How to Upcycle a Glass Light Shade into Stylish Home Decor

This home decor project is easy to do and inexpensive! Win win, right? If you're lucky, you can even get the main part of this project for free! We discuss options below to help you track down this item as cheap as possible. Read on to see how easy it is to put together once you've found it!

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For this project you only need a ceiling fan glass light shade and some paint! As mentioned above, there are a few ways you can track down these glass shades. I came across 3 at a thrift store for $1 a piece. If you've checked thrift stores with no luck, try driving around on trash night. People are always updating ceiling fans and you could find exactly what you need curbside and for free! Another option would be to ask family and friends. If they have light shades like these on their fan, ask if you can have them when they get a new fan. Lastly, you can purchase them from home improvement stores or online (see Amazon link below). While there is a cost for this option, at least you can choose an exact style you like. Plus, the amount you spend for the glass shade is still cheaper than buying most similar home decor piece.

After you've found your glass light shade you will need to make sure it's clean. Give it a good scrub in hot soapy water to make sure any dust or dirt are removed from the surface.

Next, you need to pick your paint color. I have been in a real blue mood lately. Not emotionally, I just can't stop buying blue decor pieces for the house! So I choose a matte finish French blue acrylic paint for this project. You can grab it on Amazon at the link below.

All you need to do now is paint the inside of the light shade. It will take a few coats until you get it to be uniform.

Ta-da! You're basically done. I did not create a bottom piece for my shade but you could cut out some foam board or cardboard to hot glue in the bottom. You can leave it as is or you could also hot glue some twine to the bottom to give it a more finished look. I go back and forth over which way I like it.

So what do you do with it now? See below ideas for ways to decorate using this new piece.

It can be used as a small vase for some faux florals. If you find a small cup to hold water that could fit inside, it could also hold real flowers.

You could also get some LED candles and put those inside to make it a beautiful candle holder. Since the paint is not flame resistant I would not use a real candle.

Lastly you could use it as a surround for taper candles. This would be beautiful for a wedding centerpiece or even just on your dining room table.

Do you have any other ideas for how this could be used? Let us know!