This is so easy y’all! Add a drum shade to your ceiling fan in just 5 minutes. Yep, five minutes is all you need to pretty up those outdated ceiling fans. A few affordable accessories will have you finished in no time. Read on to find out all the details!
This takes the cake as the easiest light change… ever. Yes, ever. I can’t believe I haven’t done this sooner! Let’s add a drum shade to your ceiling fan, people…
We’ve all seen them. Some of us have them, and thankfully I have one less. This has been staring down at us all year, right over the bed. UGLY. But… needed. Those long and hot Summer days can make for some uncomfortable temperatures at night. So this beauty isn’t going anywhere. (This post may contain affiliate links. This means, should you end up making a purchase, advertisers give me a small percentage of that sale, at absolutely NO EXTRA COST to you. Click here for full disclosures).
(Be sure to inspect your light to purchase proper sized parts, fittings, and assemblies. I’ve gathered some links here, for inspiration and convenience).
SUPPLIES to add a drum shade to your ceiling fan:
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Nut adaptor or Coupler
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Threaded post
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Drum shade (with spider setting)
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Nut
I have seen fans outfitted with a glass drum shade for a couple hundred dollars in the lighting section of the hardware store. I could never pull the trigger because even if I wanted to shell out the bucks, the scale was off with the light and the fan, and I never really liked them anyway.
So, there I was staring at my fan one day, inspired by my last lighting makeover adventure, and knew there had to be something I could do.
Do you know your fan should have this little nut that screws out of the centre of your fixture?
Yep, there it is right there. You can see the nut in my hand. Ignore the bolt and adaptor. I had those at the ready while I experimented with ideas for the light.
Turns out (this might blow your mind), all you need to do is:
- Remove the old tri-light glass shades
- Unscrew that nut from the middle of your ugly fan light
- Thread a drum shade onto the stem
- Screw the nut into place to hold the drum shade in place
- And then, well… there’s no “and then”… it just is. That’s it… you’re done. Drum shade attached!
My only little extra was to replace my cheap plastic pulls with these gorgeous crystal cut glass pulls. Small investment for a HUGE improvement.
(It’s worth mentioning you’ll need a “spider” style drum shade. Mine had 3 arms which worked fantastic for fitting them over the 3 bulbs. The centre of the spider slipped right onto the threaded bolt in the middle of the fixture, and the nut holds it in place).
Total. Improvement. Pictures just can’t do it justice because it actually changes the whole feeling of the room. It went from this purely function-only, don’t-look-at-me-fixture, to a pretty addition to the room. It’s a piece of the puzzle, instead of this thing I’m trying to ignore.
Oh, and the fact that it took ZERO electrical maneuvering, and literally took 5 minutes to get the job done, was kind of the best thing ever.
Here’s an extra tip… if you need a little more post length, (I did), to fit your drum shade to your fixture, you can use a post adaptor. This is what you’re looking for:
I found this one in the lighting aisle at the hardware store (during another lighting project). Everything was in this package with the lighting posts:
And, here is how it would look put together when attaching your drum shade to your fan ceiling fixture:
Good luck updating those ceiling fans people! Make ’em pretty!
I Want to do this but my fan has 5 bulbs with 5 ugly glass shades, awful! How do I measure to know which size drum shade I need to fit over all 5 bulbs?
Wish I could add picture!
I think it will come down to the style of your drum shade. Mine was a spider shade with only 3 prongs which each fit between 2 of the bulbs. You may need a little trial and error to fit to your 5 bulb light. Sorry I can’t be more help!
Thanks for the idea..ordering a shade today to do this. Cant wait!!
That’s awesome Regina! Hope it works out for you! :)
Hi,
I have the exact (think) ceiling fixture in my apartment and am going to do this, I was wondering what size lamp shade you used? It looks great proportionally (plus I can’t figure out how to measure mine to see what size I need).
Hi Calley! That sounds great! I want to say mine is a 16″ diameter drum shade (we’re actually in the middle of a big reno and have that ceiling fan down and packed away at the moment). :/ And, it’s a “spider” shade, so it has the 3 prongs that fit over my 3 bulbs perfectly. Hope that helps! Good luck!
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Looks awesome! And btw thank you for your excellant pictures and directions! I got all the pieces and my fan makeover came out great! :D
That’s so great, Jen! I saw your instagram pic, looks good!
Love the idea, any thoughts on the size of the shade.
Thanks
I is just great I have 3 fans to do this to. Thanks
Fantastic Dianna! Good luck!
I have the center single.bulb and I use the uno shade, but I also want the drum shade for two fans. I have two uno rings and a couple of plain rings with no center. I am going to make.my.own.drum shades so they match my decor.
HI, you are so clever to have figured this out, and thanks so very very much for teaching it to the rest of us!
For years, I’ve HATED the fan on our patio which really is designed and functions like a dining room — you know where I’m going with this one! I just have to find a lamp shade that can withstand temperature swings – the patio’s covered but has one screened in wall.
Thanks again, I can’t wait to get more great ideas from you!
Thanks Doreen! That sounds like a perfect project to tackle with this DIY! Good luck!
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This is a awesome. Who would have known that you could transform a standard white ceiling fan into a light fixture that has so much more style and looks at least three times as expensive. I love these easy DIY’s that make a huge difference in a space. Thank you so much for sharing this trick with the world.
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hmmm…doesn’t sound like it will work if you have a center light and not 3 or more lights..What do you think?
Hmmm… you’ve got me thinking… Maybe if you could find a drum shade with the uno piece, where the bulb sits underneath, or an edison style clip, drum shade? Like pictured here: http://concordlampandshade.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Fitters.jpg
I have a center light fan and it works with the “uno” drum. You just have to insert it before you install the light bulb and tadam, so simple!
This is absolutely brilliant idea, Jen! I’ve got ceiling fans all over the house that need a drum shade to amp up their appeal factor! Thanks for thinking of this!
Thanks Cindy! I know, right? I’ll never look at an ugly old ceiling fan, the same way again! :)
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