A New Old Light Fixture {Bathroom Makeover, Phase 2}

Behold the splendor! This beauty has graced the upstairs hall bathroom since we moved in. And probably for a good many years before that!

Don't you all go rushing out to get your own. I highly doubt they make them like this anymore. And I think that the mismatched CFL bulbs are a nice touch, too. Absolutely stunning. haha! (I know you're jealous!)

In my effort to makeover the bathroom, I went out and looked at brand new light fixtures. I couldn't find anything that really spoke to me, and the price tags were more than what I wanted to spend. I'm trying to save money here-- I have a LOT of house to work on! So I went over to the spray paint aisle (my home away from home) and grabbed a can of regular old black semi-gloss. Nothing fancy. Under $5. Easy. I figured that if the end result looked bad, I'd just find something to buy. But it was worth a shot, right?

Step one was to turn off the power to the light fixture. How'd I do it? I gave the 4-year-old a phone, called her on it, and told her to watch the light as I went down into the basement to flip the switches on the electrical panel. Easy! She practically screamed into the phone when the light went off. Good little helper. Sometimes, child labor is acceptable. Especially when she's so stinking cute doing it! :)

Once the power was off, it was time to get it down. I started by removing the bulbs and glass shades. Easy. I set them aside. Then I removed the screw covers by hand. And then the light fixture was just dangling there. I unscrewed the three wire nuts back behind the thing, allowing the fixture to come free. Tada! And I didn't even get electrocuted! (yes, the power was off... but the fear is always there!). What I was left with was a hole in the wall that looked like this. Yay!

I scrubbed the thing down, removing dust and grime. It was still ugly. I covered up the sockets with aluminum foil, taped up the wires, and took everything outside onto our covered porch for a coat of paint. Easy. I painted all the little accessory pieces, too. It was looking better already!

While the paint was drying, I got smart. I was already planning to paint the bathroom the same color I used in our home office (Valspar "Churchill Hotel Olive"). I didn't want to have to remove the light fixture again later, so I painted the area around it. Go me! Seriously, I was feeling pretty clever. Less work! Woohoo! (don't worry, I did another coat after I took this picture!)

Eventually, the paint was dry enough to handle, and I got the fixture back up (connecting black wire to black wire, white wire to white wire, and copper ground wire to copper ground wire). I have no pictures, though, because it was hard enough doing this with only two hands! I was being so careful not to scratch the paint on the fixture or the wall! And, of course, my phone rang in the middle of it all (it was my husband). Chaos! But I got it back up!

And... it looks pretty darn good, if I do say so myself. WOW! And it looks really sharp with the newly-painted black vanity, too. I am SO EXCITED about how this is all coming together!