With dealing with new wood construction the first step you have to take is to the prime the wood, the second step after the primer has dried is to then fill the all the nail holes and sand smooth.
There is always a ton of nail holes with this kind of construction. Fortunately most are small. In the first photo I have primed the mantel areas and tv niche. This entire wall is new, the stack stone and brick as well as the mantel. In the second photo you tend to get an idea about nail holes.
After I sand down the patching material I apply the base coat of paint for the wood grain. Ordinarily this is where the client says, "Wait stop! You are suppose to make it look like wood." I used this color as a base coat so the end product would go well along side the brick.
Once the tv is mounted in the niche there is a pocket sliding door that will cover it when not in use.
The next photo shows how I have started the process of making the niche look like wood.
The last photo on this area shows the completed look. The pocket door comes out great and wood tone goes really well with the brick.
If you will notice the ceiling in the series of pictures above show that it is arched. Before the remodel the ceiling was a standard 8 foot, flat across.
In the next photo you can see how the foyer ceiling was also opened up. The red arrow shows the original height of the ceiling before it was opened up. The beams were added and I painted them to look like wood.
A few nail holes to deal with when I first started, which always makes working over your head more of a challenge. I had also taken off the fan blades and painted them to match the beams.
A closer look at the crown molding.
All in all a good job and the clients love it.