with the graceful patina and timeless character of reclaimed wood can elevate the look and feel of any space. Manomin Resawn Timbers has been happy to work with a number of local builders to bring you these wonderful living room decorative beam ideas for your home.

Decorative Beam Idea 1) Outline a space within an open concept

Decorative box beams are a perfect way to split up areas within an open concept space. It’s easy for the different components to get lost in each other, but providing some visual separation can make each element stand out in an impressive way.

Stockwell Homes in Edina, MN took this idea seriously with their recent Sioux Trail renovation. Using antique white oak box beams from Manomin Resawn Timbers, they framed this elegant dining nook - no walls needed. 

Sturdy, vertical oak draws your attention upwards to the decorative ceiling beams that outline the footprint of the dining room table. The gorgeous white oak matches the bright colors of the room which bask in the natural light from the nearby bow windows.

Thus the dining area is distinguished from the attached kitchen and living room for an effect that will make the home stand out in the mind of any visitor. The elegant decorative beams allow for the marriage of modern open concept designs and an old school feel.

Decorative Beam Idea 2) Connect two spaces for a coherent aesthetic

When there is a wall between your rooms, but you still want the separate areas to feel like one space, decorative ceiling beams can bridge the gap. By implementing some far-reaching box beams in one room, and picking up where you left off in the next, you can bring the two spaces together despite the barrier between.

Reclaimed timber box beams make a stunning addition to any room regardless of their orientation, but running them lengthwise across two rooms accomplishes the effect of elongating your home and ensures a cohesive feel throughout. Accompanying the horizontal lines with a truss of decorative ceiling beams will only enhance the experience of looking up.

Pillar Homes, a custom home builder based in Wayzata, MN, executed this design to perfection in their new Lake Lydiard European Estate - recently featured on the Artisan Home Tour. Manomin’s milled original face box beams were used judiciously throughout the living room and kitchen for a grand-yet-rustic style that covers the whole main floor.

Decorative Beam Idea 3) Enjoy the beauty and class of coffered ceilings

As much as you might want glorious, vaulted ceilings around your whole house, nothing makes a lower, flatter ceiling sing with grace quite like a coffered ceiling. With decorative, reclaimed wood beams, you can add a feeling of grandiose to your living space without having to knock out a chunk of your second floor.

A coffered ceiling made from decorative beams will elevate the aesthetic of any gathering space in need of some upward character. Reclaimed timber box beams are the perfect solution to bring some texture to an otherwise mellow ceiling.

Our weathered antique box beams made their way into a sleek, new Montana style lodge, completing the game room with a simple coffered ceiling that breaks up the clean white surface. Builder Mark D. Williams used these decorative beams to not just create structure in the room, but to craft an ambience. The reclaimed wood talks to the panels of the walls and bar and speaks life into the ranch atmosphere.

Decorative Beam Idea 4) Use decorative beams to highlight the features of your living room

Decorative wood ceiling beams can bring out the best in your living room without even leaving the borders. Every room has enchanting natural lines and angles, whether they are clearly visible or not. Embrace those details!

A handful of well-placed box beams will highlight and accentuate the inherent structure in your room and transform a matte ceiling-scape into an intriguing study in architecture. Coloring in some lines and not others will allow your eye to see the more mundane arcs in a contrasting new light.

Wooddale Builders brought this idea to life with their recently built luxury home in Medina, MN. A crown of reclaimed white oak beams sits atop their cozy, modern living room. The bright wood attracts you upwards to see the clean outline of the room. While there, your eye might wander to find the faint traces of the eaves lurking outside.

Decorative Beam Idea 5) Mix old and new materials for a fresh take on the rustic wood beam

Nor-Son Custom Builders approached the idea of decorative ceiling beams with stylish creativity in their new Whitefish lake house where they aimed to blend rustic and modern. In this artistic build, they elected to mix hard steel with our weathered antique box beams for a brand new take on the barn ceiling.

The reclaimed timber frames the high ceilings and reaches across the span like any decorative ceiling beam, but it falls short. The cross beam is sawn in half, and a wrought iron bar stretches between the two sides, supporting a custom steel light fixture in the center.

The effect is a contemporary living space with no shortage of visual interest to pull your eye in one direction or another. The dark hues of the antique wood almost blend into the natural stonework on the walls, while the black window and door frames pop against the bright white walls. 

Interested in adding decorative ceiling beams to your living room?

Whether you are interested in remodeling a less than spectacular living room at home, or eager to build a brand new space to wow your friends and family, these living room decorative beam ideas are ideal for giving life and style to the place where you like to kick back. Reclaimed wood box beams are a versatile tool that can accent an old cabin style room as well as they can a new contemporary one.

If you are eager for more uses for our gorgeous antique wood box beams, check out our previous blog with 11 decorative ceiling beam ideas.

Reach out to us at Manomin Resawn Timbers any time to start looking at our beautiful, reclaimed wood box beams. We work with a number of Minnesota custom home builders and remodelers who would be happy to get those beams into place in your new living room.