Giving a cheap ’90s brass ceiling fan a makeover…on the cheap!
If your wife’s hairdo has ever been ruined be a ceiling fan, you might be a redneck. – Jeff Foxworthy
Truth be told, even though we are BIG upcyclers (not physically just really into it), sometimes the idea of just purchasing something new seems so easy! We have seen some ceiling fan makeovers and nothing really got us excited about the prospect of updating this one.
We have gazed up at the ceiling fans, at the big box hardware store, and thought “Pretty”! Alas, the price tag wasn’t. And this is why we do what we do.
This brass ceiling fan makeover was very inexpensive and totally gave us what we wanted for this room.
So let’s get makeovering…
FAN MAKEOVER SUPPLIES
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- Spray Paint – Base
- Spray Paint – Blades
- Scrapbook Paper
FAN MAKEOVER INSTRUCTIONS
- Take apart the fan.
- We wanted a more up to date look so we decided to cut the pointed tip of the blades with a saw and sanded it.
- Removed lights as they weren’t needed. Most ceiling fans come with a cover so you place that where the lights were. If yours doesn’t have one you can get one here.
- In a well-ventilated area, evenly spray paint the base. Repeat as needed. We decided on Metallic Flat Soft Iron.
- Spray paint the blades. We choose black as that is what we had on hand.
TIP- Don’t forget to spray the inside of the brass drum if it has holes in it or the brass will show through.
FAN BLADE INSERT
Now the tricky part:
THE AWESOME BASKET WEAVE INSERT!
The first thought was to try and spray paint them. Another idea was to just turn the blades over so that you wouldn’t see them.
THEN……
Our oldest thought about cutting them out so …..The Mister took his pocket knife and low and behold the plastic basket weave just pops out!!!!! Well, that was easy!
Now, we had a template.
At the hardware store, we looked at decorative metal sheets and that was a no go. $$$ Plus, trying to cut to fit would be difficult.
TIP- When your idea isn’t coming together, walk around the store for other inspiration. You may just find a helpful employee to give you some ideas as well.
As we walked around the store, we passed by ceiling tiles and the lightbulb went off…scrapbook paper.
We jumped on over to our local Michael’s, right next store.
There we found some heavy-duty paper for $1.99 a sheet and purchased two for the five blades. With a coupon, it was a bargain choice.
Using the plastic basket weave of awesomeness, we traced and cut out our new inserts.
The paper was cut exact so it was a tight fit but NO GLUE NEEDED. And yes it was tested at full speed!
A ceiling fan has three speeds: useless, useless, and wind tunnel. – unkown
Now, if we want to change it, we can pop them right out.
And the finished product…
UPDATE – We have had this makeover fan for 4 years and have had no issues whatsoever.
We are so please with the way it turned out…..like go back into the room just to see it happy!
TOTAL BRASS CEILING FAN MAKEOVER COST
At most we spent was approx $11
- Spray paint $7
- Scrapbook paper $3 and some change
**Any content on this website is provided for inspirational purposes only. Creating with our suggested methods, tools, and products used is under your own risk.
MORE DIY PROJECTS
Here are a few more projects to makeover your home on a dime (or quarter):
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WOW! What a brilliant transformation, love it.
Joy, Thank you so much. We are loving it!
Those look great! Did you have any concerns or do anything to protect the electrical and motor when you were spray painting? I just removed two hideous fans like this from my space. hopefully someone will see this post and be thrilled to find them at my local Habitat Restore.
We took the fan down to spray paint it and the electrical wasn’t involved as it was taken apart.
As always, any content is provided for inspirational purposes. Creating with our methods, products used, and tools is under your own risk.
What a great ceiling fan makeover! I really like your NEW ceiling fan and I can hardly believe the cost – so inexpensive. We have a ceiling fan in our music room that must be your pre-makeover twin. Now I have some inspiration to change ours. The basket weave inserts in ours are in pretty bad shape. Thanks for a great idea!
Lucille, I am so glad you have some inspiration! If you do a makeover, I hope you will share it so we can see!
I have always wanted to do this, but was afraid to spray the motor housing. Did that work without any problems? I’m guessing you just sprayed it without taping anything off.
We took it apart and then put it back together after it was painted.
Hi there. Wow I just love this fan makeover. Now you said you used a can of black spray paint you already had so what did you use the Metallic flat iron Color on? It looks all back to me except the paper inserts? Thanks for sharing, I’m going to re do mine now!
Hi Stacy, Yes we used all black except the scrapbook paper inserts. I hope you have fun with your project!
Scrapbook paper and spray paint packed a major makeover punch! Love the new look!
Ashley, We are super happy with this bargain makeover. Thanks for your comment my friend!
Whoa. This ceiling fan makeover is AMAZING! I remember those basket weave ceiling fans (my grandmother had at least one in her house back in the 80s!) LOL
The craft paper idea turned out brilliant. I don’t even recognize the fan it looks so much better! Thanks for sharing the DIY at #HomeMattersParty this week.
Nicole recently posted…Home Matters Linky Party #117
It was a last minute attempt that really ended up working. I was shocked …hahahha
Just came upon this and plan to follow your same steps. Love what you have done. I do have one question, you said that you didn’t need any glue for the paper, how did you get it to stick?
Hi Brooke, Thanks for stopping by. The way our fan was, it was inserted into those slots. I hope that helps. If yours needs glue, feel free to do what works for your particular fan. I hope that helps.
Such a great makeover!! It looks so modern now-love it! #HomeMattersParty
Michelle James recently posted…How To Make A Wood Slice Banner
Michelle, Thanks so much. It def fits the room. And anything was better than the way it was lol.
That turned out great! What a fantastic and easy way to update an old brass ceiling fan. #HomeMattersParty
~Lorelai
Life With Lorelai
Lorelai @ Life With Lorelai recently posted…Home Matters Linky Party #117
Lorelai, Sorry your comment went to spam and I just now saw it. Thanks so much. We are happy with the way it turned out and BONUS it was super cheap 🙂
Looks awesome! I had wanted to do this in our old house but hubby was never keen on the idea. Unfortunately, the fans in our new house don’t work great so they need to be replaced for function not just form. #HomeMattersPArty
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Emily, thanks for stopping by. Yeah, the fan was in perfect condition..just ugly. It was such a great change for our space and so cheap (which we love )