Ceiling Fan DIY: Update

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Well, I was able to finish up my ceiling fan blades a couple of weekends ago! The whole project took almost no time at all, and I had the perfect window of opportunity with all the sunshine we'd been having. I suppose this could be considered kind of a "how-to" post, but really, it was so easy that I think anyone could figure it out.

As a reminder, here are what the fans looked like before I painted them.


 Family Room


Dining Room


They didn't really match, and they were very dated. I didn't want to put out the money to buy new ones though! I got to looking at them as I was cleaning them one day, and I realized that it would be so easy to just unscrew the blades and paint them! That way, I could kind of tie them together even if the bases still looked different. 

I originally decided to do the blades in black, because I thought it would really pop against the gold bases. I had a couple of cans of spray paint, and I didn't want to have to buy any more (I know, what a cheapskate). So the color I ended up choosing was actually called Oil Rubbed Bronze by Krylon.  The tops I did in Black Hammered by Rust-Oleum, so they would look a little different, and also have a shinier, slicker texture where the dust would gather. My theory is that it will be easier to clean this way? I guess we will see.


                                            Bottom                                        Top

As far as prep work goes, I didn't do much. Since I was using spray paint, I figured it would adhere pretty well, so I didn't sand them or anything. I'm pretty lazy, and when it comes to projects, I tend to have more of a "good enough" attitude. As long as it looks good, it's good enough, and if it needs fixing later, I'll deal with it then. All I did was clean the blades really well. I used a pretty heavy duty de-greaser and made sure there was no dust, or in the case of the dining room blades, grease. I washed and dried them, and then I was ready to go. 

Now I only got one picture of the actual painting process, but it's pretty self explanatory. Just follow the instructions on your spray paint can, and go to town! I had a couple of saw-horses to lay them on while I was painting, and that worked great, but any surface that you don't mind getting some paint on works just fine. Or lay down a lot of newspapers!


Perfect day for painting outside

After everything dried, all I had to do was screw them back into the base. This was the hardest part, so if you had someone to help with this, it would be better. That way, one person could hold the blade in place, while the other worked the screw gun or screw driver. I actually had to use both tools, because of the different heights on the fans, but I was able to get most of it done by myself (Dane did do the family room fan one day though, when I wasn't feeling good). 

I suppose if a person wanted to update their fan even more, they could repaint everything, including the base, but this sounded like more work than I wanted to do. You would have to take the whole thing down. That's where you get into electrical stuff, and that's not for me. I liked this project because I could do it myself, and it took almost no time and money! Although, I did end up needing that second can of paint, because I started out with only half a can. Altogether, I used about a full can of paint, and I think I went a little heavier on the second set than the first.

So, finally, here's the finished product!


 Family Room

Dining Room

I love how they turned out, and I think they really work with the look of my house. I feel like black makes such an awesome accent/neutral color, and I use it a lot in my house. But you could do this in any color you wanted, and it would be a really easy project to do in a child's room, if they had a fan. You could use fun colors that matched the decor, and make it become a statement piece! If you're looking for a quick and easy update to your fixture, think about giving this a shot!


What a difference!



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3 comments

  1. Wow!!! What a difference. Looks great!

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  2. What's so bad with being frugal when you can give off such pretty product even with a cheap price? I adore the contrast of colors so much. Black is always fashionable for me, and the contrast between the color of your ceiling, and your newly painted fan made the dark color even more pronounced, hence, giving a little more attitude to your family and dining room. Two thumbs up! Staci Severns

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Thanks so much for commenting! I love and read all of your comments, and I reply by email.

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