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The Frugal Homemaker

Your guide to turning your house into a home... one DIY project and yard sale find at a time

Day 6 – Spray paint your light fixtures

October 6, 2011

This post is part of a 31 day series – “31 days to decorate your home on a budget.”  You can read through all the posts in this series here.

And if you don’t want to miss a post you can subscribe by email, join me on facebook, or follow this blog in your reader.  Thanks for reading along!

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When I first started following décor blogs, light fixture transformations amazed me!

The fact that you can take a light fixture like this:

DSC_0541

and turn it into a light fixture like this is amazing!  And the fact that you can buy light fixtures for around $5 at thrift stores amazed me too! Smile

DSC_1621

This is what I started with – your basic, builder-grade, brassy dome light.

DSC_1610

Then I found this beauty at Goodwill for $4.04! Smile

(Thrift stores and yard sales are great prices to find light fixtures.  I find them ALL the time!  I am in the process of changing out most of the fixtures in our house and I usually find fixtures priced around $5 or less.)

(I found 2 just like this, this one is a little smaller.  I couldn’t find the before picture of the one I have in my hallway, so just imagine this is it. 🙂

DSC_0541

I unscrewed the screws on the top and bottom of the cage part to release the glass pieces.  Then I hung it outside on a large garden hook or tree limb so I could paint it from all angles.  I also painted the chain, cord, and ceiling cover.

DSC_0546

Enter my favorite spray paint – Krylon Brushed Metallic in Oil Rubbed Bronze (ORB).  (I buy it at Wal-mart for $3.94 a can.  But you can find it at any home improvement store.)

Spray on 2-3 light coats, let dry, and then put it back together.

Now comes the hard part, beg your husband to help you install it (or if you get really inpatient desperate just put it up yourself – AFTER turning off the power to the whole house at the breaker box, just to be safe Smile)

And there you have it!  A beautiful, new-to you light fixture for $4 + the cost of paint.

DSC_1616

Or if you already have a light fixture like this:

Light Fixture

Just take it down, give it a coat of paint, and reinstall it!  For less than the cost of a can of paint! Smile

 

Have you ever spray painted a light fixture?

Have you used Oil Rubbed Bronze spray paint before?

{cj}

20 Comments LABELS ~ 31 days to decorate your home on a budget, DIY projects

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Comments

  1. Laine chambers says

    October 7, 2011 at 8:10 PM

    Oh yes, around our home, spray paint and light fixtures are great friends! =) I’m actually spray painting a chandelier today that I got a yard sale for $1. So much fun to take the ugly brass and make it pretty!

    Reply
    • Christina says

      October 10, 2011 at 1:55 AM

      Yes it is! I have more that I need to do. And a few more that I need to install (or get David to help me) Adding it to the honey-do list for Tuesday 😉

      Reply
  2. Karen says

    September 18, 2012 at 10:20 AM

    Thank you for posting this. Its exactly what I need to do to my dining room light. Do you spray all 2-3 coats at one time or let them dry in between coats? Did you wear a mask when spraying? Thanks and love your dining room transformation too!

    Reply
  3. Rheda says

    March 10, 2013 at 11:10 PM

    Is it possible to do the brass hardware on doors too?

    Reply
    • Kristi says

      May 6, 2013 at 3:08 PM

      yes!

      Reply
  4. Marcie says

    April 6, 2013 at 7:27 PM

    I’ve been looking forward to spraying my vanity lights for awhile, but now I am getting cold feet worrying about safety. The fixture gets a little warm to the touch….is it safe to paint? Do I need to use high heat paint? Thanks of any insight you can provide. 🙂

    Reply
    • Christina says

      April 10, 2013 at 10:39 PM

      hmmm… I never considered the heat. I wouldn’t think it would get that hot?? I have only done hanging light fixtures not vanity lights. But maybe to be safe you could use high heat paint – it is easy to find and does the same thing.

      Reply
      • claire says

        July 10, 2013 at 12:12 AM

        we did vanity lights at our old house. no problems at all. 🙂

        Reply
  5. claire says

    July 10, 2013 at 12:10 AM

    we spray painted all the brass fixtures, as well as the tp holders and towel bars!!!

    Reply
  6. angela says

    March 16, 2014 at 9:13 AM

    I have a fixture that hangs from a chain and has an electric cord / wires weaved in and out of the chain. Do you also spray the electric cord if it is entwinded with a chain?

    Reply
    • Brittany says

      June 4, 2016 at 3:52 PM

      I’m wondering the same thing!!!

      Reply
  7. Lunnie says

    May 21, 2015 at 11:07 PM

    I’m so glad to have found this site. Great finds and ideas! It’s to easy to just go buy things. The fun is finding great stuff cheap and transforming.
    My life and career due to medical reasons has completely changed. Finding new interests has been a challenge. I never had the time or patience for things like this. Now I LOVE it. Thank you thank you thank you!!!!

    Reply
  8. Jane Stewart says

    October 10, 2015 at 12:39 AM

    Yes to both! I love the rubbed oil bronze spray paint…and have painted light fixtures, hardware, doorknobs, planter stand….prep well. Prime the doorknobs as they’ll be handled a lot.

    Reply
    • Betsy Wilson says

      December 10, 2016 at 3:32 PM

      Prep door handles, how?

      Reply
  9. Sharon says

    January 7, 2019 at 1:30 PM

    I have a light fitting like this. I want to convert it from the 4-bulb light that it was to a one-bulb light. Can it be done please?

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Day 9 – Shop at Thrift stores says:
    October 10, 2011 at 4:54 AM

    […] This is one of the first areas I check.  I love finding light fixtures for $5 that I can paint and use to update my home. […]

    Reply
  2. Day 13–Grab your paintbrush says:
    October 13, 2011 at 3:55 PM

    […] table with a Craigslist find, installed a new light fixture (that I bought NEW before I knew about buying used light fixtures and spraying painting them – oh the money we could have saved. )  I also installed a chair rail and painted a sage […]

    Reply
  3. Day 28–Spray-painted your décor says:
    October 29, 2011 at 11:34 PM

    […] have talked about spray painting light fixtures and even using spray paint to refresh a rug, seriously though, spray paint can transform just about […]

    Reply
  4. Introducing… 31 days to decorate your home on a budget says:
    November 1, 2011 at 12:20 AM

    […] Day 6 – Spray paint your light fixtures […]

    Reply
  5. Update a Fixture with Filament Bulbs | says:
    April 25, 2014 at 5:06 PM

    […] project during the move.  Give me grace.  Imagine the light looking like a bigger version of the first picture of this blog post.  It had glass and ugly scrolly things where the chains are in the […]

    Reply

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Hi!  My name is Christina . . .

I love doing simple, frugal things to make our house feel like HOME! Come learn along with me how to have a beautiful home on a budget.

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