aperture - Maximizing bokeh in the foreground?

Another question asks, How can I maximize the “blurry background, sharp subject” (bokeh) effect?

Rather than the background, I am interested in blurring the foreground. What techniques or advice are different for achieving sharp subjects with strongly blurred foregrounds?

Note that I'm not asking how to use an editing program to achieve this effect after in post production or after the image is captured.

I am using a Nikon D7200 with an AF-S 18-140 mm VR Lens

Answer

From the other question:

Here's the list of things that influence depth of field the most (in this particular order):

1. Subject distance, the closer the subject is, the shallower the DOF (think of macro)


2. Focal length, the more millimeters, the shallower the DOF


3. Aperture, the smaller the f-number, the shallower the DOF

(written by Karel)

and this is my addition specific for this question:

4. Make the foreground as close the to camera as possible. Make the subject as far away as possible.

The closer the camera is to the foreground, the larger the bokeh will be. As the camera is moved away from the foreground, the bokeh will be smaller.

Here is my clarification,

This is what the lighting setup looks like (sorry for crappy image quality... you can't take pictures of your nice camera with your nice camera):

I am not using a flash. I am using a lightbulb that is behind the fan.