Exposed Beams... LVL versus milled timber

As we go along there are issues small and large to be addressed.  It seems building is never really straightforward.  At the moment we are having to decide what to do with the exposed beams.  The issue is that our exposed beams are long.  Too long for milled timber to be used without requiring some kind of join (either bolt plates or some other kind of joining plate which has the potential to look dodgy according to Michael, the building designer).  So our other option is using LVL instead of the Victorian Ash/Spotted gum we'd planned on . 

LVL (Laminated veneer lumber) is an engineered timber, similar to plywood, with multiple layers of timber glued together.  Apparently it is stronger and less likely to warp than milled timber and is more sustainable.  And in our case suitable because it can be produced in longer lengths so we won't have to have joins in our exposed beams. 

There are a couple of things to consider:  
1. Weather/durability:  Our beams run all the way through to the external parts of the house (i.e. onto the deck) so whatever we use has to be ok out in the weather. Scott, our builder assures us there is an LVL product which would be suitable for our external beams. 
2.  Aesthetics:  We just can't help but worry that LVL will be a bit too modern looking, as opposed to a nice big chunk of milled timber...  It's difficult because I guess I don't really know what LVL really looks like "in the flesh".


So I've been trying to google some images to see what LVL looks like, here is what I've come up with:

Eclectic Living Room by San Francisco Media & Bloggers California Home + Design

Contemporary Kitchen by Chicago Design-Build Firms Revelation Design Development

Contemporary Dining Room by Portland Architects & Designers Donna Wax, Architect

 

 

Anyway... as with most of these sorts of things, I think whatever we choose will be fine and we'll probably not even think about it after a few weeks/months/years of living in our house.