This fan is in my oldest daughter, Kelly’s room. Her room is nothing but a museum right now, a testament to who she was and aspired to be. She is 22, graduated from college and not living at home anymore. I went into the room the other day and happened to look up. I smiled as I remember painting the fan with stripes when we first moved in. This was a project that was included in my book, Instant Decorating. Here are a couple more projects from my book if you are interested.
*I have done another detailed post about painting fans here.
Ceiling fan painting is one easy way to add color to where it is most often neglected – on the ceiling. Ceiling fans are wonderful to help the air circulate, but can be eyesores when they don’t fit into the decorating scheme. When we moved into a previous home and my daughters were little, there was a dark-brown ceiling fan with antique brass fittings in each room. We couldn’t afford to replace them at the time, so to make them look less obvious, I painted each white to blend in with the ceiling. When I was decorating their room with a color theme, I continued the palette by painting each blade in a different color of decorative stripes. When we moved into our current house, my oldest, Kelly wanted her new out of the box white fan, painted with the stripes again. I happily obliged.
Kelly liked lots of color in her room as you can see from the neon green walls with the the colorful border of equestrian event ribbons she won.
supplies needed:
- Ceiling fan with white blades
- Pencil
- Roll of 1-inch-wide masking tape
- 5 colors of 2-ounce bottles acrylic paints , one color for each blade
- 1-inch foam paint brush
- Water-based sealer
1. Remove fan blades from fan and clean thoroughly.
2. Starting from metal ornamental edge, use a pencil to make marks at 1-inch intervals along both edges of the blade. Repeat on all blades.
3. Place first piece of tape between first and second marks and around sides of blade. Then place tape at every other mark. The tip should have masking tape over it. Repeat on all blades.
4. Paint fan blade with two to three thin coats of acrylic paint in unmasked areas, remembering to paint sides of the blades. Let dry between coats. Repeat with a different color on each blade. Let dry.
5. Remove tape. Brush one to two coats of water-based sealer on entire surface and side edges of blades. Let dry. Put blades back on fan.
Sharing with: Funky Junk Interiors Finding Fabulous Poppies At Play Fingerprints On The Fridge The Shabby Chic Cottage HoH – House of Hepworth’s
John says
02/17/2019 at 10:09 amThanks!
Custom Digitizing says
12/20/2018 at 10:28 amThis is not a fun………this is art……..and amazing art.. I will definitely try this. Thanks for sharing.
August Tyler says
05/12/2017 at 5:47 pmI love to read and see when people do their own personal touch on things either that they bought or they are doing something new and crafty (got thing for free from people who were going to throw away something) When I and my partner move together iam going to try this fan for my ceiling. And do my own personal touch on it. Thank you for the inspiration.
Gemma says
04/05/2017 at 6:07 amBrilliant idea! Love it!
Inspirahogar says
03/20/2017 at 5:58 amI’m a new follower! Thanks for all the ideas, I love them!!!
Maegs says
07/04/2016 at 5:06 pmAre u put on the fan bland is it tap are painrt on it
Roberta says
03/27/2016 at 5:44 pmGreat way to add a pop of color to a room! I am sharing this on pinterest.
Avery says
03/17/2016 at 5:12 pmYou also could use duct tape
Dani says
07/08/2016 at 5:41 pmThat’s what I was thinking
renee says
01/23/2016 at 9:44 pmI done this also but I also painted each blade braket with solid matching colors I painted each blade and it made it POP even more….
Diane Henkler says
01/24/2016 at 9:04 pmHi Renee – I bet your fan looks super colorful with the brackets painted matching colors. Great idea. Thanks for taking the time to share it with me as I know it will inspire other readers.
Calista says
08/01/2013 at 11:04 pmOkay, this is so not the topic, but what equestrian events did she compete in? A girl like me could only dream like winning that many ribbons with my horse!
Diane Henkler says
08/04/2013 at 10:38 pmHi Calista – :) My daughter competed in many events – mostly jumping when she was in high school and college and the flat equitation classes when she was little. She lived and breathed everything horses as you can tell from her room. She would be big time envious of you since she has never owned a horse and has always wanted one. She rode the horses at the farm where she took lessons, the horses the college she went to owned, and now one of her friends horses. She is in medical school now and once she is finished, I am sure she will finally be buying one of her own.
RuthiBrasil says
10/14/2012 at 3:00 pmInteressantíssima a idéia!! gostei!!!
Sherry says
07/19/2012 at 3:35 amLove this idea!
Do you have any thoughts on using mod-podge with tissue paper on the blades instead of painting? Seems like fun but I would hate to ruin a perfectly good fan if it won’t work.
Diane says
07/19/2012 at 11:00 pmHi Sherry –
I think with the airflow from the fans moving all the time the Mod Podge and paper woudld dry out and it would start to come off. If you don’t want to paint the blades – try colorful Washi tapes that come in solid colors and patterns.
Inspire Me Heather says
06/25/2012 at 9:19 amYour fan looks really great – love it! I have this linked to my ceiling fans roundup post too today, well done!
Lisa says
06/07/2012 at 1:51 amLove this idea! I was thinking about using colorful electrical tape to make the stripes. Do you think this would work? Just wanted something temporary so when the girls get older and they don’t want color, I can take them off possibly. What are your thoughts?
Diane says
06/07/2012 at 10:35 amHi Lisa – the electrical tape would work just fine. It would be slightly raised, but as long as you make sure all the edges are adhered it will be fine. I would have a ruler and a sharp craft knife handy so you could make nice mitered joints in the tape where the zig-zags of the chevron pattern come to a point. This would give the tape application a very professional look.
Diane says
06/09/2012 at 12:15 pmHi again Lisa – Ha – Silly me! So sorry I wrote the reply to you thinking it was about a stool I just posted and your comment/question came to me in that batch. You must be thinking – what is she talking about when you got the reply to your question. I think the tape would work just fine – the only problem that may occur would be an unbalancing of the blades, but if you place it on the same on each blade it may not be a problem at all. You could probably use colorful Wasabi tape, also – that is much thinner and lighter.
Again sorry for any confusion my first reply caused you :)
Lisa says
06/15/2012 at 6:52 pmThanks for the feedback! I appreciate it! We are also going to use your banquette seating for our own kitchen. I just hope it turns out as nice as your’s did! Great site and loads of information and ideas I will use in future projects! Thanks! Lisa
nik says
02/23/2012 at 4:52 pmohgoodgolly I don’t have a ceiling fan now but this makes me want to go out and get one! It’s so very Dr. Seuss-y. :)
Arrived via Today’s Creative Blog…cheers!
Renee says
02/17/2012 at 12:52 pmLoving this idea & just now trying to figure where this idea would fit into what room with what color!!!! Such a great creative decorating idea, so simple but so nice to see.
Thanking you for sharing.
Nancy says
08/19/2011 at 11:13 pmLove this idea! Came across it when I was looking at your how to make fake topiaries, (this is my problem, I start reading and get sidetracked!) Was thinking you could use some of the colorful japanese tapes that are out there now and you could get color and design as well.
Diane says
08/23/2011 at 11:35 pmHi Nancy-
The Japanese tapes would look awesome. Wish they were around back when I painted the stripes on the fan. I know how you feel about getting sidetracked when online. Sometimes I get so far away from what I was doing, I just have to say stop and focus on the task at hand, but it is hard.
Olga @ PDL says
05/11/2011 at 3:04 pmHi there, thanks for sharing this idea! We loved it so much we’ve put a link to it on our blog http://www.polkadotlighthouseuk.blogspot.com along with a few other MT ideas! Thanks again!
Olga
Stephanie says
02/15/2011 at 12:21 amThis is such a fun idea! I have been saving it to feature for a long time now and plan to share it with my readers on CrazyDomestic.com tomorrow (Tuesday). Thanks for the inspiration!
[email protected]
Lori says
05/12/2010 at 12:22 pmI love this fan!
Thanks for joining Get Your Craft on Thursday!
LaKeta says
05/11/2010 at 6:15 pmHello!
I found your blog through “Fingerprints on the Fridge”. I love, love, love this fan!This is an absolutely adorable idea!!! My daughter and I are re-doing her room this summer…so going to try this!!! Thanks for sharing!
Diane Costanza says
05/08/2010 at 3:54 pmHow wonderfully creative! Great job!
Miel Abeille says
05/08/2010 at 2:41 pmI’m a new follower! Thank you for visiting me, earlier. :) Your site is great — I’m sure I’ll find a lot of inspiration here.
Rachel says
05/07/2010 at 1:30 pmThat is so fun! I bet that is really cool when it’s turned on. How perfect for a kids room. Thanks so much, I’ll be linking.
Maridith @ Strictly Homemade says
05/06/2010 at 8:31 amI have been looking for months for a new ceiling fan for my daughters room. In all this time I have not thought one time to paint the thing!! What a great idea. Love the colors you picked. Thank you so much for sharing!
Have a great day!
Diane says
05/06/2010 at 4:42 pmHi Maridith –
It makes it so worth it – to blog and post my ideas when I can inspire readers. Your comment made my day. Painting the ceiling fan with stripes is just one way, you could use stencils, create polda dots – it’s endless. With paint, you can always change your color choices on a whim without it costing a lot. Thanks for the comment.
My best- Diane
Rebecca says
06/30/2017 at 9:45 pmNice color! Can the fan motor be damaged by spraying paint into the motor housing assembly? Wouldn’t it be better to remove the motor first?
Thanks for sharing!
Diane Henkler says
07/03/2017 at 10:02 pmI didn’t spray paint the motor area, only the blades.