Welcome to our gallery, featuring a gorgeous array of luxurious living rooms with exposed beam ceilings.
Exposed beams are always a striking addition to any space, no matter the design or style.
The main function of exposed beams is that they flip the traditional practice of concealing the architecture on its head. Instead of hiding the construction elements of the home, they reveal the “bones” of a home and show them off in a classy fashion.
Beyond exposing the rich structural elements of a home, exposed beams grant a natural and compelling contrast to any interior space. The juxtaposition of building materials and the facades that surround them is endlessly fascinating.
We most often see exposed natural wood beams within grand rooms that stand below a vaulted ceiling. The standard A-frame construction of the beams feels rustic, old-fashioned, and ultimately durable.
Another place we often see exposed beams is when they’re worked into a standard ceiling design, as in our top featured photo, above. The gentle application of the thick beams adds visual complexity and a sense of rugged timelessness to the room.
Because the beams themselves often evoke a rustic charm, you might think they don’t belong in a modern setting. However, we have a variety of rooms in this gallery that prove exposed beams can feature prominently and sympathetically in virtually any style of space.
Modern and contemporary living rooms often use beams as a textural contrast, while some attempt to blend the entire look into a more homogenous style.
No matter the look of the home interior or the style of the setting, a solid set of exposed beams can and will truly elevate the atmosphere.
Read on for inspiration for your own living room ideas from our gallery of exposed beam designs.
1. Vaulted Wood Panel Ceiling Features Reclaimed Wood Beams
The warm red tile flooring and white walls make for a rich contrast in this living room beneath a sleek wood panel ceiling with exposed ceiling beams. The rustic-style room is surrounded by windows and features a large fireplace.
2. Natural Wood Beams Contrast with Contemporary Design
Here’s a more contemporary living room design with white walls, hardwood flooring, and wide arch entries. The white ceiling features the high contrast appearance of rich natural wood exposed beams.
3. White Log Beams Add to Beach-House Style
In this expansive open-plan room, the living room glows with the warmth of hardwood flooring and bright wood curved ceiling beams. Large openings toward a balcony blur the line between indoors and out.
4. Vaulted Ceiling Supported with White Exposed Beams and Trusses
This open-plan living area sports a high-contrast look with dark hardwood flooring and white walls and ceiling. The vaulted ceiling is crossed with white exposed beams for a truly unified look.
- See more of this home here. Designed by Baahouse + Baastudio.
5. Double-Height Living Room Designed with Rustic Log Beams
Here’s a bold modern room with rustic natural wood touches throughout, including the log-style exposed beam ceiling. With a pair of lofts flanking the space, it makes the most of its height.
6. Dark Wood Exposed Beams Contrast with Sloped White Panel Ceiling
With a sloped white wood panel ceiling, this living room infuses some visual complexity and textural nuance into its space with dark wood exposed beams, matching the tone of the hardwood flooring.
- See more of this home here. Designed by SoCal Contractor.
7. Exposed Log Beams Run Length of Massive Vaulted Ceiling
This vast living room within a modern rustic-styled home is flush with natural wood from the flooring up. Exposed beam logs run the length of the massive vaulted ceiling, matching the walls for texture and tone.
8. Black-Painted Beams Stand Out in Contemporary Design
This contemporary setting pairs rich materials with a modern sense of scale. The stone fireplace wall, dark tile flooring, and rich wood walls share a space beneath a white ceiling with black-painted exposed beams.
- See more of this home here. Designed by Jaime Bush & Co.
9. Natural Wood Beams Support Vaulted Ceiling
In a truly grand and elegant formal living room, a broad marble-floored space sits beneath a massive vaulted ceiling in natural wood, crossed with exposed beams. A singular chandelier hangs from the center over a set of traditionally styled furniture.
10. Double-Height Living Room Designed with Rustic Log Beams
Here’s another great vaulted ceiling in white, with dark wood exposed beams for contrast. The rich furnishings of the living room stand in natural light, courtesy of full-height windows.
11. Open-Plan Great Room with Country Cabin Feel
This enormous open-plan living room boasts a strong country cabin feel, with mounted animal busts and a massive stone fireplace. The cathedral ceiling is supported by warm wood exposed beams.
12. Dark and White Exposed Beams Intersect
In a contemporary setting wrapped in off-white and grounded by rich hardwood flooring, the double-height space adds some fine contrast with dark exposed wood ceiling beams. Tall windows allow for an open, airy look.
13. Natural Wood Beams Add Visual Interest
This traditionally appointed living room in all white features a rich array of furniture and a marble fireplace, sharing space below a white ceiling with natural wood exposed beams.
- See more of this home here. Designed by CEILTRIM Inc.
14. Rustic Wood Beams Support Double-Height Vaulted Ceiling
Elegant arched entryways perforate the walls of this immense living room. The double-height vaulted ceiling in beige contrasts with rich natural wood exposed beams.
15. Natural Wood Beams Support Vaulted Ceiling
Here’s another double-height living room centered on a stone fireplace. The dark tile flooring contrasts with rich wood walls and ceiling, while exposed beams hang between propeller-styled ceiling fans.
16. Soaring Vaulted Ceiling with White Exposed Beams
A soaring vaulted ceiling in white with exposed beams hangs above this vast open-plan living room. The exterior wall is entirely comprised of windows for expansive views and natural lighting.
See more of this home here. Designed by Webb & Brown Neaves.
17. Dark Exposed Wood Beams Match Hardwood Flooring
The large red brick fireplace is the centerpiece of this rustic living room. Natural hardwood flooring contrasts beige walls and ceilings crossed with exposed wood beams.
See more of this home here. Designed by Miller + Miller Real Estate.
18. Rich Natural Wood Beams Match the Floor and Ceiling
Rich natural wood flooring and ceiling sandwich this large living room with matching exposed beams. A massive leather sectional wraps a button-tufted ottoman at the center.
See more of this home here. Designed by Garrison Hullinger Interior Design.
19. Exposed Log Beams Crisscross with White Pillars
The rich stone walls and hardwood flooring conspire within this living room for an elegant, timeless look. Log-style exposed ceiling beams provide high contrast.
- See more of this home here. Designed by Locati Architects. Photography by Roger Wade Studio.
20. Exposed Wood Beams Add Rustic Touch in Contemporary Setting
This angular living room features beige from the tile flooring to the walls and ceiling. The exposed wooden beams offer some high contrast and a rustic touch.
- See more of this home here. Source: Zillow Digs / Listings
21. Stone Walls, Marble Floor and Exposed Wood Beam Ceiling
In a modern open-plan home with stone walls and marble flooring, a natural wood vaulted ceiling with exposed timber beams brings the atmosphere down to earth.
- See more of this home here. Designed by SAOTA.
22. Rustic Living Room Decked Out in Brick and Wood
This deeply rustic living space sandwiches modern furniture between light brick walls. The high ceiling sports dark rustic wood exposed beams for contrast.
- See more of this home here. Designed by Red Rock Contractors.
22. Red I-Beam Framework Exposed in Ultra-Modern Setting
This ultra-modern home decor features minimalist elegance, white walls, and hardwood flooring. The red I-beam framework of the home is exposed here along the concrete ceiling.
- See more of this home here. Designed by Denise Macedo Architects.
23. Dark Wood Exposed Beams Match Patio Door Frames
In a more cozy living room centered on a light stone fireplace, dark exposed wood beams offer some contrast and complexity, matching the framing of the patio doors at the right.
- See more of this home here. Designed by Ellen Grasso & Sons.
24. Logs and Sticks Make Up the Roof in Contemporary Tropical Design
In a tropical, open-design home with wraparound glazing, a rustic-styled vaulted ceiling with log-exposed beams adds a dose of contrast and timelessness.
- See more of this home here. Designed by SAOTA.
25. Dark Wood Ceiling Towers Over All-White Living Room
This elegant country-styled living room enjoys great views and fresh air, courtesy of a large patio opening at the right. The beige walls are contrasted with a dark-stained wood ceiling crossed with exposed beams.
- Source: Zillow Digs
26. Living Room Features Exposed Wood Beams and Brick Accents
Large format tile flooring underpins this living room beneath massive windows and a white ceiling with exposed natural wood beams.
- See more of this home here. Designed by Coronado Stone Products and Standard Pacific Homes.
27. Traditional Materials Rock Open-Concept Design
This minimalist open-design living room crosses rich traditional materials with modern design. The sloped white ceiling is crossed with natural wood beams, glowing in the natural light courtesy of full-height windows.
28. Great Room Framed with Dark Natural Wood Accents
This expansive two-story living room is surrounded by windows, highlighting the broad swaths of rich natural wood and stone. The white ceiling boasts the high contrast of dark natural wood exposed beams.
- See more of this home here. Designed by Jaffa Group.
29. Burnt, Textured Exposed Wood Fills Upper Space
In high contrast, the modern rustic living room, burnt textured exposed beams fill the upper area of the two-story room. Folding glass doors allow direct access to the patio.
- See more of this home here. Designed by Red Rock Contractors.
