Little Paint and Little Pumpkins

Before I get started on my Metamorphosis Monday entry I want to apologize to all the nice people in Blogland who don't use Blogger.  For some reason, I am unable to comment on any of your posts.  I am working on finding a solution.  In the mean time, I am viewing your posts and enjoying them, I just can't comment.

I want to say "Hello" to my best friend's mother, Mary, who I hear is enjoying my blog, back in NJ.  Hope you are feeling better and I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks!

I think it was Susan, our host for Metamorphosis Monday, from Between Naps on the Porch, who did a post on painting a porch ceiling blue.  Ever since, I've been wanting a blue ceiling here in Florida.  I'm being greedy because the sky here is almost always a beautiful blue!  Luckily, our painter owed us a favor and I asked him to paint the ceiling of our lanai (my Florida version of a screened porch) and use the same color for one of our bathrooms.  He came by yesterday and it took him no time at all.  As I pointed out in a previous post, these textured walls can be tricky so we leave the painting to the professionals.  He's so good, he never uses painter's tape! 

This has to win the prize for the most boring before and after pictures ever so I'm throwing in a little peak at my lanai to keep you awake!  Here is our ceiling before.

Oops!  That ceiling fan looks a little dusty!  And here is the After!

The color is called Aqua Mist and he used Martha Stewart exterior paint.  I was looking more towards matching the color of the water in the pool than the sky.

Here is some information  about painting a porch ceiling blue from C. Jeanne Heida-Yahoo Contributor Network

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.

In the South, ceilings were painted blue for a different reason. Southerners, especially in the area of South Carolina have a name for the ceiling paint used on porches. This soft blue color is referred to as "Haint Blue." Haints are a spirit or ghost and in Charleston, many people paint their porch ceilings "Haint blue" to drive off those evil spirits.

We have almost a whole gallon of paint left after this and the bathroom, so of course I had to do something with it! .  Everyone seemed to be painting pumpkins blue last week.  I had painted this other pumpkin and gourd ivory a few weeks ago.  I'm such a copy cat that I painted a little pumpkin blue to add  some Fall to the lanai.

I used my large white tray (Villeroy and Boch Outlet, I have 2 of these) and 3 aqua starfish (Beall's Outlet).  Last weekend I bought this outdoor pillow (Kohl's).  It's amazing how well the outdoor fabric holds up here.  This area is covered but it still gets wet sometimes. 

We use this outdoor room everyday.  It's always in the shade and the pool is always in the sun.  Perfect! We read here, entertain here and eat out here.  We have a flat screen TV mounted on the opposite wall and watch baseball  here all spring and summer.  The couch is just perfect for a nap, too! (not that I would know!)

The furniture is from an estate sale and I will tell you about it in a future post.  I know the ceiling is a subtle change but it's those details that make a house become "your home".  And it never hurts to ward off evil spirits!

Sorry, I couldn't resist!  I know most of you are probably enjoying your cooler weather and changing leaves but this weather is just fine with me!

Thanks for stopping by and have a great week.  Have you painted anything blue lately?  I would love to hear from you!  You don't have to be a blogger to leave a comment.  Just follow the instructions.  And be sure to stop by my sister Elaine's blog at Creating Wonderful Spaces for a great paint technique!

I am also linking to Debbiedoo's Newbie Party, stop by there and take a look!