Have you ever removed an old florescent bar light and found
gaping holes where there shouldn’t be any? Or worse, learning that that your
old fixture was never attached to anything but the drywall?
As you can see, that is exactly what I found.
STEP 1: Find the ceiling joists and mark them so that your next
fixture is secure.
STEP 2: Mark those on your board.
This is very important!
STEP 3: Paint a base color on the
selected board. I chose a pumpkin color which was a shade darker than the walls
to help tie-in the color scheme.
STEP 4: Trace your design and
paint it white. I chose the same paint that I painted the trim in my bathroom.
See below for the pattern.
STEP 5: Next, using a sea sponge,
dot the entire surface with the white paint so that it is mottled looking.
STEP 6: Using a mixture of
black/brown acrylic paint trace the lines of the scroll pattern. Be sure to add
some shadowing for a more three-dimensional effect.
STEP 7: Using the sea-sponge
again, I mottled the surface with the wall color to help tie it into the color
scheme. I thinned down the paint with a little water or you can mix it with a
little glazing medium.
STEP 8: Frame with cut molding
pieces painted to look like the metal light. You can use a metal spray paint or
see below for the steps for painting it using acrylic paints.
For best results spay on a coat of acrylic varnish to protect
it. Secure it with wood screws going into the ceiling joists (marked and
measured from STEP 1) and install your new light by attaching it to the board.
-Barbara Ivie Green
PAINT THE FRAME IN FOUR EAST STEPS
STEP 1: Stain boards a cedar color.
STEP 2: Use a wax candle or white crayon to rub on the raised
surfaces. (This will make it so that the next stain will not adhere to it or
will RESIST the stain.)
STEP 3: Stain the boards a dark walnut color.
STEP 4: Using a soft cloth rub the raised areas to reveal the
cedar stain beneath it.
PATTERN FOR LIGHT ESCUTCHEON
This is the pattern I created to go across a 1” X 12” X 50 ½”
board. Not shown is a border that I added around the edge.
My light was centered between two ceiling joists which were 16”
on center. This length gave me 8 places where I was able to screw into the
ceiling joists too.
Permission granted to copy this pattern for the purposes of
creating the light escutcheon.
