The Best Haint Blue Paint Color for Porch Ceilings

Top 10 designer tested haint blue paint colors & the best haint blue + porch ceiling ideas with its Southern tradition explained.

If you’ve ever wandered the streets of Charleston or Savannah (two of my favorite cities in existence), you’ve probably noticed the sky blue color on the porch ceilings everywhere.

We are gearing up next week to refinish our back porch floor, but I realized I never really mentioned much about my quest to find the perfect haint blue paint color for our porch in honor of the coastal South Carolina and Georgia tradition.

6 years ago, before we even limewashed our brick, I was determined to have a haint blue porch ceiling. So I sampled the paint colors most recommended my interior designers I found online from the likes of Southern Living, Coastal Living, Country Living, and Better Homes and Gardens.

I lost count of how many shades I tried until I found the perfect one, but I did come up with a select top 10 favorites from the long list.

After all of the tests, the ultimate best haint blue paint color winner was Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue! (Totally just my preference since color is so subjective.)

Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue is the perfect, soft, evenly balanced blue-green that is desaturated enough to not overwhelm the space but with the right amount of vibrance to create a surprise color pop.

We used the color on our back porch and front porch stoop ceiling, and we’re still in love 6 years later. It would be beautiful to use as a subtle color pop on a front door or interior ceiling too.

There is such a rich history to the color “haint blue” and so many pretty paint color options out there, so I thought it might help to do a deep dive to help you create that same visual interest in outdoor spaces like the Southern tradition.

What is the Significance of Haint Blue?

The Gullah Geechee communities of the coastal American South started the tradition of painting porch ceilings light blue-green.

Descendants of African enslaved people believed that using the color extracted from indigo plants on porch ceilings, shutters, doors, and window frames could prevent “haints” or haunted evil spirits from entering their homes.

Image Source: Benjamin Moore | Paint Color: Benjamin Moore Harbor Haze

Do Haint Blue Porch Ceilings Keep Bugs Away?

To this day, some people believe pale blue ceilings can ward off wasps, insects, spiders, and birds from nesting on porches because they see the blue as the sky or water.

In my experience, the belief that haint blue can be a bird and insect repellant is totally a myth. We’ve had wasp nests inside of our canned lights and songbirds love to perch around our porch trim, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still a beautiful color.

Image Source: Hector Manuel Sanchez | Paint Color: Sherwin Williams Waterscape

Blue Porch Ceiling Ideas

Even though the tradition started as superstition, it is now a design trend that adds a feeling of serenity to porches often coupled with beadboard ceilings.

The best part is it’s an inexpensive porch ceiling idea that is as easy to install as applying a couple coats of paint. Add a few stained wood pieces like a teak coffee table or a rattan chair to balance the cool blue-green with an inviting warmth.

Top 10 Haint Blue Paint Colors for Porches

Five years ago, after sampling countless shades of blue paint colors and landing on the ultimate winner for our own, I wholeheartedly recommend it. Every lighting situation and preference is different, so it helps to sample a few shades to make the best decision for your space.

TIP: How to Choose Paint Colors for Your Home Like a Pro

No matter if you believe it wards off haints or bugs, the color does create a colorful oasis that just makes you crave a glass of iced tea.

I rounded up 10 of the best haint blue paint colors that I’ve sampled myself so you can paint your porch to look like a Southern classic, no matter where you live.

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