Fan-cy

I love it when I am watching design shows on HGTV and the first thing the designer says is "That ceiling fan has GOT to go!".  Well, clearly, that room is not in the South.  We NEED our ceiling fans down here, ugly or not!  Of course I have them in nearly every room in my house.  I thought there MUST be some way to make them more attractive, though I have never seen much of anything except your typical, run of the mill ceiling fan.  Down here, they are so common you don't even notice.

Then, I got a Lowe's flyer in the mail.  This beauty was in there. LOVE, WANT.

What an awesome solution to ugly ceilingfan-ness!  Not so fast, cowgirl, this baby was originally priced at $699...are you kidding me?  (*It has now dropped to $399, same comment still applies).  So, I put my thinking cap on and came up with my own CUTE and CHEAP solution.

Voila:

Tween Bedroom

Master Bedroom

Tutorial follows for the Tween Fan.  The shade in the master came from Ikea, and was constructed differently.  A little ingenuity and these tools got that one hung pretty quick!

Husband laughing hysterically, but the clothesline is basically invisible against the fan, even when standing directly below.  It's level, secure, and cute....really, what more do you need?

Ok, so the Tween Fan was a little more involved.  Supplies needed: 18 gauge wire, wire cutters, pliers, this clampy thing (I am sure it has a name, but they sell it in the plumbing section for about $2-$3).  Duct tape (this is high tech!) and in this case, I was reusing old lamp shades, so grosgrain ribbon and a glue gun.  Shades were originally purchased at Lowe's and come plain or in several colors for $14.99.

1. Cut three pieces of wire that are approximately 2 inches longer than the diameter of your lamp shade.    Bend at a 90 degree angle approximately 2-3 inches from one end.  Now "lay" this end on the top of one of your lampshade support thingees (is there a name for these?) and duct tape together.  I used gold duct tape from my daughter's vast collection so it would be less noticable. Attach the other two wires to the other two lamp thingees in the same manner.

*If you are doing anything decorative, such as ribbon, you should do it now.  I simply hot glued grosgrain ribbon on the top and bottom edges of my shade.

2. Now take you plumbing clamp thing and center it in the middle of the top of the lampshade.  Bring your attached wires under and bend around so they are holding up the clamp.  The whole thing is kind of loosey, goosey at this point, but that is ok.  Your wires should be secure where attached to the lamp, giving you some stability.

3. Unscrew the clamp so it is completely open and place it around your ceiling fan above the lights but below the blades. ***Be sure your ceiling fan blades are NOT moving at this point.  You do not want to whack yourself in the head!**.  Place the clamp back together and tighten clamp as tight as you can get it.  This should secure everything pretty tightly, and if you were careful to get the clamp close to the center your shade should be level and beautiful.

4. Twist your wires back around themselves and cut off any excess.

And there you have it!  

If I wasn't clear, please feel free to ask questions...and if you make any of your fans Fan-cy, please leave a link, I would love to see!

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