Sometimes a great makeover is about embellishing, but often it's all about simplifying and stripping down. We actually had to flip back and forth between these before and after pictures to make sure we were seeing the same light fixture.

Ellie Snow of Mint took this standard brass chandelier from blah to super unique in just an hour with a can of black spray paint and new bulbs. We're completely impressed with how cool this transformation looks, especially considering the minimal time and money spent. With so many interesting bulbs available now and a veritable rainbow of spray paint colors available, we're itching to try this one ourselves. This would be a great makeover for a very budget nursery or chid's room.
Make sure to visit Ellie at Mint for all her "Project: Home Sweet Home" posts.
(Images: Ellie Snow of Mint)


Shaw's Original Fir...
Looks great!
Nicely done!
awesome and simple! i want to do this to a few chandeliers that i have. however, my husband thinks that the process will be a bit longer than an hour- he want to sand blast the finish off to make sure the paint sticks. this isn't necessary, is it?
If you buy the correct spray paint for the surface, there's no need to remove the existing finish first (though you may want to if it's chipped or flaking). There are spray paint varieties for metal, plastic, etc.
Jane and Amber, I did this to our chandeliers 11 years ago on the first weekend we moved into our home. They were similar to the ones pictured here but also had wood in the centre. I intended to replace the lights throughout so wasn't concerned with how long the finish might last and painted them with a brush and artists acrylic paint. This meant I didn't need to remove them or worry about messy spray paint.....11 years on and I've never felt the need to replace them, the paint has never chipped and they still look great.
If they were out in the elements I'm sure you'd need to do a better job but safe and sound indoors and mine are fine.
Looks great ! Did you rewire the light or can you paint the cord black ? (I assume the rings are sprayed black) ?
totally fantastic