We had a minor mishap that spring when Ed and I added white plank ceilings to the guest rooms. At the time, I didn’t think it was anything important, but I soon realized I was wrong. It turned into months of searching for an affordable solution.
See the pretty ones Hunter – Hepburn Ceiling fan? Isn’t she pretty I have owned the ceiling fan for 3 years now. I also added the same fan to my studioffice.
Well … when we lined up to plank the ceiling in this room, I had my tripod and camera in the room to get VOR photos. As we were preparing to remove the fan, I pushed my tripod out of the way by picking it up and holding it up to clear a large box on the floor. When I did that, the tripod hit the white glass ball and the ball broke. 🙁
Of course, I was upset, but I figured I’d just get a new glass ball at Lowes, where they sell universal ceiling glass ball light covers in many styles for around $ 15.
However, upon further inspection of the ceiling fan, I found that none of these common glass spheres would fit mine Hunter Fan. 🙁 Again, don’t worry, I just had to call Hunter for a replacement globe.
At the time I had the same fan in my studioofficeI used this globe to replace the guest room globe. That left my studiooffice no globe, but I’m the only one walking in the room so I didn’t mind for a short while.
When I wrote an email Hunter, I was told I could order this globe for $ 129 !!!!!!! What!! That’s half the price of the fan! I was then told that since I already own the fan, they would reduce it to $ 75.
There is no way I would pay that much for a single crystal ball. I had to think creatively to come up with my own affordable decorative solution.
During the summer I played around with a few ideas and found one that worked and that I was happy with. It only cost me $ 12.00.
I know most of you don’t own this fan, but I decided to share the story and fix it with you. I hope so “Think different” and ingenuity in using common household items can inspire you to find your own way to repair or even innovate your home.
My first idea was to glue a large drum screen to the light bulb. The lampshade would have added to the modern lines of the fan, but after trying 3 shades – no go. 🙁
So here is my $ 12.00 fix. It looks like I just clipped an angled lampshade over the lightbulb, but this caused the shade to hang way too low, exposing the lightbulb and the bottom of the fan.
However, this didn’t stop me from experimenting further. I bought a few different sizes and styles of lampshades and the same thing happened or the shades didn’t fit at all.
I tried a couple of ideas with my range of lighting devices made from bulb rings, end caps, and base extenders, but none worked.
It wasn’t until I was reaching for a paper clip in my desk drawer that it occurred to me to use one of the smaller weird colors I bought to try out.
3 large paper clips were all I needed to be successful! Smaller paper clips didn’t work. Through trial and error, the large paper clips made hanging the screen on the bottom of the fan a viable solution that made the base and base area invisible.
I know it seems “Why didn’t you just clip the screen to the lightbulb and you’re done with it?” This would have been the easy solution, but the wire mesh frames were either too tall or too short and didn’t seamlessly cover the bottom of the screen. While I was experimenting I should have taken photos, but at the time I didn’t think I was going to post about the fan and the broken globe.
How to replace a broken Hunter ceiling fan globe with a lampshade
Supplies are needed:
Needed time: 10 mins.
How to replace the glass ball on a Hunter ceiling fan with a lampshade
- Open paper clips
Easily open 3 large paper clips as shown in the photo.
- Thread paper clips onto the fan base
Use the open tip of a paper clip to thread it through one of the metal slots on the bottom of the fan base. Then twist it into the slot so the open point is facing down. (See photo below)
Repeat with the other two paper clips in the other two metal slots. (There are three of these slots that the glass ball is attached to.)
- Hold the lampshade under the base
This can be a little tricky and is easier if someone holds the shade up while you thread each paper clip onto one of the angled frame wires in the lampshade.
You may need to open the paper clip a little wider and move it up and down the frame wire to secure the paper clip to the shadow frame wire.
Repeat this process for the other two paper clips on the other two shadow frame wires.
Once this is done, the lampshade will hang evenly as the paper clips are the same size and length to hold the shade in place while also covering the bottom of the fan.
- Cut off any excess paper clip
When you have attached the three paper clips to the wire frame of the screen, cut off the excess paper clip with wire cutters.
Optional: Heavy duty wire cutters allow you to cut off the wire frame ring if you don’t want to look at it while looking into the fan.
This is the view from the back of the room. This is where I placed the seam of the shadow. I haven’t cut the wire ring yet, but will because it is not needed.
I couldn’t be happier with my ceiling fan paper clip.
More common items to use when doing home improvement
When I figured out how a shadow on the fan worked, I thought about other common household items like rubber bands, safety pins, and more that you can use to fix or make decorative items in your home.
In my next post, I’ll cover how I use these items when decorating my home.
As mentioned above, you may not even have ceiling fans in your house, but you have plenty of other items that may need to be fixed or changed in a decorative way. In this case, remember to stay open and envision a way how it works for your needs. Don’t be afraid to experiment to find a unique solution or solution.
Being resourceful can also keep your decorating budget in check. 🙂
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