How to Repurpose a Ceiling Fan Light Fixture Into a Bird Feeder
by
To Work With My Hands
(IC: blogger)
4 Materials
Easy
Ceiling fans are a huge thing where we live. The summers are hot and humid and we've grown so accustomed to running them (even in the winter sometimes) that when one breaks, it's no small thing. When the inevitable happened at our house last year, a trip to Lowe's was top priority and my electrical-bent husband had us up and running again in no time.
I'm not so electrically minded, but I do know a pretty thing when I see it, and the discarded light fixture - which was still in great shape - wasn't something I was ready to toss out. I snatched it up and set it aside for a project I had brewing in my mind - a DIY fountain for the garden.
I found a great lamp base at a yard sale to use along with the fixture, and set them aside until I was ready to make my fountain. Plans change, you know! :) This year, we spent most of our Labor Day weekend cleaning our our garage, garden shed, and workshop. You know, the places you pile things after you move until you can "get around to" organizing everything. It took us nearly 6 months to "get around to it". It was a good thing though because I found all kinds of inspiring things that hit my project list and that forgotten ceiling fan light fixture was one of them.
I'm kind of a paint junkie and this was just another prime opportunity to try out a new color and finish. I found this great hammered gray and decided it would be perfect.
It was. I love how it turned out - fresh and clean, but not overpowering. Just what I wanted.
I found a 10-foot decorative chain at Lowe's and grabbed a package of S hooks. I gave the hooks a shot of paint, but decided to leave the chain unpainted. I thought the black finish was a nice contrast. I wanted a 2-1/2 foot drop, so the chain was exactly what I needed. I dug around in my husband's (now clean) shop, found a pair of cutting pliers, and made fast business of making 4 shorter chains.
One of the perks of living in the deep south is that we get to enjoy birds all year long, and get many of the beautiful birds each winter that migrate away from cooler regions. The robins are especially fun to watch and we only see them in winter. My new bird feeder hangs right outside the kitchen window, and I'm keeping watch - waiting for those first few visitors. I hope they'll enjoy using their feeder as much as I enjoyed making it.
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Suggested materials:
- Ceiling fan light fixture (salvaged)
- Rustoleum Hammered Gray Spray Paint (Lowe's)
- 5 S Hooks (Lowe's)
- 10- foot, #100 Oblong Decorative Chain (Lowe's)
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
Published September 12th, 2016 9:44 AM
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4 of 43 comments
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Laurie Laurent-Hyland on Oct 17, 2016Very pretty!
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To Work With My Hands on Oct 17, 2016Thanks, Laurie.
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Snell14004 on Oct 19, 2016I like it a lot but I think I would hang ivy from it, or some kind of hanging flower plant We have to many squearls around.
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To Work With My Hands on Oct 20, 2016That would be lovely! By all means, do what works best for you. 😊
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