This post is sponsored by Houzz
Week Four! Wow! How’d we get here so fast? Luckily we’ve made great progress and only have one big project and two smaller projects to finish up before reveal day so I’m finally feeling confident that we’ll finish the room on time. Whew! If you’re new or found your way here from the One Room Challenge link up page:
Hi! I’m Danae! This is our first time participating in the One Room Challenge and we’re transforming our daughter’s former nursery into her “big girl” room. If you missed the last few posts be sure to check out Week One (before photos + mood board), Week Two (furniture sources), and Week Three (the nitty gritty on paint)! To stay up-to-date on everything behind the scenes, be sure to follow along on Instagram where I’m sharing daily updates of our ORC successes and frustrations!
Not only did the dresser arrive this week – in pristine condition, I might add – but this week was also the week of little projects: I finished up paint, spray painted the closet hardware, tested out dye solutions for the curtains, and nailed down a final floor plan too. But the biggest accomplishment this week was swapping out the ugly ceiling fan for a beautiful new modern one!
I’ve been waiting to change out this fan since the day we moved in and it feels good to finally get rid of this eyesore! See ya!
There are still some aspects of DIY that we’re hesitant about taking on ourselves – like most plumbing projects and complicated electrical work – but when it comes to installing light fixtures and ceiling fans, we’re pretty confident to do the job ourselves.
Today’s post will walk you through how we swapped ceiling fans in Emie’s room in under an hour but for those of you who are crunched on time or don’t feel as confident to take on a project like this on your own, don’t worry! Houzz is here to help and a great resource for hired help!
The Houzz Find Professionals page can connect you with local pros in your area for just about any home service you could possibly ever need: interior design, architects, handymen, AC mechanics, landscapers, and even house cleaners! Just punch in your zip code and answer a few questions about your project and you’ll be connected with local contractors and pros in your area that have been vetted, reviewed, and approved.
When I was in the thick of painting and didn’t think I’d ever see the end, I thought more than once about hiring a Houzz pro to help me paint and was SO surprised to see exactly how many were in my area!
It can be nerve-wracking to hire someone to work on your home if you’ve never met them and have no idea if they’re reliable, honest, and knowledgeable to do the job they were hired to do. We’ve all heard contractor horror stories but what I appreciate most about the Houzz Find a Professionals Page is the review section!
I will typically read through every last review even before sending an initial inquiry because doing this helps me filter out any immediate and obvious red flags. I’m so happy to have this valuable resource and will definitely be using it for any future projects – I hope you will too!
Let’s get back to our ceiling fan install:
STEP ONE: Turn Off Power
Make sure you turn off power to the area you’re working on – nobody wants to get electrocuted! If you’re unsure what breaker serves your work area, shut off power to the entire house just to be safe and use a multi-meter to double check.
STEP TWO: Remove Old Fan & Assemble New
Remove the old fan and attached the fan blades to your new one.
STEP THREE: Mount Hanger Bracket
Most ceiling fans these days come with this helpful hanger bracket (that black cone shaped thing). It allows you to rest the fan in the cradle while you make your wire connections. Once secured into the junction box, the bracket makes it so that anyone can install the fan on their own without needing assistance from a second person to hold the fan while the wire connections are being made.
STEP FOUR: Wire it Up
Rest the fan in the hanger bracket once it’s been mounted over head and make your wire connections per the instruction manual (green goes to ground / white goes to white / black goes to black). Once you’ve matched up all your wires, we secure them together with the provided wire nuts and wrap each wire bundle with a little bit of electrical tape for extra security.
STEP FIVE: Secure Ceiling Canopy
Remove one of the two shoulder screws in the hanger bracket. Loosen the second shoulder screw without fully removing it. Assemble canopy by rotating key slot in canopy over shoulder screw in hanger bracket. Tighten shoulder screw. Fully assemble and tighten second shoulder screw that was previously removed. Securely attach and tighten the canopy screw cover over the shoulder screws in the hanger bracket utilizing the keyslot twist-lock feature.
STEP SIX: Flip the Switch
Restore power to your work area and flip the wall switch to turn the fan ON.
That’s it! You just installed your first ceiling fan!
We had this ceiling medallion left over from another project so we used it here and I love the way it looks with the new fan. I still need to run a bead of caulk of the perimeter to really finish it off but I love that it makes the fan looks extra special. I would have loved to install a really beautiful light fixture here instead but a ceiling fan during the California summers is a necessity.
At least it’s white and blends in up above rather than sticking out like the previous one did! So much better now that’s for sure!
UP NEXT
We’re hoping to finish the room this weekend – eek! We may be rolling into Week Five but in order to have a reveal on Week Six, the room has to be ready to photograph ahead of time which really cuts into the timeline for completion.
We need to finish the closet doors which is the largest project left to tackle and I am also planning a small curtain DIY too. Both of which I hope to share with you for the Week Five update so stay tuned! I see the light at the end of the tunnel and we’re racing towards it!
As always, thank you for being here and be sure to check out all the other amazing progress that the featured designers are sharing here as well as what the 350+ guest designers are sharing here!