Blue Porch Ceiling..

I have a friend who swears by this.. that if you paint your porch ceilings a light shade of blue, you will hardly have any insect nests (including spiders)!

That was enough for me to check it out and here is what I found:

There are numerous theories as to why – from fooling spiders and wasps into thinking the ceiling is the sky, to blue being a harbinger of good luck, to the color extending daylight, to scaring away evil spirits.

Sky blue ceilings were a popular color scheme for the Victorians, who preferred the colors of nature when painting their homes. Mustard yellow, ochres, browns, olives, terra cotta and the color blue were commonly used in exterior paint schemes. The warm earth tones reminded the Victorians of the outdoors around them, with the blue reserved for the porch ceiling to remind them of the blue sky even when the days were overcast and gray.

But many Southerners suggest that blue porch ceilings originated out of the fear of haints. Southerners, especially in the area of South Carolina, have a name for the ceiling paint used on porches – the soft blue-green is referred to as “Haint Blue.”

“Haints are restless spirits of the dead who, for whatever reason, have not moved on from their physical world,”

Okay - so while I do not believe in haints... I may be interested in detouring as many wasps, dirt dobbers and spiders as possible!  These are 3 Sherwin William paint colors that are suggested for use:

• SW 6471 Hazel
• SW 6505 Atmospheric
• SW 6944 Pool Blue

I am still undecided about doing this.  If we do, I am sure I will choose a lighter shade of blue so that it does not appear to clash.

Have any of you ever heard of this?