I used to have a ceiling fan in my dining/home office space. I never used the fan part and the light part was no longer my cup of tea. My likes and dislikes have evolved over the years and after 8 years of living in this space I needed a change. Luckily my downstairs neighbors boyfriend is an electrician which meant that as long as I bought the fixture and some grub he would replace the unit for free. He and I went to Lowe's where I found a unique system in which you pick a base (black or stainless color), select your shade and whoa-la a fixture customized to your needs. I picked a base that wold only allow for one hanging fixture and an 8" diameter beige lamp shade (I forgot to take before pictures). After everything was installed I decided that the fixture was plain and needed a bit of pizzazz so I headed over to my local Jo Ann's in search of options to dress up the lamp shade. 
The colors that I had to work with/around were white kitchen cabinets, burgundy and beige walls, green and orange accents with chocolate colored furniture. What I found was an interesting ribbon that was my jumping off point. First I painted the shade lime green using 3 coats (allowing for an hour of drying time between each coat). After each coat I would put the lamp shade on the base and turn the light on so that I could see which areas needed more paint. Then I painted the bottom rim of the shade a burgundy/red clay color and then using glue I attached the ribbon to the bottom of the shade.
A few tips if you are going to try this:
- If your shade is bigger than mine then you may want to use spray paint.
- Most craft paints sold at Jo Ann's or Micheal's are for indoor use. If you are doing this for an outdoor space I would suggest using a type of craft paint called patio paint (see picture).
- If you are doing this indoors I would suggest trying the soy craft paint. You do not get as many color options but there is no odor.
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