Sunday, May 09, 2010

Haint Blue

Happy Mother's Day to all you mothers out there!




Before: gold

After: blue (Benjamin Moore's "Thunderbird.")

Since I'm not moving, I've decided to keep repainting my house. I'm tired of my "Tuscan colors" and am in the mood for more "beachy" colors--greens, purples, blues, aquas. I'm only a mile from the beach, so I figured the new colors are apt.

So on Saturday I decided to paint my master bedroom blue (see before and after pictures). And when I realized I was going to have a lot of extra paint, I decided to paint my front porch ceiling "haint blue." Never heard of it? I hadn't, either, until I read a Southern Living magazine, I think, and learned that "haint blue" is what most southern folks painted their porch ceilings to keep away "haints" (ghosties) and because they believed the sky/water color keeps away bugs and birds.

My front porch currently has a green ceiling that's the same color as the walls, so it does nothing but sit there. How cool it would be to look up and see the color of sky!

There isn't one specific shade that is "Haint blue," apparently these colors can vary from region to region. So in my house, at least, "haint blue" will be the color of my leftover bedroom paint.

To read more about 'haint blue," you can visit these web pages: here and here. So if you live in the south (or even if you don't), why don't you paint your ceiling blue? My painting is going to have to wait a couple of weeks, because my next few Saturdays are busy. But I can't wait to do it!

~~Angie

8 comments:

Mocha with Linda said...

You painted the whole room and rearranged the furniture in one day? You never cease to amaze me!

Happy Mother's Day, Angie!

Anonymous said...

Lovely, Angie. The sky at the beach is exactly what I thought of when I saw your after photo. Enjoy.

Happy Mother's Day!
Mary Kay

Jan Whitlow, ASPM said...

First iPad message on FB. Don't you feel special. That's The color of my bedroom; very soothing. Happy mother's day.

Anonymous said...

Love it-- blue is my favorite color in any shade---

Anonymous said...

Went to Lowes yesterday as promised, but they do not carry Benjamin Moore paints. However, the young man said they could duplicate any of their colors, what was the name? I said, "Haint Blue." He said, "Well, if it h'ain't blue, then what color is it?" (Sorry, I just made that part up.) But, in all honesty, I told him, "Haint Blue." and he couldn't find it. I will now search for a store that has Benjamin Moore. In the meantime, I picked up samples from a lot of other manufacturers. Clyde

dellartist said...

Love the blue in your bedroom, it looks so relaxing and serene. My husband knew about "haint blue" but we didn't have any blue paint when we did our porch so it is more of a light green. He said he thought it had to do with bugs and birds, hadn't heard of the "ghosties." We don't live in the South but he reads lots of garden magazines.

Virginia said...

I love that idea! I just might swipe it and make it my own. Thanks for the idea and more importantly the inspiration!!!

Hannah Alexander said...

I love it, Angie. The perfect color.