Sky's Old House - Wood Problems

This week has been painting prep week at Sky's Old House. But the poor hubby is pulling his hair out because he hasn't accomplished even half of what he thought he would this week. The issue is the wood freaking ceiling, specifically the part that goes outside the house under the eaves. The plan has always been to strip the old white paint off the wood from under the eaves, prep the wood inside and out and then stain it all the same color. I was stoked on the idea of this continuous ceiling that goes from inside the house to out. But what we didn't plan on was the wood outside the eaves being in such a horrible state. According to two painters we've talked to they've both said no matter how much prep and patch work we do there is no guarantee that it will look nice when you are done staining. But I really don't like the idea of having the outside white and the inside stained. I also feel if we do the whole ceiling white (inside and out) it will have a super cottage look and not the mid-century modern look we are going for. So we now have a new plan!!! Instead of spending another whole week prepping the wood without any guarantee it will look good. We are thinking of refacing the outside wood with a new thin wood plank. It will cost a bit more but we think it will give us the look we want. Fingers crossed! Here is what we are currently dealing with...........