How To Jazz Up a Plain White Plastic Ceiling Medallion

by Courtney @ All Things New Again

$44.98

1 Hour

Easy

This project is quick and easy ... and it adds a little special touch to your home. Here's how I transformed a plain white plastic ceiling medallion using American Paint Company paints and metallic micas.

how to jazz up a plain white plastic ceiling medallion, how to, lighting, repurposing upcycling

I forgot to take a “before” shot so I pulled this photo from the Lowe’s website. This is the $14.98 ceiling medallion I bought for the dining room in our 1949 duplex in Alexandria, VA.

There was a gap between the top of the dining room chandelier and the ceiling that a medallion would fill nicely. I didn’t want anything too ornate—or too expensive. This one was perfect for the space, but a little bit plain.

I painted it with American Paint Company’s "Crushed Tea", the same rich color I used for the built-in china cabinet transformation I shared with you last week. One of the nice properties of American Paint Company all-natural clay chalk and mineral paint is that it sticks to just about any type of surface with very little prep work. I was confident it would stick to this plastic ceiling medallion.

Halfway through the first coat, I thought: I have made a terrible mistake!

You can see the white plastic on three of the sections in this photo. The rest shows the first coat of APC Crushed Tea. It looks ugly. The paint did not appear to be sticking. For a split-second, I thought I would have to spend another $14.98 on another ceiling medallion because I ruined this one.

But then I let the paint dry ...

This photo shows the wet second coat on the right side against the dry first coat on the left side. You can see how nicely the paint filled in on the dry side compared to the first photo above. You can also see how the paint color changes as it dries. The second coat provided full coverage of all of that white plastic.

I used Minwax Polycrylic to seal this project. When the poly had dried for a little bit, but was still sticky to touch, I added some American Paint Company pewter mica. I just dipped a dry brush into the mica and dusted it all over the medallion, working it into the poly so it would stick. I did the same with APC gold mica then I sealed it again with more poly. I already had the paint, poly and both types of micas from previous projects so I did not add that cost to this project.

Here is the finished ceiling medallion:

I really like how it is all shiny and metallic looking.

Here is the complete look with the chandelier:

The chandelier had frumpy glass goblets that detracted from the lamp’s hip industrial vibe. We removed the glass and replaced the ordinary light bulbs with vintage-looking Edison bulbs. At $10 apiece, they are pricey, but $30 was still much cheaper than buying a new chandelier.

Bonus: The Edison bulbs cast cool shadows across the ceiling at night.

Here's our new dining room! We are fixing up a 1949 duplex on a dime this summer, adding little touches like the chandelier and ceiling medallion to play up the home's vintage charm. Please follow along on our house-flipping adventures on our All Things New Again Blog. Thank you!