10 May 2011

Ceiling Fan Transformation: Part I

For some reason, our house was built with plenty of ceiling fans but virtually no overhead lighting. As a result, it's pretty difficult to read at night in most rooms, unless you position yourself directly under a lamp or have a flashlight handy. You'll be cool and comfortable but you might as well be reading in a cave.

We finally (after only 17 years!) came to the conclusion that we need more light in the family room, including an overhead fixture. Instead of replacing the ceiling fan with a lighted model, we decided to add a light to the existing fan. (Many fans will accept a light kit, sold separately.) Unfortunately, our current fan has shiny brass parts which no longer match any of our metal finishes.

Disclaimer: I know that a ceiling fan is not necessarily considered the most stylish element in a room. We considered removing it altogether but decided to keep it because the fan is quite helpful with air circulation in that part of the house.

Of course it would be simple to buy a new fan, but I'd much rather transform the existing one. (I prefer to re-use and re-purpose if at all possible.) So Spouse took it apart to see if the brass pieces could be painted. And sure enough, they can!

Good thing Daughter is home from college to help with these important projects. A couple of summers ago, the two of us (read: SHE) spray painted several items in our house with great success. You can read about our spray painting adventures here.

Spouse and Daughter spray painted all of the brass pieces with Rustoleum's metal finish paint in an oil-rubbed bronze finish.

My task was to annoy them by taking photos. ("Why do you have to document every single aspect of our lives?")

The next step in the process will be to put the ceiling fan back together and add the light. Stay tuned to see the final result. It may take awhile, but hopefully not 17 years!


2 comments:

Benita said...

I wanna paint the ceiling fan that we just replaced in our family room (it's all white) so I can put it in my black & cream damask room, but I still haven't decided what parts to paint yet.....the blades, the housing, or all of it :) Looks great.....can't wait to see the finished product :)

Janet said...

Thanks!! I hope it looks ok once it's put back together! Hope we can paint at least 2 more of the fans in this house. According to Spouse, you have to be able to remove the pieces needing paint so that you can spray them -- without spraying the motor! Luckily this one came completely apart. Hope yours does, too, Benita!