On a walk around our neighborhood this weekend, we hadn't realized there were so many houses with blue porch ceilings. They sure do reflect the afternoon sun on our old houses. In New England we love traditions, even though we can't necessarily take the credit for this one...
Blue porch ceilings are a tradition in the south too. And you'll get a different story from everyone you ask about why we do this, most of them having to do with bugs. Farmers painted their porches blue to keep the flies out of the house; the blue color wards off evil spirits; spiders won't spin webs under something the color of the sky.
We started a discussion about this with the guy at the paint store who swore that bees won't build their nests under a blue ceiling because they think they're too exposed. He said if you're going to do it, any color blue works (in the south, they use a blue-green color called "haint blue", Martha Stewart uses her own "Porch Ceiling Blue"). The best finish on an old ceiling is semi-gloss; high-gloss shows up every little imperfection, and flat won't reflect the light.
And then there's this beautiful triple-decker in our friend Camilla's Cambridge neighborhood!
-Jeanine Brennan
>>To All AT Boston Posts
Dirty Little Secrets of Tidy Families
Hillary & Michael's Refined Roost
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Nomade Express Slee...
How To Cook Fluffy, Tasty Quinoa
How to Make Buckwheat Soba Noodles from Scratch
I know those Dover homes! Is Jen a member here? I lived on Court Street and Cushing Street for the last couple of years while at UNH, before moving to Boston!
My mom has been doing this to our porch forever – she is located in Charleston and it is a VERY southern thing to do. Not surprised that is has spread throughout the country.
It does make the sky come into the space. So glad it got a post!
We did this a few years ago, kind of a purple/blue color on the ceiling.
They do this a lot on the old houses in Key West. It's supposed to keep the wasps from building nests - and it really seems to work. I'd like to do that on my house, but I'd have to repaint the whole thing. Blah.
I lived in the South for several years and was told that this idea of what they call "haint blue" (because it haint really blue and it haint really green) was brought over by the slaves. Several slaves' quarters would have the trim, ceilings, and sometimes walls painted blue to ward of evil spirits and I guess the homeowners believed it and used it on the outdoors. What ever the reasoning behind it, I love the idea. It keeps porches looking clean and polished.
this makes me homesick for the South!
Hi CloserToTheOcean - Indeed, Jen is a member here. She just graduated from UNH (woo hoo) and lives in your old neighborhood.
ekmcgree, it is sort of like "Charleston Green", which is really just black with a touch of yellow.
I swear I thought the first picture was that of my oldest friend in the world who did her porch the same way with the wonderful blue ceiling. It's gorgeous.
@ekmcgee: that's exactly the story I've always heard in the South...haint blue, haint green; keeps the spirits away.
Haints are ghosts in Southern speak, y'all.
Might be a southern tradition here in the US of A but the Greeks have been doing it for at least a millennium longer than we have. Not only on the ceiling of a porch -to emulate the sky -but on the inside of a Greek orthodox church cupola
as well
lovely pics and enjoyable comments.
thanks for doing this one!
uhh, i may be color blind but those last ceilings are definately not in the blue range.
I'd love to have one of these graceful old houses with a haint blue roof. Maybe I need to move to the south.
I thought they just painted them blue to mimic the sky. Lovely.
The blue is also thought to ward off wasps (because the wasps would be tricked into thinking it was sky instead of a dark safe place). The haint blue is also good for making it feel just a bit cooler when you sit on the porch.
i'm from texas, and i always heard that the blue paint was to look like the sky, so the angels would fly up to your house and protect you.
In New Orleans, we call that "New Orleans Blue".
These look so cool and refreshing and seemingly have a very practical purpose (keeping the wasps away), and if our next house has a porch I'm definately going to do this.
I have a question for those taking the pictures: do you just snap shots of other people's houses as you're walking along? Do you knock on doors and ask permission? We've got some great architecture in our town - wonderful examples from every era from the early 1800's on, and I'd love to take pictures of them (mostly just to please myself) but I'm worried about people getting upset. How do you all go about it? If this is the wrong place for giving the answers I'd welcome emails - I'm oceandreamer56@yahoo.com. Thanks!!
pbblythe - I'm a WASP. I resent that remark! :)
oceandreamer56- thats a great question. I typically knock on the door and ask, especially if they're in the neighborhood. I'd be nervous if I saw someone take photos of our house. I met one of my best friends in our old neighborhood when I knocked on her door and asked her about her paint color. We got a'talking and we became good buddies. I think it also makes people feel good spending a lot of time fixing up their house when someone stops and admires it!
j9brennan - thanks for the answer. It would make me nervous, too, to see someone taking pictures of my house so you reconfirmed for me. Thanks again!
oceandreamer - I was totally worried about freaking people out when I was taking house pictures. I went in the middle of the day when folks were at work, and I just shot whatever I could from the sidewalk. I also took pictures of the street, and pretty flowers so people would think I was just a dork taking photos (which I am :) ).