Inspiration for Our Blue Porch Ceiling

I'd say one of the things we love most about our house is our great front porch. It is huge, it is low to the ground so the kids can't easy fall off, it has great air flow (especially thanks to outdoor fans) and it even has a porch swing. Now that we are in North Carolina in a place with a relatively mild temperature for many months of the year, we really get to take advantage of using this outdoor space. You can get an idea of our porch from a past post about our front yard makeover. My husband and I took a trip to Beaufort, NC for a weekend last summer. It was one of the only times we have been away without the kids so in addition to it being a pretty great town, it was made even better by the fact that we got to spend some much needed quality ALONE time together. Ever since that trip, my husband has been obsessing over painting our porch ceiling a "haint" blue like so many of the porches in Beaufort. It's a long standing Southern tradition steeped in folklore that the blue ceiling would ward off evil spirits. I also recently read that some people believe that the blue color will trick wasps and other insects into thinking that it is the sky so they will build their nests elsewhere. That seems a little far-fetched to me but there's no harm. With all the things I feel like we need to do to the house on our limited budget, this was not something I was super gung ho about but I definitely wasn't opposed to the idea. I did feel that finding the right blue to go with the gray of our house and the dark, almost Beaufort green/navy shutters and door would be important. After months of my husband bringing home paint samples from Home Depot, we have finally agreed on what we both feel is the right color for this. Here are some of our inspiration pictures while we wait for the work to be completed and then I'll be able to show you before and after pictures.