DIY: Upcycled Ceiling Fan Light

We moved into our house about 18 months ago and although the house was lovely, it wasn't my taste and I pretty much wanted to change every room. We didn't (and still don't) have a huge decorating budget, so where we could we've used what was there to our advantage.

In our bedroom was a ceiling fan, wooden and brass and not to my taste at all. Light fittings can be expensive so I thought I'd have a go at upcycling what was there and I love the result. (Plus it was a huge bonus having a fan in the bedroom in the heat of last summer, whilst heavily pregnant!)

I stupidly forgot to take 'before' photos, but it was similar to these...

I removed the blades and the brackets holding the blades to the centre disc. I then painted the centre disc without removing it from the ceiling, this way I didn't have to get involved in scary electrics. I used white egg shell and it took a couple of coats.

I then spray painted the brackets white - preferably do this outside or somewhere with really good ventilation. It took about 4 coats to get a good finish. With spray paint, it's better to do lots of thin coats than drown it on the first go.

For the blades - I began by painting them white with eggshell paint. I did a couple of coats and didn't worry too much about the side that would face the ceiling. I made a rough template by drawing around the end of the blade so I could follow this shape down. Using a pencil I marked out the stripes using the template... I did this by eye so they aren't perfect. I have no patience for measuring, which sometimes fails me, but on this occasion you can't tell. I painted the grey stripes using a painters paintbrush and a tester pot of emulsion.

I think the end result is really striking and has turned something dated into something really cool...

And here it is in situ and a little peek at our bedroom...

 

More photos of the house coming soon!

Emily x