Ugly 80s ceiling fan into contemporary for under $20

Ok. We bought a fixer-upper. I knew full well what I was getting into when we bought our house and immediately started the creative juices flowing. Buying a house isn't cheap....EVER. There's always a list of things you want/need to do to make it home. Every house will have those little pet peeves that you just have to do something about or you'll find yourself glaring at it as if it's done you wrong somehow.

One of my pet peeves? 80s brass ceiling fans. I don't care of they have those 'awesome' wood blades with the brass painted details or if they're white or have that lovely wicker thing going on in the middle. I hate them. (why would anyone add either the paint or wicker details in the first place?) When I started looking for replacement fans for my house I have to change my underwear. The prices were insane. It moves air with a motor that just spins, how expensive should these things be, right? But, my blue blood only liked the $300 + stuff. That was just NOT in the budget when moving in.

The fans in my house looked like this:

Eww. The epitome of 80s Ugly.

I had to do something. I had to do something quick and cheap.

I went to Homedepot. Spray paint was the answer. It always is. (People close to me know I'll spray paint anything.) Looking through the options and taking notes on what I liked about the newer fans, I knew I needed multiple textures in neutrals tones. If I was going to use a metal, I wanted either nickel, oil rubbed bronze or iron. Iron was the easiest to achieve, using a flat black spray paint, so I went with that. Now, what about the texture? How would I achieve that? STONE SPRAY! Of course!

So I found this stuff:

Rustoleum American Accents Stone spray paint in Mineral Brown - Cost right around $10.

Quick Color in flat black - Cost $0.97.

With these and some carefully placed painters tape, I ended up with this:

Is it my ideal ceiling fan? No. But, it's a hell of a lot better than it originally was and with it costing under $20 total, it was well worth it.

If you're going to try this at home, here's some tips to remember:

1. Take it apart first. Take off the globes, blades, brackets, etc. to make sure you get the details painted.

2. Make sure you cover up all the electrical parts involved. The last thing you need is spray paint all up in yo 'lectricalses. 

3. Take is off the ceiling. Don't ever try to paint it in place. That's just silly and messy.

4. Tape off the sockets for the light bulbs. 

5. If you're using a textured paint, prime that area first.