Ugly beam on my ceiling needs help
 

I have a large center beam in my living room-it's about 6" thick, 12" wide and 16' long. And it's ugly dark rough wood. Other than painting it, what can I do to improve the look of it? The ceiling is white texture and this dark rough-hewn beam really sticks out as an eyesore.

I have a friend who had the same problem. He went to his local builder supply store and got that cedar tongue and groove closet liner material and some bead for the corners and edges by the walls. I think it cost less than $50. He covered the beam with the cedar, put the bead on it and coated it in tongue oil. It looks really great! Did it in a day too. Now instead of lookig ugly, it's a really classy look!

Why dont you fix wall/plasterboard to it, bead off to straighten the edges and paint or texture it