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Strip them if you can.

I think that painting them would be a faux pas... then again, they appear to have a very shiny finish currently, and that's not so pretty.

I think that stripping them is your best option. It would look much more natural- literally less glaring.

Have you thought about painting the ceiling a slightly darker color than the walls? This could help ease the transition between pale walls and dark beams. It would be really neat and modern to see an actual color up there, but even a deeper neutral would make the room appear less cavernous.

Strip them if you have the energy, otherwise paint them and the ceiling white? I think that is what i would do.

I hope you don't equate "modern" with "blah". The room has character - and mid-century design is full of color and contrasting textures - making everything beige would be boring.

strip'em. please don't paint. i've seen very modern looking rooms that still had quite a few natural elements.

Depends on what look you want to go for. If you want some "earthy and natural" elements in your house to go with more organic type MCM decor (think pottery, plants, mixed with Kilim rugs, etc) then I'd strip them.

For a clean, streamlined look paint the ceiling and beams the same color white.

And thank god that isn't your furniture, 'cause I was thinking something snarky - "those beams are the least of your problems." Oy, those sofas!

There are no wrong decisions. Your home is lovely.

Stripping them would look amazing.

Maybe stripping, if you know what you're going to find under the dark finish. Please, I beg you, don't paint them white. Lots of white paint is good to cover "ugly." Your beams are beautiful. Something beautiful will die if you paint them white.

YES. Paint white.

I grew up in a Spanish style home in Santa Barbara and the beams in most of that style homes are either natural wood or dark stained wood. I would not paint them and agree with the others here of going natural.
My house had dark stained but the rooms were much larger. I think natural in this room with white walls would look best and mix your modern furniture with some classic spanish style wood pieces like a console or a bench and Kilim style rugs as Lizzy mentioned.

I would not go too modern with light fixtures, something simple but with more of a spanish flair, go check out Liz's antiques on La Brea Blvd for some ideas.

if you do decide to mix in spanish style furniture-
this site has some nice things http://mexicanstyle.com/furniture_tc_one.html

There are some really great furniture places in San Miguel De Allende, Guanauanto and even shipping some pieces is cheaper than buying something here and the craftsmanship is really good..I love the shops and galleries in the Fabril De La Aurora the old textile factory.
This place had so much beautiful furniture and accessories- http://www.fabricalaaurora.com/locales/youts.html

My mother stripped the dark beams in her house back the original colour and varnished them. The old varnish had darkened over the years and just using methyl hydrate did the trick to bring them back to awesomeness.

Here is a after photo
http://flickr.com/photos/blindcavefish/3288596324/

Keep them as is, but go light on the walls for a high contrast look. It will give it much more interest.

Leave them dark! The architecture of a house is what gives it character, and painting them white would severely diminish yours.
If you must do something with the ceiling I would consider painting the lighter portion a bright color, possibly periwinkle or celadon. The contrast would be very modern.

I like the dark color of the beams. I would paint the ceiling and the walls the same color -- the beams will then stand out beautifully and will contrast with the rest of your decor instead of clash.

Strip them if you think they are too dark, but do not paint them white! I've seen some really lovely rooms with dark wood floors, white walls, trim and fireplaces, and dark beamed ceilings. I happen to like high contrast rooms though.

Normally I'm all for painting wood trim but I wouldn't in your case--you'll lose the spanish flavour of the room. I'll add another vote for stripping and leaving unvarnished or using a low-gloss finish.

1. i'd say stripping
2. or sandblasting would be really cool
3. and i'd paint them white before leaving them like this. its about your happiness in the house, don't think about what future buyers might think of it. they can always strip your paint off when they move in

Depends. Strip it and go natural, paint it white to open it up more, or paint it red and go wild!

I can understand why you'd choose to paint the walls and change the arts-and crafts light fixtures to something more in keeping with the Spanish Colonial style of the house - but why on earth would you change the beams? Sandblasting/stripping those beams would be a tedious, messy and expensive proposition with no payback, and painting them to match the ceiling would diminish the value of your home. They're beautiful as they are, are in keeping with the style of the home and are a close match to the gorgeous dark floors.

Although much of your existing furnishings are MCM now, once you move in you might realize that you bought a Spanish Colonial because you like this style and want to create a warm cozy home with some non-MCM character.

If you want to Lose THOUSANDS on resale paint them. The charm of the house is Spanish- and that is what the next buyers will want, and they WON"T have your mid century furniture! Big Mistake

I have never understood people buying a gorgeous house with period details who then decide to strip the house of all it's character in order to fit the furniture they have.

Why would you buy a house that is a perfectly lovely example of 1920's LA Spanish style only to defile it and try to make it mid-century modern!? Why not buy a mid-century modern house? They are everywhere in Southern California. This is as sacrilegious as someone buying a mid-century modern house and sticking gingerbread moulding on the outside and filling it with French provincial furniture.

Be true to the home and leave it alone.

Leave the beams as is, but paint the ceiling to reduce the contrast and warm it up. Something a couple shades lighter than whatever you put on the walls.

BTW - That ceiling is begging to be painted a soft golden tone which will help with the beams contrast and give the room a nice warm glow.

I'd even go so far as to add some wood trim to the side walls between the beams and stain them the same color as the beams to act as a sort of crown moulding.

While mid-century is all the rage now, remember shabby chic?? Gross now, right? This is the next thing in design that will surely fade away into our design embarressments. I am all for fads and being up on the next big thing, but this home is truly amazing. YES paint, yes bring in your MCM furniture, but don't decrease the value of the home for a fad. Leave the beams alone. It will still be awesome.

I'd paint them. even with a Christmas tree the room looks gloomy.

I think the beams and dark floors look great. It's the other stuff in the room that isn't working.

The previous owners tried to make the Spanish house Arts & Crafts, with bad results. Trying to make it MCM will look just as bad.

Go with the original architecture, put in your furniture, and enjoy the contrast.

Well, it's your house, but I tend to agree that the beams are a MAJOR feature and many people in the world would lynch you for messing with them. So think about it carefully before choose to paint them. (Not for fear of lynching, but because of the REASONS why they would be upset!)

Personally, I would leave them or strip and refinish them, and paint the ceiling a color either a few shades lighter or darker than the walls. Just because the architecture is Spanish doesn't mean you have to have the whole house be Spanish. For all you know, the owners of that house in the 1950's had all mid-century furnishings...

Thanks for the many useful and thoughtful comments – much appreciated. I should have been more clear in my post that we are not trying to turn a Spanish home into something else; we just don’t want a significant style clash. I, too, think the beams are beautiful. I just fear they might be tough with our furnishings. But I’m open to keeping them as is (which is not original, btw – the high gloss was added recently). In all events, I hear the strong opinions about not painting and am convinced. I think we’ll move our furniture and art in and live there awhile before making a decision. Maybe we’ll love the beams with our things once we’re there.

To the person who thought I might equate MC with “blah”: We’re painting the walls neutral because our rugs, furniture and art have a lot of color, and a neutral background shows them to greater effect. We’ve tried strong (and medium and light) color on the walls, and we like it this way best.

To the person who thinks I will “defile” my home by switching some light fixtures and considering what to do with beams, I say take a deep breath. We bought this house because it meets many of our family/work/visitor/location needs. I like Spanish; I love MC. We’ve lived in both and made a decision to buy this house based on many factors. As noted earlier, I’m not trying to turn a Spanish home into a MC one; I’m trying to make our furnishings and architecture integrate nicely. Also, changing current light fixtures that are a style that is different from the architecture does not equal “stripping a house of all its character.” Seriously, play nice or leave.

Finally, my interest in MC is not a fad. I have family pieces and many that were purchased before MC became all the rage. I also have non-MC pieces. I, too, hate Shabby Chic, and I hated it when it was popular. Just because what one likes happens to be popular is not a reason to abandon a genuinely enjoyed style.

Thanks again for the many helpful, thoughtful opinions. This blog is a great resource.

Thank you for deciding against painting the beams. Natural wood and MCM can be a happy couple. Oh, and congrats on scoring such a lovely house.

For those who may be bored with the MCM thing, it's always been around, just now that EVERYONE wants to do that look but it's something that has always been a favorite for many of us for years and years and years, including yours trully. I decided liked that look way back in junior High, and that was around 30 years ago now.

Now my range is more than just the MCM, but other modern styles as well.

And as for the house here, I think the beams may be fine as is, but I'd soften the sheen a bit if at all possible but leave them be as is for they go with the floors and other woodwork and will work just fine w/ the more modern pieces that will grace the house soon enough.

And I might add, many modern wooden pieces do come in a dark stained walnut along with teak and other mid toned woods.

Keep them as they are and get rid of that naff textured ceiling [and wall] paint.

Paint!

Strip them if you can down to the wood and either stain or just seal, depending on what wood tones you already have in your furniture.

If you're going to paint, I would suggest painting the beams a different shade of white than the ceiling... something a bit warmer. If the ceiling is flat, also consider painting the beams in a semi or gloss.

The contrast will be subtle, but it will be there.

Jeeze people there is nothing wrong with mixing the furniture you have with a different style home.

In this case the poster is asking about what to do with the beam's color.

Don't judge if they have MCM furniture and bought a Spanish style home, good for them that they bought a home!!
Most of the posts here are a mix of styles that everyone whos and haws over. Not all of use can be purist. I live in a typical Sf flat and its not MCM but most of the furniture I have is and have had for 18 year is so I live with it. I love what I have and feel no reason to go out and buy Victorian furniture to match my house style.

Personally, I think MCM looks great mixed with other pieces and it goes with almost any style home.

Good luck Laura and please post the outcome!

The beams are beautiful, and the home's character would be greatly diminished if the beams were painted in order to "blend in" with current furniture trends.

Leave the beams alone, and paint the ceiling a warm, earthy (but no too dark), mid-tone gold. And paint the walls something a bit darker.

Then, against this beautiful backdrop, add your MCM furniture. It really DOES work to mix styles and periods. Have you seen Victorian homes with modern furniture? Gorgeous. And so much more interesting than bland old "blending in" and sameness.

About 10 years ago, the LA Times ran photos of Nancy Silverton's Hancock Park home... Very traditional craftsman architecture, filled with MCM furniture. Fabulous. (Tried to find the photos, but only got her restaurant results... and I think she's moved.)

Here's the Nancy Silverton article, but I don't know if you can still access the images...

http://articles.latimes.com/2002/oct/27/magazine/tm-home43

I like the idea of painting the walls/ceiling a lighter color - it will probably brighten up what seems to be a gloomy room and will be a nice contrast with the floors and beams. I too have vibrant furniture, curtains, and accessories, and don't feel the need to make the wall color a bold statement in competition with the rest of the room. If it were me I'd either leave the beams dark (for contrast with the light color) or strip them down to the original wood color and finish with a clear/light varnish to preserve the beauty of the wood (without the sheen). Can't wait to see what you do with the room! Happy decorating :)

If you have the time and can do it strip the beams and see what they look like underneath. If they look good and go with your look, keep it, if not, paint it!

With your own furniture in the room, you may see it in a different light.