We had a great July 4th weekend. I kept busy playing with my girly girls and doing projects around the house.
I’m so excited to share my new porch ceiling! Ever since I saw Edie’s haint blue porch ceiling and Jen‘s painted porch, I’ve been itching to paint mine blue. Being a Carolina girl, I love anything light blue. What better way to show my colors than right there on the front porch so it’s the first thing people see? And the blue is supposed to keep the bugs away and ward off evil spirits. Two birds. One stone.
My only problem was that our porch ceiling was vinyl. I wasn’t sure if you could paint vinyl. So being the auditor that I am, I performed a double inquiry by asking the guy at the paint center at Lowes and the guy at Sherwin Williams #auditorjokes. Both said, “Yes, you can paint vinyl.” And then they judged me. Whatever. There is a special type of paint for vinyl so just tell the person at the counter what you intend to paint.
So I hoarded picked up a bunch few paint samples and took the logical next step of taping them to the ceiling on the porch. Does anyone else do this?
I settled on Sherwin Williams Liquid Blue at 50%.
Then I taped off the ceiling and got busy painting. {I gave the ceiling a good cleaning the day before. It was like a spider apocalypse out there!} I did pause long enough to give Jen a shout out for the blame inspiration.
I used a smaller brush to get in the grooves. It wasn’t as hard to paint as I expected. I did take the time to spread out a plastic drop cloth but the paint only dripped once or twice.
I’m going to tell you my secret paint tip. I don’t know how much of a secret it is…
My Mom told me and I’ve been doing this forever without any issues…
Here goes…
If you paint one coat and then intend to paint more the next day, put your paint brushes in a plastic grocery bag and stick them in the freezer. That way you don’t have to wash the paint out the brush and they don’t dry out! I did that on this project in between coats. The brush will be a little stiff at first but once you use it a few times, it works perfectly (for me anyway). You’re welcome.
Here is the finished product!
And here is a before and after shot.
I love the way it turned out. I’m looking for a narrow porch swing or white rockers to put out there now. What do you think?
Totally worth it for $20 I spent on a quart of paint, roll of painters tape and a few hours over the Holiday weekend!
Don’t forget to pin it for later!
UPDATE: Here’s the most recent picture of the porch! The blue still looks great and I haven’t touched it in the last five years!
I love how this turned out. It really seems to brighten up the space. I have a porch similar to this and I sit out there almost everyday in my rocking chair so I vote for those 🙂
Thanks!! Hopefully we will use ours more once we get some comfortable chairs out there. I think we are leaning more towards the rockers too since the swing would take up so much room.
I love this Amanda. I've been itching to paint my porch ceiling blue as well. I do hope I have time before the summer is gone. Thanks for sharing and blessings to you, Patti
How pretty! I love blue porch ceilings! Makes me wish I actually had a porch ceiling to paint! 🙂 The tip for keeping brushes from drying out is a good one. My uncle showed me that trick and I swear by it!
You should do it!! It was pretty easy and cheap…my kind of project!
I agree! It has saved me a ton of time. Thanks for dropping by!!
So pretty Amanda!! XO, Aimee
Thank you!! 🙂
I'm slowly but surely convincing my husband to paint our porch ceiling blue. Your's looks great! Found you through Home{work} Wednesday.
Thank you!! I didn't even think to ask my husband. He just came home and I was doing it. But he doesn't really care what I do as long as he doesn't have to help!
Keep working on him!
I love it! My daughters took a trip to Charleston recently and came home telling me all about "haint blue". We HAVE to have some in our house, Mom! So guess what? We do now!
I love it! My daughters took a trip to Charleston recently and came home telling me all about "haint blue". We HAVE to have some in our house, Mom! So guess what? We do now!
I hope you love it as much as I do!! Thanks for dropping by!
Such a pretty color, and it really does make such a a difference in your porch.
Thanks so much for linking up to Home{work} Wednesday. I hope you'll be back this week.
Thanks so much! I will be back for sure!
Your ceiling is lovely. I have a can of "haint blue" paint (really Benjamin Moore Celtic Blue) and am just getting ready to paint my own porch so yours was an inspiration. Great tip about the brushes too!
Wow! I can't wait to see the finished product!! Best of luck!!!
So, I know this is a super late comment, but wondering how your ceiling is holding up after painting the vinyl? 🙂
A year later it still looks great! No chipping or flaking!
Such a pretty color! Thanks for stopping by the Outdoor Extravaganza!
Beautiful! I have been wanting to do this same thing. My brick color is similar to yours, so this is the perfect inspiration post for me! 🙂 Question: After you painted the grooves with a small brush, did you brush or roll on the rest?
Oops! Just remembered that our siding is actually aluminum, not vinyl. I'm guessing there's probably a different special paint for aluminum. 😉
Paint still holding up well? I really want to do this, but must convince my husband that it will last. Haha
Hi Michelle!
Yes! It still looks great! Hasn’t chipped or had any issues thus far. Hope that helps you talk your hubby into it!
Amanda
Did you prime the ceiling first? How many coats of Blue did you use? I looks amazing.
Hey there! I did not prime it. I’m pretty sure I only did one good coat and then went back and touched up any missing spots. It’s been five years and I haven’t touched it since.
Thanks so much for your comment!
Amanda
Love your ceiling! Since my husband died from cancer 2 years ago I have been changing things around the house trying to brighten it up! I have a big White House
with a large porch around front and side! I think blue ceiling would be great idea
I think a blue ceiling would be precious with a white house! And I am so sorry about the loss of your husband. Maybe when it is done you can sit out on your new porch and remember all the wonderful times you shared. Thank you for your comment!
Amanda
I am so glad I found this! I am dying to paint or vinyl porch deli long blue. Thank you for the inspiration. Which paint color did you use? I may have missed you saying that.
Hi! Almost 7 years later it is still going strong! The color was Sherwin Williams Liquid Blue at 50%. Thanks so much for your comment and happy painting!
Amanda
Hi, Amanda,
Your ceiling looks wonderful! I saw your post on your ceiling a couple years ago. I, too, have vinyl ceiling and have wanted, for years, now, to paint my ceiling “haint” blue. I do have a couple questions about the paint you used. You may have answered these questions in one or more of your posts, and I may have missed them. Sorry if this is a rerun. I know you said there is a special kind of paint for vinyl, but when I inquired at a couple different paint counters, I was told that really any paint would paint vinyl, because there is really no “special” vinyl paint. My question is, do you know if the paint you used was an exterior paint and whether it was a flat, satin, glossy, etc.? Last question. You said the paint is still holding up after all these years, but has it actually worked on repelling spiders and other insects? I’m hoping your answer is yes, because we live out in the country in Florida. The insects and bugs can be relentless, and it’s a job keeping them at bay!
Thank you!
Hi! I don’t think the blue has made a difference on the bugs. I still get spider webs in the corners. But it looks pretty. 🙂 I can’t remember what kind of paint it was. I just remember asking the employee at Sherwin Williams what I needed. I’m guessing it was an exterior but can’t remember for sure. I’m sorry! I just found the old can a few weeks ago when I was painting my daughter’s room. I didn’t pay any attention to what it was and threw it away. 🙁
Thank you, so much! After I messaged you, I did a little more research on paint for vinyl siding and did find out that there are certain paints that work best for vinyl. According to bobvila.com, the paint must contain acrylic and urethane resins. I had already purchased my paint from my local Ace and got worried I may have gotten the wrong type of paint. But, fortunately, the paint was exterior, formulated for all types of siding, including vinyl. I finished painting yesterday, and the ceiling looks GREAT! You are absolutely correct; it sure is pretty! With my 2 kids’ help, it still took 5 or 6 days to paint 60 feet of ceiling. LOL!
Just in case you want to pass it along, the color I used was Benjamin Moore, Fountain Spout 2059-70; it appears almost identical to the color of your ceiling. The BM paint color swatch is almost dead on to the paint color once it’s dried; however, the actual paint I used was Clark-Kensington Exterior Satin Gloss.
Thank you, so much, for you post! I wasn’t sure I could do it, until I came across your blog. You gave me the confidence I needed! Your porch is beautiful!
Aww!! I’m so glad it turned out well!!! I happened to find a photo of the paint can this morning and came back to send the info to you and saw this comment. Sorry I am too late to help you but glad that you found the information you needed! I used Sherwin Williams Resilience Exterior Acrylic Latex in a Satin finish. I will go back and add that info to the post in case anyone else needs to know. So glad you are loving your new porch ceiling!
Amanda
Hi Amanda. your porch looks great! I was wondering what sheen the paint was . I wanted to use semi gloss but the paint guy recommended low luster. Thanks Dave
Hi! I happened to find a picture of the can this morning! I used Sherwin Williams Resilience Exterior Acrylic Latex in a Satin finish. Hope that helps!
Amanda
You mentioned in an earlier post that the color was Liquid Blue at 50%? What does “50%” mean? Thanks in advance
Hi! Great question! The 50% means I had the 2 colors mixed 50/50. It created a new shade of blue that was half way between the two colors.
Hope that helps!
Amanda
Hi Amanda, thanks for this great post and the pictures. It’s very helpful. Question, did you just brush on the wider, flat vinyl? I saw you used a smaller brush for inside the seams but what did you use for the rest? Thanks so much.
Yes! I used a brush on the whole thing but needed a smaller one for the in between areas. A narrow roller would probably do fine too!
Thanks for your comment! 🙂