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suze425

Exterior door color and porch ceiling color

2 months ago
last modified: 2 months ago

OK paint gurus - help a girl out.

I’ve chosen Sherwin Williams Billowy Breeze (SW9055) for the exterior doors of our house - front, back, and pool house. I’m pretty committed to it.

We’re also going to be painting the small (4’ x 4’ish) front porch ceiling and the good-sized (10’ x 24’ish) pool house porch ceiling with this color. I was advised that I should consider doing the color at 50% on the ceilings - so that it doesn’t “compete” with the respective door.

I did go to the Sherwin Williams store and have a sample quart mixed at 50% to see if I liked it and honestly, I really don’t. I love the original shade so much and I feel the lighter version just doesn’t look as good. A little too baby blue for me I guess.

I’d also add that the small front porch ceiling cannot be seen from any angle other than when you are standing right on the (barely there) front porch itself - I’m really not as concerned with that. The pool house porch ceiling will have 2 ceiling fans on it that should help to break it up a little bit but because of its size it's much more "out there."

So my question is, is there some sort of rule about painting a ceiling the same color as a door right under it? My gut says to paint it all the same exact shade of blue that I love. Am I overthinking this?

Here are some doors I found online painted with Billowy Breeze:






Comments (7)

  • 2 months ago

    If its what you love, then thats what it should be painted. I think it will look very nice.

  • PRO
    2 months ago
    last modified: 2 months ago

    There are no rules. If you love it, paint it. It's paint, not a gaping hole in the ceiling: )

    If you don't love it up there? You paint over it. A clean white or tinted white would hardly end the world.

  • PRO
    2 months ago

    I think they look baby blue to me even full strength so use it full and if you love it thats all that matters . I do love blue ceilings in porches and without seeing your house I have no clue as to what the blue doors will look like,

  • 2 months ago

    It’s going to look different on the porch ceiling. Did you test your 50% sample on your ceiling? It’s also going to look different at different times of day, and different times of the year because of the position of the sun and reflection off landscaping. It might be more intense in places where soffit and ceiling reflect against each other. It may turn out that your ceiling looks darker than your door if you use the same color.

    Once you examine it on the ceiling and in a corner of the ceiling through different times of day, if it is too intense, you can choose a more muted or complimentary shade. It doesn’t have to be simply a whiter shade, maybe a lighter more subtle shade that has some gray in it, in addition to the white. It may produce the feeling of a blue sky on the ceiling with less pigment because of the increased intensity of the shade combined with corner soffits reflecting against the ceiling.

    I chose a lighter shade of solid stain for my ceiling than the siding, because I didn’t want the porch to feel like a cave. Both shades are medium, though, not light toned because I did not want to use paint on the rough wood.

  • 2 months ago

    Thanks for the responses.


    I realize that whatever I do is certainly not going to cause the end of world or represent an expensive, forever, set in stone decision. It's just that with the scope of this entire project (it's big!) I've got decision fatigue. I mean, decision making is not my super power to begin with.


    And honestly, there are so many things that I feel I can't be 100% sure of until they're actually done. So I'm trying very hard to get this right the first time. I think there are a few more steps I can take to make that happen...



  • 2 months ago

    I’d be tempted to do the ceiling in Mountain Air which is one of the coordinating colors and will be a little more low key to let the door shine

  • 2 months ago

    @la_la Girl - those are the exact words our builder's wife (designer) used: "let the door shine."


    I just went outside and slapped some Billowy Breeze on my old white front door, and some Billowy Breeze 50% on the small ceiling above it.


    That's a starting point for me to really see how it looks.


    Thanks again to all who responded.