Spray Paint+Brass=:)
When I was redoing the craft room one of the must-haves was a new light fixture. Previously a small white ceiling fan was there and every time you turned it on, it swayed.....badly. Not to mention that it was ugly. So I was on the hunt for a new chandelier. I found this one at Lowe's that I loved.
But it was $178 which honestly for a chandelier is a good price .....but I needed to remember that it was for the craft room. I put it in the cart and walked around the store looking at it for awhile before I finally talked myself into parting with it because it was not a need. Sigh......
Plan #2- Find a cheap ugly brass chandelier and spray paint it black. This is the only time I have kicked myself from throwing something away from the house's previous life. The old dining room chandelier would have been perfect in the "ugly" category.
After hunting around local hardware stores we found this pretty one for $30.
Much more in line with the craft room budget and really more in tune with the DIY spirit of the room. At least that is what I told myself. I probably could have found one for free or cheaper on Craigslist but for $30 I decided it was not worth the hassle.
So we brought it home, and taped the parts that shouldn't get paint on them (like the wires).
Then we hung it our professional spray painting apparatus in the back yard (also known as a tree branch). Not the first time the neighbors have thought that we were crazy.
We placed a board and trash bags against the trunk so that we would not end up with a black tree for the next year or two.
Next I spray painted it with a couple of light coats. I originally used Black Rustoleum in a Matte finish. But after getting two coats on, it looked too much like wrought iron and not modern enough for the room. Of course my spray paint collection included a gloss clear coat so I added that and it turned out exactly the way I was picturing.
Then the tape came off and it was hung.....sort of.
The hanging part actually took about two weeks. I mentioned before that a couple of projects in the craft room did not go as planned. This was one of those projects.
When we took down the fan we realized that it was hanging from this inside a recessed light casing.
Yep those two wires were all that were holding the fan. No wonder it swayed.
Plan B was to install a recessed lighting adapter that they sell before putting in the new fixture like we did in the guest room. But there was no place to hook it in because at some point the wiring and lighting component were ripped out. And we could not get the recessed light out without totally messing up the ceiling. So the craft room sat dark and empty for a week while we "thought" about it.
Finally we came up with the solution of taking it out through the attic. So my loving husband climbed up into the attic in July all in the name of my craft room light fixture. Even when he found old insect/spider foggers and mouse poison he trekked on. But maybe that involved some complaining:).
This is what he pulled out-
And here is what he put in-a box properly supported with a ceiling fan brace.
But we were still left with a giant hole around the light fixture base. No dry wall patching for us.....enter ceiling medallion. I thought about painting it green to match the walls. But that would require paintbrushes and dry time. The faster solution-pink spray paint. The faster solution won and even though it is a little bright, it brings more creativity to the space.
I also did not want it to look like a traditional chandelier so I changed up the bulbs. I am also toying with the idea of adding some shades to change it up some more. We will see what I can scrounge up.
But it was $178 which honestly for a chandelier is a good price .....but I needed to remember that it was for the craft room. I put it in the cart and walked around the store looking at it for awhile before I finally talked myself into parting with it because it was not a need. Sigh......
Plan #2- Find a cheap ugly brass chandelier and spray paint it black. This is the only time I have kicked myself from throwing something away from the house's previous life. The old dining room chandelier would have been perfect in the "ugly" category.
After hunting around local hardware stores we found this pretty one for $30.
Much more in line with the craft room budget and really more in tune with the DIY spirit of the room. At least that is what I told myself. I probably could have found one for free or cheaper on Craigslist but for $30 I decided it was not worth the hassle.
So we brought it home, and taped the parts that shouldn't get paint on them (like the wires).
Then we hung it our professional spray painting apparatus in the back yard (also known as a tree branch). Not the first time the neighbors have thought that we were crazy.
We placed a board and trash bags against the trunk so that we would not end up with a black tree for the next year or two.Next I spray painted it with a couple of light coats. I originally used Black Rustoleum in a Matte finish. But after getting two coats on, it looked too much like wrought iron and not modern enough for the room. Of course my spray paint collection included a gloss clear coat so I added that and it turned out exactly the way I was picturing.
Then the tape came off and it was hung.....sort of.
The hanging part actually took about two weeks. I mentioned before that a couple of projects in the craft room did not go as planned. This was one of those projects.
When we took down the fan we realized that it was hanging from this inside a recessed light casing.
Yep those two wires were all that were holding the fan. No wonder it swayed.Plan B was to install a recessed lighting adapter that they sell before putting in the new fixture like we did in the guest room. But there was no place to hook it in because at some point the wiring and lighting component were ripped out. And we could not get the recessed light out without totally messing up the ceiling. So the craft room sat dark and empty for a week while we "thought" about it.
Finally we came up with the solution of taking it out through the attic. So my loving husband climbed up into the attic in July all in the name of my craft room light fixture. Even when he found old insect/spider foggers and mouse poison he trekked on. But maybe that involved some complaining:).
This is what he pulled out-And here is what he put in-a box properly supported with a ceiling fan brace.
But we were still left with a giant hole around the light fixture base. No dry wall patching for us.....enter ceiling medallion. I thought about painting it green to match the walls. But that would require paintbrushes and dry time. The faster solution-pink spray paint. The faster solution won and even though it is a little bright, it brings more creativity to the space.
I also did not want it to look like a traditional chandelier so I changed up the bulbs. I am also toying with the idea of adding some shades to change it up some more. We will see what I can scrounge up.