Before and After Party: Buh bye ceiling fan

Hello there! Welcome to the October Before and After Par-tay!

So�I got nothin� against ceiling fans. Really. We have three of them in our house. Well � now two. :)

We�ve always had one in our bedroom -- we hand picked it when we built the house:

And pretty much since the first week we lived here, I�ve wanted to take it down. :)

We used to use it fairly often, but over the past few years, it�s made hubby and I both feel like we have a cold the next day if we have it on all night � so we haven�t used it in a long time.

So�for a few months now I�ve been planning to replace it with a gorgeous new chandelier. But I have no gorgeous chandelier. DANG!!

And the Dave Ramsey plan (that�s WORKING, by the way!!) makes it so we need to pick and choose our splurges, so it wasn�t really on the horizon anytime soon.

And then�while I was working on the basement a couple of weeks ago, I moved a light fixture I�ve had forever around about 20 times before it hit me. DUH.

Why don�t I use this?:

I got it from our local Habitat for Humanity Restore at least a year ago � maybe even longer. I didn�t know for sure where I�d use it, but it was BIG and only $22, so I just couldn�t pass it up.

I wasn�t crazy about the finish, but I figured a coat of paint would help that:

I knew I could totally make it work! Whooeee! And since I bought it forever ago, that made it FREE! According to my way of thinking anyway. :)

So I set it up in my fancy spray paint station in the garage, (a.k.a hanging it on a hook with a sheet behind it), and covered it with one coat of basic black spray paint from my local True Value:

If you�re like me, you get spray paint finger pretty easily. To prevent my hands from turning into claws, I�ve used a few different spray paint handles over the years. But they never work great -- I cannot tell you how many times I�ve been spraying something and the can falls right out of the handle. Drives me batty!!

I saw this one at the True Value and decided to give it a try:

I LOVE it! I don�t know how it�s different, but I didn�t have one issue with it. The can stayed put the whole time (and every other time I�ve used it). LOVE.

My sweet Dad came over and helped me hang this one. I had never taken a ceiling fan down before and wasn�t sure which wires would go with what. Because the light fixture didn�t come with any of the usual accessories needed, we got a crossbar to hang it:

And a new canopy as well (that I still need to paint black!):

True Value also had some frosted bulbs that I wanted to try:

And after a quick coat of spray paint and some help from my awesome Dad, we had the new light up in record time:

Don�t you love the frosted glass on those bulbs? I think I may change out the lights in our dining room fixture to these too � I just love them. It makes the light just a bit softer.

Dad must be my good luck charm, cause this one was up in no time flat! Seriously, I think start to finish, it took us about 15 minutes.

And I LOVE it!:

It�s not the blingy, crystally (word?) chandelier I�ve been dreaming of, but for now, it works beautifully. I may raise it just a tiny bit more, so it doesn�t complete with the canopy rails (which are staying because my hubby loves them).

Because it�s on a dimmer (I had the fan light on one), it�s super bright turned all the way up:

Like, surface of the sun, bright. :)

But most of the time it�s turned down:

Sigh. Dimmers rock. Try them � you won�t be sorry. (They are so easy to install � check out my post here to find out how to do it.)

So here�s this month�s before and after! The ceiling fan before:

With the previous bedding, lamps and drapes.

And the after, with the new bedding and some fab drapes for a steal at JCPenney's:

One of my lovely readers, Missy, gave me a heads up about these drapes. The are only $12.99 each -- even for the longer lengths! I wasn�t sure the color would work, but I ordered them because of that price. Turns out the color is perfect!

They are reversible too � and the buffalo check side is gorgeous, it just was a bit too country for this room. I�m going to add a liner behind them so they are more solid during the day, and maybe a little detail to bring in some cream � not sure about that yet.

You can find the drapes here � but I think this is the only color left.

Ohhh, I almost forgot! Did you catch the Nate Berkus show today? It was �our� episode! Proof I was there:

(I�m in the back in the purple sweater. See Rhoda next to me?)

That�s me nodding, saying �YES Nate, you are adorable. And YES I would be happy to come on your show! And YES Nate, I know I am dreaming!�

:)

I totally zoomed in on this shot�but still. COOL!

Alrighty, let�s see your before and afters! Please remember to link to your post, not your blog. I�ll keep the linky open till next Monday evening, so feel free to join in!

*I was one of the bloggers selected by True Value to work on the DIY Squad. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program as well as my writing about my experience. I have also been compensated for the materials needed for my DIY project. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.*