Blue painted ceilings can be found on porches across America, often for different reasons. Historians say the blue porch ceiling was born in South Carolina, where a group of African descendants believed that ghosts, or “haints,” couldn’t cross water. In painting their porches blue, they trusted the spirits would be confused by the water-colored hues and tricked into thinking they couldn’t enter their home. The school of thought became so popular in the South, that no matter the color blue, blue exterior home accents were dubbed Haint Blue.
Even as the ghost legend faded, porch ceilings continued to be painted blue in the South and across the United States. Many homeowners paint their porch ceilings blue as a bug repellent. It’s said that insects won’t nest on blue ceilings because they are fooled into thinking that the blue painted surface is actually the sky.
Others simply paint their porch ceilings blue for aesthetic reasons, whether to emulate the sky and extend the feeling of daylight hours or merely because blue is a beautiful color. My choice would purely be for aesthetic reasons, although I’m not against about warding off ghosts and bugs!
This Monmouth County, New Jersey remodeling project involved two porches. This picture is of the blue painted Azek beaded ceiling of the front entry porch. There was also a rear screen porch that was converted to a three-season room with a gas stove and yes, you guessed it, a blue painted ceiling!
The porch projects as well as a gorgeous kitchen, masonry patio with a custom wood-burning fireplace were all built by Mark of Excellence, a DBP Preferred Remodeler. The design and development work was from the Design Build Pros.
Here are some other blue porch ceiling projects from Houzz.com
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This covered patio, in Monmouth County, New Jersey, designed and developed by the Design Build Pros and expertly constructed by Mark of Excellence Design Build Remodel typifies an outdoor living remodeling project. The newer built home had no overhang or tree shading from the direct sun in the due-south facing backyard. This is a plus for the in-ground pool, but made it uncomfortable to sit and lounge on hot summer days. (more…)
