It’s not that we think our house is haunted or anything but…
out latest project involved the color “haint blue”, just in case. (Wink wink.)
I think just maybe my Southern side is showing today. I don’t have a very thick accent (despite being raised here in South Carolina). I wouldn’t eat livermush if it was the last edible thing on earth, but a haint blue porch ceiling makes me start belting out Dolly Parton songs. “Iiiiiii will always love youuuuuu.”
Except I wasn’t loving the porch ceiling in the beginning.
I mean, I really REALLY liked it. Hello, pretty bead board. But it wasn’t love.
Like a lot of the trim and ceilings in our house, it was a yellowy beige, which just isn’t how I roll.
These rusted ceiling fans were about to bite the dust too.
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Later in the summer, Robert and I have several big cookouts and backyard gatherings planned with family and friends, so this back porch suddenly got bumped up on the priority list.
We have a lot of ideas for our backyard, most of which won’t be happening immediately as we focus on other spaces inside, but we figured a porch ceiling makeover would help perk up the outdoor situation a lot.
I tested out 5 “haintish” blue colors to find the perfect one and landed on Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue. We tried out a few others too like Sherwin Williams Topsail, Sherwin Williams Pool Blue, Sherwin Williams Rainwashed, and Benjamin Moore Wythe Blue, but Palladian Blue was the winner since I didn’t want it too green or too dark.
And we swapped out the rusted, busted ceiling fans for these two Seahaven fans from Hunter Fan. I’m totally goo-goo eyed for these babies. It’s been a scorcher this week, so they’ve been on full blast every time we’re out here and need a good breeze.
My camera really doesn’t do the fans or the ceiling color justice. We still have a lot of the yellowy beige on the French doors, trim, and porch railings, so I think that bounces around some of that yellow on the ceiling right now.
We’ll eventually cover the beige out here with a bright white, but we’re holding off until we can paint the rest of the house.
By the way, if you’ve never heard of the Southern tradition of painting a porch blue, it came from the Gullah superstition that aqua blue was the color of the dead and could chase evil spirits away. For a couple hundred years now, Southerners have painted their porch ceilings to keep the “haints” from entering houses.
Some people say it’s to keep bugs and birds off of your porch too, but it’s still plenty buggy out here, unless the fans are on.
For now, we put our World Market outdoor chairs from our old patio out here along with some accessories we moved from the old house until we get a better plan together.
I would love to eventually add a swing out here or an outdoor dining table, so I’m keeping my eyes peeled on Craigslist a.k.a. online thrift shopping.
Have you ever painted your porch ceiling “haint” blue? Do you have a favorite paint color for it? Or have any other Southern decorating traditions you use? (Which reminds me, pineapples are everywhere right now! I think Dolly would approve.)
A big thanks to Hunter Fan for providing fans for this post.
Bed Swing! Y’all are pretty handy, build one:)
That’s what I’m thinking too. 😉 Would LOVE a bed swing!
Love it!! and your floors are beautiful! What are they? wood? tile?
So pretty! I loved it before but even more now!
Have not heard of this tradition and I’ve lived in the South all my life! Love the porch though 🙂 so impressed at how many projects y’all have powered through so far! How do y’all have the energy??!
Yes, as a southern girl (woman?) too, my porch, etc, has the haint blue celing. I absolutely LOVE your home. It’s just stunning! All your choices are just perfect!
Just discussed “haint blue” with my sister this week! Our mom has it on her early Texas farmhouse porch. Love the difference it made on your beautiful space.
Y’all must be mind readers because I was just thinking yesterday that after I pressure wash my porch I need to paint my ceiling “haint blue” Thanks for letting me know what color to get.
I don’t think I would have ever thought of painting a porch ceiling any color but white, but I love it! Beautiful job!
The “haint blue” is so much prettier than the beige. I learned about “haint blue” when I visited Charleston. I would love to have it but my porch ceiling is vinyl. You are a great decorator
The space looks great
Yep, my 100-year-old Craftsman cottage has a pale blue ceiling, but I was told that it’s traditionally painted that color to keep wasps from building nests up there because they think it’s the sky. Whatever the story, I love the look.
Loving the blue and those ceiling fans!!! Your floor has just the right amount of wear, I hope you love it. I’m wiping the drool as I write. I’m all heart eyes over bed swings and really wish I had enough room. Another southern tradition that’s fun and one that also “keeps the ghosties away” is a bottle tree. Are you planning one for your garden? am truly enjoying your new home changes, am a fairly recent subscriber…… but now a very loyal one!
This so timely. We are planning to repaint the house and I wanted to paint the porch ceiling blue. Didn’t know where the custom came from. I am a born and bread California gal but our porch ceilings have always been blue growing up. Now I know our tradition comes from my Dad’s southern roots. Thanks for the info.
I was just talking this over with my husband the other day as I have a small portico I would like to do this with. Is your porch ceiling wood or is it a plastic/ siding like material? Ours is siding like, so I’m worried about if the paint would adhere.
LOVE THIS LOOK and your new home is a stunner already!
Thank you, Christie! Our bead board is wood, but you can paint vinyl siding and bead board if you’d like. Here’s an article from Bob Vila about it: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/how-to-paint-vinyl-siding/#.WURthvrytO0
We live in New England and had a painted blue ceiling on our porch at our previous house. It was the first time I had seen this done. We were told by the broker that the owners did it so birds wouldn’t make nests and something to do with repelling spiders. The color you chose is beautiful and with the ceiling fans it’s really stunning!
I’ve lived in the south my whole life. Blue porch ceilings are one of my favorite southern traditions. I love how much more welcoming your porch appears in the after photos. Beautiful!
Love it! And a porch bed swing would be perfect!
Beautiful – Love it – Soothing – Porch bed swing would be great!
Hi….love your home & blog….my favorite! I’m a northern girl, Long Island, to be exact and our porch ceilings, including all the grandparents, have all been painted blue. Never really thought about it, just assumed it was traditional as I have seen it all around up here!
Also, love the fans….thought they might be what I’ve been looking for but am concerned that the description says for indoor use. Can you confirm that it is fine for outside since you installed it there or maybe because your weather is not as harsh in the winter? Thanks
Thank you, Tricia! I imagine haint blue porch ceilings are very popular up north on the coast too. They just always remind me of Charleston and Savannah. The fans are outdoor/damp rated, so you should be totally fine putting them on your porch. 🙂
Love the color you chose. Born and raised in Texas and have always heard it’s to keep the wasps/yellow jackets/mud dobbers and birds from building nests. I’ve never had a blue porch ceiling, so don’t know how true this is. I painted the underneath of my potting bench blue to see if it would keep the wasps, etc. from building nests……IT DID NOT WORK. Just discovered a HUGE nest this week!
Anyway, love your blog and your home.
As soon as the I saw the title of this on my email feed, I was SO excited. I LOVE blue porch ceilings. I only lived in the South when I was 2 and only for a few months, so I don’t know where I got the love for it, but I think it looks lovely! I really like your chairs now, so it will be interesting how you can top that! My porch is vinyl and I think it is the unpaintable kind….. but this makes me want to figure out a way to change that. Oh….LOVE all your classy ceiling fans to the point of coveting.
It looks great, a space where to kik back and relax ! Good job!
I have never heard of the haint blue tradition before! Well, I live in the Pacific NW so that may be why. Thanks for sharing, I learned something new today!
You’ve done a great job with the ceiling! I especially like the wood contrast!
This Mississippi gal loves your “haint blue” ceiling and everything else about your porch! We happen to have beams on the ceiling. What would you recommend as far as considering the blue?
Have seen and loved the blue porch ceilings for a long time. Thanks for explaining the origin. I’m a Montanan and have a very small porch, but I love the idea of a blue ceiling. Just might put it on my to-do list.
I love that color. That’s exactly what I want to paint on the ceiling of my little 4 foot porch on my craft shed!
I love the white garden stools. Can you share where those are from? Beautifully designed space!
Thanks! I got them on TJMaxx.com 🙂
My porch ceiling has been “haint blue” for years. I had never thought about it discouraging bees but there has never been a nest there. The blue ceiling makes the porch seem cooler and larger and I have never been bothered by “haints”.
We were told when we were in Savannah GA that the light blue fools the spiders into thinking it is sky, so they won’t make webs up there. Whatever, it looks really nice. I would LOVE to paint my porch ceiling blue, here in Iowa, but when our house was remodeled some years back, the contractors covered the pretty beadboard with metal stuff, and now the hubs won’t take it down. Boo!!!
Lauren,
Love your site and follow it faithfully. I have a question about your blog resources page. Did you have all those apps and other resources ready to use from the very beginning of your blog?
thanks,
susan
Hi Susan! No, I started out with a little blogspot website and just started documenting with no intention of it ever really growing into anything bigger. I just learned things a little at a time. If you start with too much on your plate, you’ll feel overwhelmed. Keep it simple until you get the hang of it, and then add another resource into the mix. 🙂
Gorgeous Lauren. I so WISH we had a porch….one day (sighs).
Now, don’t hate me, though I would totally consider painting those fan bodies matte black. I realise they’re new and lovely as is. Maybe I should just shut-up now?
xoxo
I love nothing more than a blue porch ceiling!
That’s really interesting about the haint blue ceiling. I’m a Texas girl and never heard that before.
If mosquitoes are a problem, try the Patio Egg. It is an all natural repellent and it works! You can buy on Amazon and Bed Bath and Beyond.
Loving the updates!!
I love everything about your porch: the bead board ceiling, the color & the fans! Everything is gorgeous!
Haint Blue, I have never heard of that. I am from Pennsylvania and we don’t have that tradition. We now live in Florida and have a back porch so maybe we will try that. Thanks for lesion, and the color choices. LB
It’s definitely a Southern thing, and more so a South Carolina tradition.
I love this space, and I also agree with you, a porch swing would be the “icing on the cake”.
I have a winter home in Nevada where almost everything is painted a variation of tan, inside and out. My home in the Northwest is more traditional, but I wanted a modern look in Nevada. I painted the wall ultra white and brought in color with area rugs, paintings and accessories. I wanted a haint ceiling but after trying some of the same colors you did, I realized it was too much of a contrast throughout a larger area. I decided on a flat ceiling color that was a white with a blue tint to it. The sun turns it to a light blue gray. I’m very pleased with the way the color gives the tall ceiling dimension and plays against the white and brighter colors in the paintings. Your porch ceiling is welcoming. The first time I ever saw a blue porch ceiling, I loved it. I’m glad to see yours looKS so wonderful.
Thank you, Marilyn. I am glad you were able to work around the obstacle of color contrast. Your description of your house allows me to almost see it. Thank you for sharing.