As a general rule I hate fans, most of them are just plain ‘ole ugly. Ugly ceiling fans, ugly table top fans, ugly floor fans, you name it, yeah we have it.Why? Because we’re cheap, cheap cheap cheap. That means we don’t tend to run the air conditioner in the summer, we just use our ceiling fan, or our small table top fan in our bedroom.
This particular white plastic fan was putting a real kink in my decor happy. A practical hand-me-down from the in-laws I was grateful for, of course. However its large amount of ugly just kept getting under my skin. There was no way the hubby would do without it those summer nights, and as tempted as I was to “accidentally” drop it down the stairs a few hundred times, my frugal self just wouldn’t let me, neither would it let me replace it with some pricey but stylish vintage fan.
After staring cross eyed at my nemesis for what surely must be years I have decided to DO something about it. If I must have a fan, and I can’t buy a nice vintage styled fan, then somehow I’m going to fake it!
Faking It With Spray Paint
I wasn’t sure the style of this 90’s horror fan would ever be cured, even by a coat of paint, but I had to try. First I carefully disassembled the offending fan, and removed the already broken cage permanently. Who needs a cage anyway? I’ll just tell the hubby not to stick his fingers in the plastic blade (we may or may not have ever grown up). After removing the blade and backing, spray painting the fan was a cinch! I tried a dark hammered grey I wasn’t happy with, then went with a mirror finish silver, and finally settled for the silver on the fan blades and this hammered golden brown on the base. It may not be a true vintage fan, but I’m much happier! It’s probably as close as I’ll ever get, and who would have thought that ugly white plastic thing could improve enough to become a part of my master bedroom decor? It’s a spray paint miracle! *blissful sigh*
I love your site. So many ideas and I love them all. I have shared some of the school thing with my daughter in law. They home school 2 children.
They have a small house so the organizing spaces is great. I love the small magnetic jars for spices as you show and for desk or bathroom items. They could go anywhere. Thank you for your site. I can spend many hours with you!!
Thank you so much for the compliment! I’m happy to have you here…and kudos to your daughter-in-law for homeschooling! It is a big job, and it is fantastic that they have you for great support!
OMG! I never thought to paint those ugly fans!! You are so creative!! Thanks for the great idea!!
What a great idea, and so easy, too! Now to convince the husband we can take the cage off the fan and still be safe, lol.
Good idea! We have tons of fans at our house and I know one that would love this treatment. Let me also recommend Rustoleum black metallic spray paint. I went into Lowes the other day looking for oil rubbed bronze because I had heard glowing things and had a project, but came home with the black because it was on clearance and LOVED the way it looks! Your fan looks great!
Thank you Abbie!
Well now you’ve got me making a run to Lowes today! Lol, news of a sale on a recommended spray paint brand? It’s on! 😉 Thanks!