It’s my favorite day of the month again! Woot Woot! It’s time for the Thrift Store Challenge. This month I have brought a vintage style fan back to life. I am excited to show you how easy this fan went from rusty and old to pretty and useful! Last month I made over a fun vintage bathroom scale.
Thrift Store Challenge
The Rules:
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- Upcycle an item(s) from a thrift store, resale store, or garage sale into a new piece of decor.
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- There’s no monthly theme.
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- There’s no budget to stick to.
Meet the Hosts
Victoria | Dazzle While Frazzled – Yami | The Latina Next Door
Kathleen | Our Hopeful Home – Jennifer | Cookies Coffee and Crafts
Deborah | Salvage Sister & Mister – Jeanie | Create and Babble
Gail | Purple Hues and Me – Michelle | Our Crafty Mom
Denise | My Thrifty House – Sue | A Purdy Little House
Marie | The Inspiration Vault – Michelle | Michelle James Design – Debra | Shoppe No 5
Make sure you follow our board on Pinterest for more upcycled decor inspiration!
Vintage Style Fan
Peggy gave me this vintage style fan as a gift a couple of years ago. I am not sure why it sat in my garage for so long. I really was excited. You know how that goes, right?
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Materials Needed:
Vintage Style Fan
Various tools to take it apart. I used a screwdriver and a pair of pliers and a wrench
Two colors of spray paint – Be sure to use a paint that adheres to metal
Getting Started
This is what my vintage style fan looked like when I started.
It has some rust on the front of the base and it was pretty dirty.
The first thing I did was take it apart for painting. I removed the cage around the blades and took the base apart from the motorized part. This makes it much easier to paint. Plus I wanted the blade cage to be a different color than the rest so taking that off was a must.
It was just a series of screws that needed to be removed. Then I cleaned the parts and gave them a light sand with the sanding block.
The rusty part on the base was sanded quite a bit to get rid of it before I painted.
Spray Painting
It was finally a nice day when I painted so I was able to head outside.
I used two large pieces of styrofoam to hold the pieces off the ground while I painted them. It worked well. I laid them all out on one piece for this photo then separated the cage for the blade before I started painting.
Krylon brand was my paint of choice this time. I loved this light green and was very excited to try it out.
For the blade cage I wanted a darker…almost black. One of my favorite “go to” colors is the metallic oil rubbed bronze so I used it. I LOVE it.
Finishing Up!
After the paint was completely dry I put it all back together and it turned out so nice. I took pics of the parts and how they were put together. I highly recommend this method if you have a terrible memory like me.
Anyway, here is the final vintage style fan. I love it!
The color is fabulous…in my opinion!
Well there you have it. My “new” vintage style fan now adds some extra style to our home. And it is useful just in time for the warm weather.
If you like this upcycle project you will probably love to check out my recycle/upcycle gallery!
It is full of fun things.
Be sure to pin it if you like it!
And now for more thrifty goodness!
Check out what my fellow upcyclers created below!
WOW! I have a couple of fans and now I want to paint one! It look s FAB
Thank you Deborah! I had wanted one for so bad so I was happy to get it done and in the house.
Oh my gosh I love how this turned out! Your beautiful new fan and my desk lamp belong together 😊
OMG. They really do belong together. Your desk is amazing! hanks so much Toni I am glad you likey!
Oh I absolutely love the colors you chose Michelle! This came out so precious! I wish I could find a fan now! Love it!
Thanks Yani! I love this little guy and was super excited to finally get this finished. I am glad you like it.
This looks great! I love the style it adds to the table. I also have the rubbed bronze spray paint & its a great color.
Hi Jenny! Thanks so much. It was a fun project. I love these old fans.
Oh my gosh I LOVE this! That light turquoise is so my color lol Vintage fans have always been on my bucket list, so I’ll keep looking! xo Kathleen | Our Hopeful Home
Thanks Kathleen. It is actually more green but teal but I do love it. I really like the light turquoise too but my husband hates it. I try to only use in small doses!
Love the look. It is up to date with a vintage look. It is a great accent piece.
Hi Debra. Thanks so much. It really does make a great accent piece.
I absolutely LOVE how your cute vintage fan turned out. Wonderful project and I’m going to be on the lookout for a similar thrift store find.
Thanks so much Sue. I love this thing and was so happy when Peggy got it for me. I hope I a not the only one who loves an old rusty, dirty, vintage fan as a gift. LOL!
YES!!!!!!!! The colors look superb together Michelle. So lovely, I can almost feel the cool breeze coming off of that gorgeous pale minty green you used.
Thank you Michelle! I am really liking that green and have painted several other things with it. I love this fan too!
Love your fan, Michelle! Again, you always find the perfect colors for your projects. It does match your desk perfectly. I just love it. You are so creative and always wow me with your creations!
I saw this green paint at the store and just knew I would love it. I always have a hard time deciding on color but this one was spot on! Thanks so much.