Ceiling fan makeover! Good-bye yellow brass!

I haven't updated in a little while...everyone here has been sick (and I was on a several day fast/cleanse and was not at all focussed on work!), so not too terribly much has been happening around the house.

But I do have to share my ceiling fan makeover story. I really don't like ceiling fans in general but I do know that in some cases, they are absolutely necessary...like in our living room, for instance. Our ceiling is very high and we need the fan in the winter to push down the warm air when the fireplace is being used and we need it in the summer to keep a nice breeze going. I would love to see a simplistic chandelier in place of our ugly shiny-yellow-brass-with-fake-wood-grain-blades fan, but I know that function trumped beauty in this case. Until now, anyway.

I spent some time online looking at different ceiling fans, particularly ones with my favorite old fashion metal finish - oil-rubbed bronze. They *are* available, but pricey. And those that aren't too pricey look just like our current fan, just in the bronze finish. Sooooo, I decided to buy some Rustoleum anodized bronze paint made for metal surfaces and refinish our fan myself. I'm still in the middle of the project as the fan needs another coat and the blades still need to be done, but even with just one coat, it looks *great* so far! The difference is like night and day. From cheesy to tasteful just like that, lol. I'm going to be doing the blades with the same paint because I don't want them to stand out but just blend in with the rest of the fan. I'll be sure to post pics when the project is complete:) This would also be a great idea for other fixtures that have a nice form but an ugly finish. I may even do this with our current kitchen cabinet door handles and pulls and I'm even considering doing our interior brass door knobs. Can you tell I'm really excited to discover this paint? lol

Jeff did surprise me twice this week by bringing home our long awaited new bisque colored sink (pictured in white). And then later in the week, he surprised me with a new bisque colored GE over the stove microwave to match our stove:) We got the microwave installed yesterday and it looks great! I was so happy to get rid of our old black one. The old one worked great and was also a GE Spacemaker (16 years old!!!), but it really was an eye sore that stood out amidst all of our other bisque colored appliances. Our dishwasher is black and will someday be replaced, but you don't really notice it unless you're standing in front of it - you can't see it from the living room like you can the microwave.

We won't be installing the new countertops and sink until the cabinets are primed and painted Russet red, but with the installation of the microwave, I can already start seeing the cottage/farmhouse theme come together. I love the cabinet color! It's so cheerful and vibrant and homey.

I guess that's about it for now...this week I'll be working on the plaster stencils some more. Can't wait till I'm done with those!