It depends on the species of wood (I.e. How hard or soft) and whether or not the ambient temperature can remain as stable as possible. What you caulk and paint in warmer weather may look great now, but when it begins to get colder, the wood begins to shrink, and the caulk will begin to pull away. This will look worse than if you didn't caulk at all. My suggestion is to use a caulk like the brand called "Big Stretch " in an attempt to avoid this.

Depends on which room it is! If you're spending a lot of time in there, a lighter colour is best because with warmer colours, it tends to bring down the roof a bit if that makes sense - what did you end up doing?

Led lighting running on both sides of each of the beams - you can buy it in strips. I would go for a bright white but you can even get it in colours and or changing colours. I would also do the same along the floor under the cabinets and perhaps between the upper cabinets and bench top.

When I first looked , I thought there were blue tones in the room , and I gave up haha . But looking again , I think the main tones are grey and charcoal ? I hope so . . . . . So paint ( or wallpaper ) that whole wall . Personally , I'd go burnt orange in a paint ( which , of course , isn't all that orange ) , or something in a bright or rich red base , if wallpapered -- imagine a rich red with thin beige and mid gold vertical lines if you want a classic look for example . Then matching modern standard lamps -- 1 each end . Wall mount the TV , or go for a bigger tele ( yes , I know , a lot of people don't want that as the feature , but it is a big wall ! ) BUT add 1 or 2 prints or paintings on that wall too -- again , my personal choice would be one bigger than your TV , with bright red base tones ( against a rich red wallpaper ) , and splashes of orange and yellow and beige and blue and -- you get the idea ! An abstract landscape or racehorse or torso or whatever floats your boat -- I don't like the swirly or straight line types of art , but obviously some people do . Still look sparse ? A large colourful glazed pot or two , with suitable indoor leafy plants/cactii/similar . A big shaggy rug in a warm red or orange or orangy red . Adds life , colour , warmth -- all around a common theme . And thats why I shuddered at the initial thought of blue -- 7 different blue tones will never look as warm , and red and orange never looks as good against a blue , so you are stuck with the colder look IMO .