Our Wood Plank Vaulted Ceiling Makeover: From an Ugly Cedar Beam to the Living Room of My Dreams

When we moved into this house, a low, ugly cedar beam ran straight across the vaulted ceiling in our living room. Living with it felt like watching TV with a ballcap on — permanently. This is the story of our wood plank vaulted ceiling makeover: how we took that beam down, planked the whole ceiling in pine, stained it Early American, built in bookshelves around the fireplace, and finally hung the chandelier I’d been dreaming about. It’s the project that turned our long, narrow living room into the room we actually wanted all along.

• The space: a 10′ x 22′ living room with a vaulted ceiling
• The problems: a low cedar beam, blank walls on either side of the fireplace, and a speaker system with nowhere to live
• The ceiling: planked in pine, stained Early American (oil-based)
• The built-ins: birch, stained to match
• The lighting: ceiling fan out, chandelier in
• The crew: my husband John, plus my mom and dad

The cedar beam that had to go

That beam was the first thing your eye hit when you walked in, and not in a good way. It cut the vault in half and dragged the whole ceiling down with it. Every time we sat down to watch something, it sat there at the top of the frame like a brim pulled too low — I could not unsee it.

When John finally took it down, it felt like a massive pressure had been lifted, like the room could finally breathe. One beam gone, and suddenly the ceiling looked twice as tall.

The other two problems: blank walls and runaway speakers

The beam was not the only thing bugging me. There were these empty spaces to the left and right of the fireplace that I always knew could be built-ins — they were practically begging for it. And then there were the speakers. John had bought a whole speaker system because our 10×22 living room is so long and narrow that it was honestly hard to hear anything in here. I understood the why. But I hated watching them just sit everywhere, and it drove me a little crazy.

So when we decided to redo the ceiling, we decided to fix all three things at once: the beam, the blank walls, and the homeless speakers.

How we built our wood plank vaulted ceiling

Once the beam was out and the room was cleared, my parents came over to help us tackle the ceiling and the built-ins. We planked the entire vault in pine, board by board, running them all the way up both sides to the peak. Even raw and unstained, the wood plank vaulted ceiling completely changed the feel of the room — warmer, more intentional, more cabin-in-the-hill-country and less builder-grade beige.

Staining the beams and ceiling in Early American

Here is the part my arms still remember: my mom and I stained all the beams and boards by hand. The wood is pine, and we used an oil-based stain in Early American. It pulled out this rich, golden-brown warmth that made the whole ceiling glow. It was slow, sticky, look-up-until-your-neck-aches work — and so worth it.

Built-in bookshelves around the fireplace

The built-ins finally gave those blank walls a purpose. We framed in bookshelves on both sides of the fireplace, and this is where the speakers finally got a home — tucked right into the shelving instead of scattered across the floor.

The bookshelves are birch, stained in the same Early American. They read a little different in color than the pine ceiling, but I actually think they complement each other — same family, slightly different note. Once they were in, I got to the best part: styling them. I thrifted all kinds of fun little things for the shelves, and we found a ton of books for almost nothing at a thrift store in Leakey. Cheap books, good bones, instant character.

Goodbye ceiling fan, hello chandelier

The last big swap was the light. We took down the old ceiling fan and put up this gorgeous chandelier, hung right at the peak of the vault. It is the kind of small change that does a disproportionate amount of work — it pulls your eye up to the new ceiling instead of letting it stop at a spinning fan.

Before and after

Side by side, it barely looks like the same room. We went from a beam-capped, beige ceiling with speakers underfoot to a warm wood plank vaulted ceiling, built-ins full of thrifted books, and a chandelier I love. We still have the fireplace itself to finish — that is a story for another post — but the ceiling and built-ins are done, and they are everything I hoped for.

Wood plank vaulted ceiling makeover: FAQ

What kind of wood did you use for the ceiling?

Pine planks, run up both sides of the vault to the peak.

What stain color is the ceiling?

Early American, in an oil-based stain. We applied it by hand.

What are the built-in bookshelves made of?

Birch, stained in the same Early American. The birch reads slightly different from the pine, but the tones complement each other.

Did removing the cedar beam really make a difference?

Hugely. Taking out the low beam made the vaulted ceiling feel taller and the whole room feel calmer — it is the single change that opened everything up.

Where did you get the books and decor for the shelves?

Mostly thrifted, including a haul of books for almost nothing at a thrift store in Leakey, Texas.

What is left to do?

The fireplace. The ceiling, beams, built-ins, and chandelier are finished; the fireplace is our next project.