Giving your fan a facelift
An old but still functional ceiling fan can be refurbished with suitable spare parts. Discarded fans or parts such as blades and motor housings can still be transformed into stylish decoration. We also have a few really cool and colourful DIY projects for new ceiling fans.Content:
- Renewing your ceiling fan with spares & accessories
- Retrofitting ceiling fans for nurseries and children’s rooms
- Refurbishing old ceiling fans
- Upcycling unused parts
Renewing your ceiling fan with spares & accessories
Did you buy a used ceiling fan or has your model been used for a very long time already? If you are missing a blade, glass bowl or pull cord, you can find suitable spare parts and accessories such as drop rods in our online shop. An old ceiling fan can look completely transformed simply by using a new blade set or painting it in a different colour. Small details also enhance the renewed look. For example you could replace the pull cord with new ones or take them away completely and opt for wall controllers and remote kits instead.The appearance of the fan is also affected by the lamp shades that are attached. In some cases, older classic glass shapes can be replaced with modern bowls. Other fans can be retrofitted with light kits and dimmable LED bulbs.
Retrofitting ceiling fans for nurseries and children’s rooms
Our product range also includes ceiling fans with playfully coloured blades that create a wonderful effect during operation.Did you decide in favour of a plain ceiling fan in our range? A few simple DIY tricks help you to create a look appropriate for children. Naturally, you can also implement the same things in your living room or study.
⮩ These are ideas for new fans that should not be decorated/painted permanently. As new goods are under legal warranty for two years they must not be altered during this period. An alternative is to add wall decal around the fan on the surrounding ceiling (or paint a motive of the ceiling).
A suitable wall (or ceiling) tattoo would an antique plane or chopper with their propellers. Elements that rotate (such as shoal, sharks, dandelion seeds, leaves, blossoms, etc.) are cute ideas too. A round ornament centred around the ceiling fan is also a wonderful way of enhancing the appearance.
Ideas for desk fans and other portable fans
In order to embellish portable fans you can cut strips of colourful fabric and attach it to the protective grille. When you switch on the motor the strips begin to fly in the wind. If you are considering this idea for a children’s room, we suggest waiting until the children are a bit more mature and won’t be tempted to pull on the strings.
Refurbishing old ceiling fans
Ceiling fan blades are usually weighed by machines in the factory and then grouped together accordingly. Imbalance can cause a ceiling fan to wobble, continuous load on only one side can damage the motor in the long run.
⮩ If you add anything to the blades all elements should be as light and evenly distributed as possible. Alternatively, you can also add decoration to the canopy instead of the blades.
Painting blades and adding stickers
Garnish your fan with stickers (e.g. phosphorous starry sky, shooting star). Self-made artwork done with airbrushing and stencils is cool as well. Alternatively, the ceiling fan blade set can be finished with glow-in-the-dark paint.LED pins
LED pins without cables or glowsticks have a very cool effect. Depending on how you arrange them on the fan and blades you can create a variety of patterns and looks, especially if the fan is running on high speed.
Other ideas:
- Plastic birds / spiders
- Action figures
- Lego people hanging from the blades
- Small paper planes
- Toy cars
- Christmas bauble
- Large google eyes
| Painting fans Keep in mind that wooden parts can start to deform upon contact with water and humidity which ultimately causes an imbalance of the ceiling fan. Solid wood and wooden composite blades should therefore be painted with dry paints and crayons only. Another option is to glue masking tape made from soft tissue paper. They allow you to implement most ideas such as a rainbow-coloured fan as well. One big advantage is that you are always able to remove or change the design. |
Redye metal blades / housing
The first step is to dismantle the fan completely so that all pieces are separate (e.g. blade holders separate from blades). Clean all parts with a soft, slightly damp cloth and a tiny bit of non-aggressive cleaning agent. A dry cloth is recommended for the motor housing, the sensitive electronics on the inside must not get in touch with moisture. Dry off all parts and leave to air dry some more if necessary. If there are still any uneven parts due to build-up or rust, carefully remove them with sandpaper.Now you can paint the parts with a brush or spray can. The colour should be applied evenly in a thin layer. Remember you can always add more paint but taking off any excess is complicated. If the (last) layer of paint has dried completely you can choose to add protective lacquer on top. For some colours a matt colour works better than a reflective gloss. Finally, the fan can be assembled and put up again.
You can also revive a used portable fan with a new finish. Even if the motor doesn’t work anymore, an old desk fan can still look very elegant and is a very special piece of decoration.
Shiny metallic colours such as copper or pastel pink are very popular at the moment. In addition to that, even pastel shades of green or blue look gorgeous. If you are a bit more daring, go for bright neon colours or phosphorescent laquers. The latter has a light opal colour during the day and glows in the dark. Nowadays, you can a variety of glow-in-the-dark colours including orange, purple and many more.
Instead of keeping the fan in one single colour, how about finishing it with a base layer and adding colourful details around certain parts, or creating a polkadot pattern? Or you could finish the housing in a bright colour and keeping the blades in white.
A rainbow colour scheme using a different colour for each single blade. When the fan is turned on and begins to rotate, the colours create a fascinating view. Look up rainbow fan on Pinterest or other search engines and see for yourself.
Upcycling unused parts
If a ceiling fan is completely dead, you can still use some parts for decoration in your home and garden. Old blades can be turned into a decorative wooden wall background. Primed with black board paint it can be used as your own black board or be decorated with a welcoming slogan. You can also use these blades for all DIY projects involving wood (or metal), such as hanging shelves. That way you still can make use of your dear old ceiling fan.Another cool way of upcycling your fan blades is to arrange them on a wall in the shape of a windmill wheel. This creates a 3D wall image. Blades with a natural leaf shape such as palm or bamboo leaves are perfect for decoration in a conservatory or greenhouse.
For use in the garden you can paint your old blades and blade holders in bright colours and add stickers or figurines of butterflies and dragonflies on them. Antique bladed holders (traditional, classic designs) often boast rich ornaments, making them ideal as an addition in flower boxes. A decorated metal housing like you would find in the Santa Pepeo can be used as a planter or pot. Even upside down lamp shades can be used that way.
Did you know that could technically build your own desk fan from cardboard? Be safe and have fun with our DIY ideas?
Our creoven team will be happy to assist if you happen to look for new fans as well as spares and accessories.
Our creoven team will be happy to assist if you happen to look for new fans as well as spares and accessories.
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