stuart noble wrote:

I was told that the finish will look sandblasted

As might be expected if you blast it with sand :-)
However, there are many other types of blast media - baking soda, walnut
shells, corn cob, and a whole range of plastic beads.
How many of these are practical in your living room I'm not sure, but
blasting is not a method to be dismissed based on its traditional
association with sand.

No, it's a method to be dismissed because it's ****e. And produces a lot
of ****e which hangs around your house forever. Every sandblasted finish
I have seen proudly touted by one builder after another has been
dreadful, no matter how they whittle on about walnut shells etc. The
method involves the least work for them, that's why they like it. It
ruins the appearance of the beams, and it's a great way to create a
house that rains grit on the occupants. Builders never, ever clean up
properly.

The wire brushing technique that I recommended is slower (just) but
produces a good finish provided that one uses a hand brush, not an angle
grinder.