Haint Blue Porch Ceilings

If you've ever visited the Charleston, SC / Savannah, GA area (or the Lowcountry as we call it in the South) you have no doubt seen the haint blue ceilings that grace nearly every antebellum mansion's front porch. Sometimes it's periwinkle, sometimes it's turquoise but it's always some shade of beautiful blue. A "haint" is an old Southern word for ghost or spirit, usually the un-friendly kind. Porch ceilings were painted haint blue to keep away these unfriendly spirits. Thus a house with a haint blue ceiling is protected. As if a great big, deep front porch needs anymore help to feel welcoming! (There's also all kinds of far less romantic explanations like it keeps the bugs away.)












I think the perfect color of haint blue for something like this is Martha Stewart's Aegean Blue for Home Depot. It's the perfect shade of robin's egg blue meets Carolina blue which I love!


This is my covered front porch ceiling. Don't you think it could use a great shot of blue?


Problem: This is one of those projects that I only seem to remember I want to do once porch season rolls around. And it's already like a billion degrees here everyday. My shoulders and neck are sore just thinking about tackling this...