# Porch Ceiling Color - Link: https://www.oldhouseguy.com/porch-ceiling-color/ - Published: 2014-11-08T15:49:33-05:00 - Author: Ken Roginski 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 had a stained ceiling which was later panted blue. 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 stained and varnished and then 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 traditional Haint Blue was not a particular color. Sherwin Williams recommends these colors: Waterscape SW 6470, Atmospheric SW 6505, Tidewater SW 6477, Tradewind SW 6218, Niebla Azul SW 9064, and Rainwashed SW 6211. 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 ](https://www.sherwin-williams.com/homeowners/color/find-and-explore-colors/paint-colors-by-family/SW0063-blue-sky) for a porch ceiling color. **Not all porch ceilings were painted blue** however as shown in this [1898 paint catalog. ](https://archive.org/details/PracticalSuggestionsOnExteriorDecoration) ## Why are Porch Ceilings Blue? Read this article: [The Why’s Behind the Porch Blue Ceiling ](https://www.historicnewengland.org/haint-blue/) And another article: [What the Color ‘Haint Blue’ Means to the Descendants of Enslaved Africans. ](https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/what-haint-blue-means-to-descendants-enslaved-africans) ## If Your House is From the 1910’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. You will also kill your neck with all the time you will spend reaching above. Another good option for your ceiling is to use a light neutral color similar to that of concrete. You do need contrast so if you have dark trim or white trim that will work. If cream trim they stick with brown to look like stained wood. ## 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. ![porch ceiling paint color placement](https://www.oldhouseguy.com/wp-content/uploads/ 2014/11/porch-ceiling-paint.jpg) Notice the quarter round trim around the ceiling. Trim color or ceiling color? 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