Porch Ceiling Colors. Wow.
Originally, the porch ceilings of the Cross House were a very pale olive. Very pale.
Because I accidentally did not recreate the original colors of the house, my noble intentions notwithstanding, I feel a certain freedom concerning color choices for the four porch ceilings.
Although I cannot explain why, I yearn for something…unexpected. Even kinda shocking.
I asked my friend Eric for his thoughts and he suggested three colors:
Eric liked this the best. Unexpected! I have no idea what this would look like.
Second best. Also unexpected!
At my request, Eric suggest this. A lot of leaders also suggested blue.
Zac, graciousness personified, forwarded several photo-shopped ceilings.
This, too.
And Eric’s blue!
I had expected to love the blue. But didn’t.
Then my friend Patricia startled me with a suggestion.
Before I reveal this, some background will help.
Last year I looked through an 1890s paint catalog and was amazed that PINK porch ceilings were a popular choice. Who knew?
Wow.
Wow.
Wow. So, while Patricia’s suggestion startled me, it did not…
…shock me. Thanks again, Zac!
Zac suggested another blue. I like this.
Zac suggested this as well. It is certainly unexpected! I think I would love a slightly different shade of this color.
I am most drawn to the idea of a salmon color. Patrica later suggested several other salmon shades she thought would work better than the one pictured.
A salmon ceiling, as surreal as the idea seems, has historical precedent and I am powerfully drawn to this.
In the meantime I will ponder.
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Of course in the South of Never-Never Land it is widely believed by those that have never grown up although they have lived a verrrrrry long time, that salmon porch ceilings draw stinging bees on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and alternate Sundays unless the month has the letter Y or a vowel in its name.
I sort of kind of love the salmon!
What about that slate grey background to the gold in the triangle above? The warmer gold seems nice and bright too. I’d like to see a very different salmon pink, if at all. No way jose to the aqua. Instead of that garish red, I’d rather see something going towards a color closer to the wood door; maybe Eric’s Toasty. And meh to the light olive oil for me. Cross is looking gorgeous!
I think Patricia is on to something with the salmon shades.
I agree with Gia about the slate gray or maybe even the warm sandstone. Since there are four porches, could you do each one a different color or is that crazy? For example, one slate grey to match, one salmon because you love it, one blue because everyone loves a blue porch, and one the original color in tribute to the Cross family.
Everything that I have ever learned about design says that you should not mix too many elements, or you end up with a sense of disorder. For example, if you have a stone walkway to the front door, a brick one to the side door, and concrete to the back it creates a subliminal if not obvious disharmony to a house. IMO this house was built in an era when I believe that was considered a hard and fast rule.
This guideline is not written in stone, but I believe that many different colors in any element, such as the porch ceilings, would create an imperceptible sense of something wrong. Just an opinion.
In the old paint catalog images I show, six colors on an 1890s was normal (seven colors of you add the sashes).
For the last three+ years I have doing the Cross House in 3 colors: wall, trim, and sash. But the 1895 image of the house shows more colors. And this is what I am now, belatedly, trying to rectify.
I’m with Stewart. I think you have created a very elegant house thus far. Extremely elegant and significantly enhanced by the recent changes. I think too bold of a color for the porch ceiling and floor will jump you into the painted lady spectrum that you seem to want to avoid. I’m not digging the blue, pink or red as presented.
John,
This reply is for both Ross and your replies to my remark above. The remark was written to Kerri in reference to her idea of painting each of four porch ceilings a different color. It was not meant to suggest an opinion about what color Ross should choose nor one about an appropriate number of colors.
This blog and OHD have been educating me. I have tried to reciprocate by sometimes, maybe too often, providing how I would approach the logistics of a project when I think that my knowledge might be helpful. I have also exercised my sense of humor a time or two in my replies.
OK. Obviously I was expressing my opinion. That said, the house looks magnificent without any need of my input. My apologies if I offended anyone. [Ross: I was not offended, and I like it when readers speak their minds.)
I like the red color, ties into the chimney color which is looking like the odd fellow out right now.
I’m with Gia! But then, most of those colors would work IF the values were a bit different. The problem with the jarring (to me) contrasts lies in the hue, not the color. IMO, the lighter blue comes very close to the blue grey you have in the gable. Try shopping that color in? Just a suggestion.
I also like the reddish color of the porch floor. Will you make the floor red?? If so, some of the ceiling colors look good with the red floor.
I’m not much help with paint colors. But I would like to suggest that you look at colors for the porch ceiling and the porch floor at the same time, if you’re planning to paint the porch floor too.
This will be a tricky color choice because both are such large expanses of color, and both will be visible from the view up the steps.
It’s also going to be tricky because the porch ceiling will almost always be in shadow, while the porch floor will be in both sunlight and shadow.
And I meant to add: It’s enlightening to watch your design process in real time and hear how you’re thinking about the choices your making. Thanks, as always, for sharing your process with us.
I wonder about a Lucas catalog with 1890’s hue combos near to what you have on the house and going with a porch floor and ceiling combo with dark sage/salmon hues. However in these color schemes the roof is colored brick or dark reds and yours is not. But the chimneys are the deep brick red so maybe that would tie in those sage/salmon combos. The blues are a little garish. I think a salmon hue might be lovely.
I like the second blue that Zac suggested, and I like the dark red. It would need to be an earth tone red, almost a dark burnt orange, since the house is warm earth tones. As Patti pointed out, it would also tie in the color of the chimney. It would also need to work together with the color of the porch floor; we are debating this topic at home right now. Stained and poly’d wood is very pretty, but it also shows dust and dirt, same as a dark paint color. For your house, I’m probably leaning the same direction as for my own; a dark red/burnt orange on the ceiling, and a sand-stone color for the floor. The sandstone will not show dirt as bad, and will help to hide places where the paint peels off. My two cents…
I agree with Mike; second blue photo, and the dark red, are just gorgeous.
I like Zac’s blue.
I second the salmon, or a dusty rose color.
I love the pinky salmon. Something in that range gets my vote!
Im in the minority. I dont like the salmon at all. The Cross House is painted in natural almost craftsman colors and the Salmon is just jarring to the eye. The pale blue is my favorite.
Ross, I think I am with you on the salmon. I think it needs to be a little browner/ darker, but I think the unexpectedness of it paired with the historical accuracy of it will be so satisfying for you!
And, I must say, as a long time reader, I am really enjoying watching this exterior color scheme develop.
I painted my 1889 Queen Anne a little too hastily (aka before discovering your blog). I selected 6 colors (2 for the main body (clapboard and shake siding), 1 for the trim, and 3 for different details and the porch ceiling, which is btw “Interesting Aqua” by Sherwin Williams- I suggest you try this one for another blue option.
Anyway, I immediately felt guilty having chosen so many colors after reading your blog and feared I had created a painted lady. Now reading about your “awakening” is very interesting and I admit, is helping me feel a bit better about my choices made 3 years ago…so…. THANKS! And I love it, by the way.
Ross, is there a color you can pull or compliment from the stained glass windows surrounding the porch, for its ceiling?
I’m with Suella, I believe that there is aqua blue, dark red, and salmon all present in the parlor windows; this confirms the choices, but doesn’t do much to narrow them down! LOL
I’m with you on the salmon.
I love the pink, both blues, AND the red!
Always a fan of Haint Blue porch ceilings, the blue chosen clashes w/your greens! Mebbe have your friend try a very pale blue? But I’m really liking the salmon. My house is blue so of course, I took the Haint Blue a step further and did the porch roof Calypso Blue!
My house I did in Pittsburg I painted the porch ceiling a light blue like the sky. When you looked up it was like looking at the sky. Very beautiful. Great job Ross.
I like blue, blue like the Grand Hotel in Michigan where Mr. Cross passed.
Tiffany blue or something similar leaning towards a sky blue. No matter the color scheme of the house, porch ceilings have been traditionally a light blue to imply sky.
Hi, mlaiuppa! Blue porch ceilings became a standard by the 1920s. In the 1890s they were in a variety of colors, as the paint catalogs of the era prove.
Ah. I’m not as knowledgeable on Victorians as we have few in San Diego. My house is 1922 so I went with the pale blue porch ceiling even though I had to buy a small can of it. My house isn’t painted traditional 1920s colors either. But I have found that some of the light fixtures, furniture and other bits and pieces have turned out to be 20s and 30s, just as if I had bought the house and was slowly furnishing it. I’ve torn up the front weeds, er, lawn and am putting in four raised beds for vegetables. I’m going with Victoria Garden landscaping.