When choosing a porch ceiling color, most people probably would select a light blue. Everyone thinks that all old homes had light blue porch ceilings. True many did but when looking at archived paint brochures none of the recommended ceiling colors are light blue or anything you would expect. If you are a part of our house paint rendering service, you can view these archived paint brochures.
Late 19th century Victorian and Colonial Revival homes can have porch ceilings that are painted a light blue with a greenish tint. There are many reasons for this: blue is a soothing color; an insect repellent; protection from evil spirits.
However all porch ceilings were not painted light blue. In an 1898 paint catalog none of the recommended ceiling colors were blue. Some were actually pink and other colors coordinating with the trim and body color of the house. My 1910 house originally did not have a stained ceiling. An old ceiling color I found was Sherwin Williams Relish 6443.
Many porch ceilings are composed of bead-board. This bead-board was most likely originally varnished and later painted.
If your porch ceiling is varnished, keep it that way. If not, paint it a light blue. However there are a few shades of blue you can use for your porch ceiling color.
Historic New England states the following on a porch ceiling color:
Paint curators have found evidence for use of a strong turquoise blue on late-nineteenth-century Queen Anne-style porch ceilings and the California Historic Colors of America shade called “Veranda Blue” is a good match for that “Victorian” blue. On Colonial Revival-style houses, a blue related to the typical Prussian blue pigment might be more suitable: California Paints’ “Seaside” (DE5765) is typical and somewhat less turquoise. For a lighter blue ceiling, “Skyscraper,” one of California Paints’ 20th Century Colors of America, is a good option. If you aren’t prepared to go blue on your porch ceiling, a safe bet is to paint the porch ceiling to match the rest of the trim on the house.
Seaside is similar to Benjamin Moore Mystical Blue 792 or Sherwin Williams Soar 6799
Seaside is similar to Benjamin Moore Passion Blue 2053-50 or Sherwin Williams Ebbtide 6493
The bead board porch ceiling in my 1910 home in New Jersey was originally stained and varnished. Sometime after that it was painted various shades of blue and turquoise. I was advised and now have Sherwin Williams – Blue Sky #0063 for a porch ceiling color.
Not all porch ceilings were painted blue however as shown in this 1898 paint catalog.
Why are Porch Ceilings Blue?
Read this article: The Why’s Behind the Porch Blue Ceiling
If Your House is From the 1920’s or Later
If you do not have a Victorian home or just do not care for a blue porch roof, I suggest you then paint the ceiling a brown to match a stained wood color. If you are not happy with just a brown paint you can try a faux finish to make the ceiling look like varnished wood. I do not recommend removing the ceiling paint for your guests will only glance up at the roof and paint removal is a lot of work for a minimal result. Another good option for your ceiling is to use the trim color.
Paint Color Placement for your Porch Ceiling
Color placement for the porch ceiling sounds like a no-brainer however many people have questioned what to do.
Notice the quarter round trim around the ceiling. Trim color or ceiling color?
The quarter-round trim can be painted either the trim color or the ceiling color.
I’d love to read your blog.
We are building a second story deck with a pergola over half of it. The pergola is 10 feet tall. My husband wants to follow code for porch railing and I also think he just doesn’t want to cut the balusters. I feel 41 inches is way too high and will look crazy. The only window you can see is 34 inches. I don’t think he’ll go for it for safety reasons but might settle for 36inches. I’d love your opinion on this.
Thanks, Nancy Lucier
36 is definitely better than 41. This should be in the back of the house so that also makes it better. If in the front it would probably be better not to build it at all.
I have a 1910 home. The headboard on the front porch needs to be painted. Should I call inbetween boards before I paint?
Who do you want to call?
Probably meant to write calk
What brown would you recommend? My side porch is varnished beadboard but it is old and the finish is uneven and crackled. My front porch ceiling (center arch with flanking lowered panels between two columns on each side of arch) is beadboard as well but it had already been painted white. Do I strip it? Repaint it white? Paint it blue? This is a Dutch Colonial Revival with a slate roof, built in 1920. The body & trim are white.
It’s possible that the wood is finished with shellac. If so you can easily revive the finish. More info at the bottom of this page. This is a bit involved. For the painted porch you can try graining (faux finish) or choose a brown that looks like old varnished wood.
Is it ok to apply railings to an open porch?
If you have an open porch then it is considered a deck. If you have a deck it should be in the backyard. Yes a railing would look good but if the deck is low it may not look good. It depends. If you have a photo you can send it to me.
I have a question about the railing code for each side of the steps leading up to the front porch.
First off, I should mention that my 1924 bungalow has a knee wall rather than a balustrade. At some point, a previous owner erected a set of four concrete steps. Beside the steps is a knee wall with two tiers and cap molding in the style of the knee wall on the porch. It looks like it is at least partially original, but the railing structure is starting to rot and tilt to the side, and I need to have it reconstructed.
My question is: does the porch code include the railings on the steps? Is this portion of the porch considered structural? If I measure from the ground to the top step, I get 29 inches, so does that mean I can reconstruct what is already there without having to worry about code? Or do I have to measure to the porch?
Any thoughts on my situation would be welcomed.
Thank you,
David
You should contact a code specialist in your town.
Hello –
It looks like some of the links in your post are broken or moved – like the link to the Blue sky color or the article “the why’s behind the porch blue ceiling.”
Thanks!
Thank you soooo much!! Sometimes websites move their material. This is fine however they should use what is called a 301 code that directs viewers using the old address to the new address. Not doing that is poor management. I appreciate you letting me know – the links are fixed.
Hi. I have a 1920 small beach house. It is mission style. I painted the house chantilly white. And the windows are balboa mist. I am repainting. But want to change the color idea. Front porch is currently a gray. I have a tannish and middle tone bluish gray stripe awning over front double windows. Wanted your opinion I’d I painted the inside is the wood windows a bluish gray color and the trim is balboa mist. The two mission style post which the bottom of post is that concrete block. Thinking to paint bottom the same gray of inside of windows and then paint the front door the same grayish color. The headboard ceiling paint color is Tradewinds. And wondered if painting the porch floor the same as the headboard ceiling ? A lot. Thank you so much
Sorry I have no idea what you are talking about. You will need to email me a photo. Thanks
Could you write a post about porch paint color? Our house is smallish (1920 dutch colonial) but has three porches, one very large. When we choose a trim color, it looks like there will be vast areas of it. If we choose a third color to break it up, I am at a loss for where to use it.
This is the most simple answer. Everything that is NOT siding (brick shingles, clapboard) gets painted the trim color – any alterations will distort the look. Window sashes would be a dark color and match the front door.