A Haint Blue Porch Ceiling Of My Own

Why did I wait so long to paint my front porch ceiling haint blue?

No, really. Why?

If I had known what joy this simple change of a haint blue porch ceiling would bring me, it would have been much higher on the priority list.

Maybe not higher than replacing rotten siding, but higher than planting those boxwoods that may or may not be growing.

Here’s how our porch looked in the fall of 2023.

Perfectly delightful. Nothing wrong with it. I love, then and now, sitting out here with a drink in the early evenings and watching the world go by.

Pictured below is almost the same view now.

To be sure, it’s a subtle change. You can’t see the haint blue ceiling from the road. But when you are sitting on the front porch now, you FEEL the change. It’s visceral.

The porch feels like its own special space now. Almost like a room in our house…but outside. Clearly.

(I have such a way with words. I should write for a living. Hahahaha!)

As a side note, those are the same ferns in each picture. No joke.

I might have a questionable record with boxwoods, but those ferns continue to grow bigger in direct relation to my desire for them to NOT grow. The more I want them to chill out, the more they go wild. Kind of like my children.

Most of my plants don’t try hard enough to survive. These ferns…phew…they are trying a little too hard.

Maybe they were as invigorated by the haint blue porch ceiling as I was.

By the way, when I went to pick a light blue paint color for the ceiling, I discovered that haint blue is more of a cultural term, not an actual paint color name. That would make it too easy to select a color.

Haint refers to evil spirits and the blue was supposedly used to ward off these evil spirits. Or some theorize it was to keep insects away from your porch. You can read all the theories about why people paint their porch ceilings blue here.

I just like how it looks.

Young House Love has a round-up of haint blue colors by paint brand. I’m a Behr paint fan, so I chose the color Sky Light View. It’s a light blue that appears lighter or darker based on the time of day. I don’t know that I would put it on a wall, but I love it on my porch ceiling.

I had fully envisioned a stained beadboard ceiling here, but now…

Well, I still want that. But I’m not in a rush.

This blue porch ceiling made me fall in love all over again with this front porch. I’m excited to decorate for fall now. I know this is sappy but I find myself sitting out here, being present in the moment, and soaking in how good it makes me feel.

Who knew a little bit of paint would have such a mood-boosting power?

When we first moved here, we were almost in a triage state of assessing what was the worst and most pressing need to stabilize this home from rot and ruin. Five years in and we have a bit of breathing room to focus on the details.

It’s a welcome change of pace.

Do you have a blue porch ceiling? I’d love to know! It makes my day to hear from you. Please leave a comment on this blog post, email us here, or reach out via Instagram or Facebook.

Happy front porch sittin’!

P.S. Our double-rockers are from Walmart and are less than $100 right now. It’s like two seats for the price of one, which works out because Handy Husband and I like to sit next to each other.

The double rockers have sat on our covered front porch for a little over a year now and still look as good as new. They get wet during a rainstorm but aren’t constantly exposed to the elements.

Thanks for being here today. I love getting all sappy over old houses with you. Here are some other blog posts you might enjoy.

Why We Chose Double Rockers For Our Front Porch

New Art For Our Sunporch – If You Love the Color Blue, Check This Blog Post Out!

Why Do The Small Projects Seem So Large?

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