SFGate

Designing Solutions Design suicide? What could be worse than sweating in your own home? Your husband is right and the designers who tell you otherwise place appearance before comfort and that's not good design, that's vanity. Having said that, check out www.fanimation.com
They have some of the coolest looking fans out there and I do mean "cool" in that they're efficient at moving air and great to look at.

Becky Harris I'm with Debbie, there are TONS of cool looking fans out there (some only have two blades, others look like old fashioned table fans but made new and super cool). Stop letting HGTV tell you to sit and stifle and find one of the cool looking fans out there (I tend to vote no lights if you don't want to draw attention to is, I also have an aversion to overhead light, esp. in a bedroom) or a very simple white fan against a white ceiling.

terpteacher I so feel you on this!! I'm sure others will vehemently disagree, but I've made peace with the ceiling fan. They aren't the prettiest things, but they definitely make a room more comfortable. Isn't that the point of good design? They also can reduce your overall energy costs.They are green! We have them in all of our bed rooms, family room and sun porch. Depending on your style, there have been advances.
Pharos Ceiling Fan

Craftmade Lauren Meridian 56" 4 Blade Ceiling Fan with Continuous Circle Pattern


I generally get one that contrasts with the ceiling. My ceilings are all white and it's hard to find a richer looking white ceiling fan. No brass! In most cases, I avoid the light fixture since it's the weird globes and shades that remind me of my 70's childhood :) Like this one... Ceiling Fan Installation by Hi Amp Electric

sunshinesarah Okay, WHEW! Ceiling fans it is. Your posts are making me feel much better and I love all of the ideas and links. It's our first "real" home and because we are acting as the contractors many of the decisions that the GC would usually make are falling to me. Who knew I'd get stressed over silly ceiling fans. Thanks for the help!

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. I really Iike this fan from Minka Aire. I have installed this fan in multiple houses for the same concerns you have. First, it is only 44" which is a smaller wing span, second it is bright white and just blends right into the ceiling, finally it has a light cap so you can cap off the light if you prefer. If you opt to use the light it's best used in addition to can lights because the light is not very bright. Here it is installed...



Here is a link to Bellacor. They usually have these in stock...
http://www.bellacor.com/productdetail/minka-aire-f518-wh-concept-ii-flush-44-inch-ceiling-fan-34778.htm
I actually have these in my own home because my husband, who also never really chimes in about interior design, also insists on ceiling fans. Hope that helps.
Charmean Neithart

deniseb You would rather be uncomfortable in your own home than contradict what some design magazine tells you?

Is a ceiling fan uglier than a refrigerator or a toilet? Would you give up having a refrigerator because someone pronounced them too ugly to exist?

Don't pay attention to people who say silly things.

fabia The correct answer is all above... The ceiling fan is the way to go. I am an Interior Designer, and would never tell a client how to live their life. This is a very slippery slope in the design arena. I have ceiling fans in all bedrooms and kitchen. There, is good design ,and then there is just a fad. The fad is what we don't follow. The "design Articles" are not always written by design professionals. Nor are alot of articles on line. Stay with the fan have a harmonious, cool life :)

sunshinesarah Denise, I struggle with the idea of installing ceiling fans mainly b/c they are difficult to decorate around. It's more of a question of functionality vs. beauty. When I envision my dream room there is a romantic chandelier above the bed... not a ceiling fan.

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. I hear you sunshinesarah. There is a compromise. Check out the link I posted. I have bought this fan probably 30 times. Many people want ceiling fans, but they can ruin the look of a room. These fans from Minka Aire are quite easy to decorate around. They just blend into the ceiling. I'm confident you will like them.

deniseb Actually, Charmean, I just bought that fan and am waiting to have it installed in my BR.
Sorry if I sounded judgmental, Sarah. I just think comfort is most important.

Cynthia Taylor-Luce I agree with many of the statements above. Number one: NO LIGHTS! Number two: go for a very simple style, sleek and well-finished. Number three: Get as large a diameter fan as you can accommodate, because the longer the blades, the slower the necessary fan speed and the quieter it will be. There should be a decibel rating for the fan noise so pay attention to that, especially for bedrooms. I hate having the house shut up for the air conditioning in the summer, so I think it would be lovely to be able to have the house wide open and ceiling fans moving the air around.

BeautifulRemodel.com Sunshinesarah, I agree with everyone else here in that you have an enormous amount of choice when it comes to finding great ceiling fans. I'm not sure what your style is but for contemporary and retro try www.modernfan.com.

Www.palmstore.com has some unusual fans available and if you *really* want that chandelier over your bed, they even make one with an integrated ceiling fan!: http://www.palmfanstore.com/candelier.html. The price is scary though!

Best of luck with your new home!

Steve

ej610 Any interior designer who doesn't design with ceiling fans when the client wants them and uses them is a fraud. A good designer can incorporate a fan into a room seemlessly.

ej610 This all started on the show "Trading Spaces". One of the designers on there ALWAYS took down ceiling fans even when the neighbors insisted the homeowners wanted it to stay. I think her name was Laurie. I blame her!

Cynthia Taylor-Luce Ah Trading Spaces! I remember that show. They seemed to thrive on creating conflict. If people absolutely didn't want something, well that's what they got, and we all watched to the last scene to see the tearful or angry reaction. It made for good tv but not such great design, to be honest. On the other hand, there are a lot of really ugly fans out there which deserve to be taken down! The key is to find something simple and functional and add decorative elements elsewhere in the room, not on the fan itself.

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. I suggest you get the blade span that is scaled appropriately for your room. If you have a smaller room, a shorter blade span is fine. Again, I have two of the Minka Aire fans above my own bed, they are totally silent. Any fan on the highest speed will make a subtle wind sound,which some people find soothing. Multiple lights and lots of details on a fan will make it heavy and it will rattle more. The one I suggested is very light and the blade has a slight curve that makes it very efficient. Read the reviews online. Hope that helps. Charmean

Becky Harris Wow, this is a hot topic, perhaps we need to do a featured ideabook on ceiling fans? I vote for Charmean's expertise :)

I should have said "TLC" instead of "HGTV" in my comment because indeed it was Kountry Frank and Hildy and Vern and GG and Doug et. al. who always banished the fans. In their defense, they were usually hideously outdated fan styles and full of dust.

sunshinesarah Thanks everyone for your expertise and ideas and suggestions. I am no longer scared of CEILING FANS!

I don't remember which Design Show lent to my phobia, but the first thing that went was ALWAYS the ceiling fan and the second was the TV in the Master Suite! "Rules" I always felt were cruel and unusual punishment.

My husband and I are building on our river-front Oklahoma Ranch. A Craftsman style home with a open Lodge-ish layout. I am no interior designer but I love to decorate. If I had to describe the style I envision for the home I would go with #1 comfortable, #2 classic & #3 playful.

Here are a few of the fans I am going to ask the hubby about...
(all from Bellacor.com but also available elsewhere)

sunshinesarah A few more pics...

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Great sunshinesarah. Just one last detail about the Minka Aire fan, it also comes in oil rubbed bronze if you wanted a more rustic finish.
http://www.bellacor.com/productdetail/minka-aire-f518-orb-44-inch-concept-ii-oil-rubbed-bronze-ceiling-fan-46219.htm

brm2 Thank you very much, in the same position building a home and wanted to get feedback on the ceiling fans. Great information! Thank you,

ginaxoxo Charmean Neithart Interiors, can you tell me why you like the bellacor fan? I need to get one for 3 bedrooms. Also, we have a two story family room. Can I get the same fan? Or, should I change it up?? Anything else you suggest??

Why does it come with a light? Maybe it is obvious but I can't see why it needs a light.

Charmean Neithart Interiors, LLC. Hi ginaxoxo. If you go to my first post at the top of this thread you'll see the reasons I like this fan. Mainly, it has a smaller blade span which I like. It's also very quiet. The fan comes with a cap that just snaps right over the light if you don't want the light. I usually cap it off and use other light sources. Hope that helps. Charmean Neithart

larryhinkle I just want to add that that its kind of misleading leading that they are "efficient". They use a good deal of power and like everything in your home draw power when not even working. They cost you more money than they save you.

With central heat/air they dont really do much unless your HVAC isnt running at all. I only find them really useful in areas that dont get any air flow or older homes where you might be relying on window units. If the temp is at a point you dont need the HVAC running then opening a window or door does wonders. People never seem to open windows these days

I personally find them a complete eyesore regardless of how nice the fan looks. I also have issues with them dating back to 80s when they were a hot item and people had to put them in every room. EVERY ROOM!

One of my major turn offs when looking at houses are ceiling fans. I rarely if ever like the ones installed and it just means more work and money changing them out. And if the ceilings are high its a real pain.

I know everyone is always going on about our Honey Oak issues, but really the most god awful dated things you see in homes are ceiling fans. Horrible dated (fake) wood blades, shiney gold or brass hardware. Horrible, horrible light fixtures in either granny tulip glass or something worse.

And changing out the light fixtures isnt cheap. Decent replacements cost $12 at least so if you are spending $60+ to "update" its really nearly as cost effective to buy a new fan.

Oh god and the noise they can make. Thats alone drives me crazy.

I guess I am a no when it comes to them

deniseb I have no a/c and the white Minka Aire in my BR has been a life-saver. It's so quiet I can't hear it at all, and makes a huge difference in my comfort on warm nights even on low speed. I haven't noticed any difference in the electric bill. And I don't find it unattractive at all.

Opening windows is a problem as I live on a busy noisy street.

I am going to install one in the LR ASAP. I'm totally happy with it.

danafaith We just replaced our outdated and gaudy ceiling fan with a modern oversized white haiku fan. It's made by the company Big Ass fan. The haiku is their residential model. It's sophisticated and modern plus very quiet

Linda I have an Aurora fan from Modern Fan Company in my kitchen and I love it! I had a difficult time finding a fan with a reasonable fluorescent light. Most of the neat modern design fans seemed to have halogen lights and I don't want to add the extra heat into my non-airconditioned house.

We had a problem with the lamp socket and the company's customer service and warranty replacement service was great. It was an expensive purchase for me and I was pleased to see that the company stands by their quality and takes care of the problems.