Fans of Our Lives

Do you like how I'm keeping with the soap opera themed post titles for the kitchen spruce-up?
I recently repainted the kitchen and changed things up a bit, so it is time to do something with the ceiling fan.I wanted to buy a new one, but all the ones I found that I really liked that were modern and small were in the $300+ range. If I had the option to not have a ceiling fan in the kitchen I would go that route, but it's not an option. Between the tiny size, the ceramic tile floor, and the stove that can heat up the room to about 500 degrees in ten minutes, I have no choice in the matter. This room turns into a sweat lodge anytime I cook.

Not the worst thing, but not really pretty either.

Inspired by Young House Love's obsession with Rustoleum Universal Metallic Spray Paint in Oil Rubbed Bronze, I picked up a can of Rustoleum Universal Metallic Spray Paint in Satin Nickel to transform the ceiling fan. The hardware on the kitchen cabinets is a satin nickel color and I used faux pressed silver tin tiles on the backsplash, so nickel it is!

Awesome paint. Goes on evenly. Dries quickly. LOVE IT.

After I pulled off the ceiling fan blades, and removed the wooden blade from the metal piece that connects it to the fan, I covered the parts of the ceiling fan that I didn't want painted with aluminum foil. That's a hand little painting trick I saw on the Real Simple magazine website.

Now, only because it was raining and only because I could open the door to the outside and angle a fan out the door, did I spray paint this thing inside. And only this part of the fan. I took the metal pieces that attach the blades to the fan outside and painted them and had to let them dry in the basement (due to yet another rainy weekend). I wouldn't do it that way for any other reason. But it was a quick job and I covered all the other surfaces before I sprayed (floor, countertops,etc.). There were a places where I found some of the paint residue right after I finished spraying and those wiped up with a wet paper towel.

After everything was dry (I waited 24 hours), I screwed the metal pieces back onto the blades. I helped my husband get those blades re-attached to the fan. That was probably the trickiest part of this entire project. The part of the fan that the blades attach to moves around inside of the metal body that attaches to the ceiling. So it's a two man operation to get the fan blades re-attached.

But we got them up. I also switched out the original frosted shades for these clear glass shades so it would look a little cleaner and lighter. Also, I removed those old pulls and replaced them with new silver pulls (after I took this photo, of course). So there it is! It was a really quick project and cost under $25.