Are Ceiling Fans the Kiss of Death for Design?

Rough Linen This article is like a catalogue for Fans You Needn't Be Ashamed Of! I feel like making a note of them all, and my own favorite Artemis fan turns up three times in the pictures! (is it the Good Houzzkeeping Seal of Approval?)

mcd53 Thank you Debbie Weiner. Fans have come a long way and here in Florida I love every one of mine. Although I'm not a fan of a propellor over my bed. We love our home and I would take it personally if I were told I had no style because of my ceiling fans.

MyFan Agreed. Ceiling fans can be functional - and beautiful!

midmodfan This ideabook is proof that ceiling fans can absolutely be stylish! I even installed one over my bed in our home in Hamburg, Germany - which is not known for its high temperatures.

My personal favorite is the San Francisco fan by MincaAire. I do hope that the fans in our Florida home break down soon so I'll have a reason to replace them. ;-)

olldbobbi Yes, it's a design issue in our home as well. I love them, hubby hates them. But in our section of Northern California it is HOT. 110 in the shade yesterday. They do make a really big difference!

bruinette For any couples still unable to agree on "fan or no fan" the Westinghouse Fanaway could be the answer - when not in use as a fan, the blades retract into the light fitting! We bought one recently for our living room. Of course, the style of the light fitting may not be to your taste, but that's another argument!!

Heather Braun Thanks for a great article! I love the idea of ceiling fans, for air movement, but so often they are really ugly. The ones pictured here are gorgeous and inspiring. I want the one in the first photo.

Deanne While I would much prefer a pretty chandelier in every room we live in the subtropics - so fans are really the only practical solution, and they use so much less power than air con!

Sharon Binette Personally, I like a fan that no one remembers. A fan that is barely there, a fan that is very quiet, three blades, no light and white to match the ceiling. The Modern Fan Company has some wonderful choices. My favorite http://www.modernfan.com/altusHugger.html

designchallenged Great ideabook.

bjnicole_2000 Thanks for the article. You show some beautiful options. However, I have a question. I am in love with the idea of a chandelier in the bedroom; but because of all of the reasons already stated here, I must have a fan in my master bedroom. Has anyone come across a way to have both other than doing something similar to the eighth picture (fans on the perimeter)? The only chandelier-fan combos I have ever seen would be design suicide.

astraea I have blend-into-the-ceiling white fans, in 3 of the rooms with cathedral ceilings; great room, kitchen & MBR. I love that British Colonial/Tropical design, where the blades are wicker/rattan or look like plant leaves, and eventually plan to replace the fans in the great room & MBR. I'm not sure I want to get the light or dark color blades, so they really show up better against the ceilings.

Ann Smitt Thanks Becky for blowing away the design myth about ceiling fans. We have 3-beautiful ceiling fans in our home because they serve a dual purpose - cool us during the hot months & cirulate air in the cold months. Simple idea that has been around for a few centuries. I look forward to your next article.

jsksss I have ceiling fans in every room except the bathroom & basement and would have placed fans in these rooms if there had been room. I recently had several rooms in my home remodeled including 3 bedrooms and replaced the fans with new ones. I toyed with the idea of not replacing the fans because I had seen remodeling shows that removed them in favor of ceiling lights or chandeliers. Even though the no fan look is nice, for me fans serve a multi purpose. They help with air circulation, cool a room down (I'm using one now), help heat rooms in Winter, save on air condition expense and with the multitude of styles, fans look fabulous! I read that when it comes to decorating, you have to do what you like because you are the person who has to live with it. If not we would be changing styles constantly to fit someone else's perception of what looks good. Reading this freed me from the feeling that I had to get everything just right. Certainly we can get suggestions from shows, magazines, etc., but ultimately if my style choices make ME happy, then I satisfied.

needshave Becky,
I currently have a property that I'm preparing for sale. I have had a number of real estate firms look at the property to give me their thoughts and suggestions as to what needs to be done to the home prior to listing the property as well as what they feel needs to be changed to make the home sell easily. The house is 27 years old. Of the five real estate companies, I have been told, by all, that all ceiling fans need to go. It makes the house look dated. Keep in mind I have invested considerable money into this home in its preparation for sale, and the fans, less than a year old, are really a small amount of the investment, this comment really surprised me. At least to them, it is a no-no. Since they are relatively new and not the low dollar basic fans, I asked if they were questioning the fans design. They were not. Regardless of fan design, they felt an overhead fan is a determent to the sale/value of the property. It is the new Shag Carpeting!

Sheila Rowan for the most stylish and technologically advanced, check out Haiku Fan by Big Ass Fans - not cheap but probably worth the extra investment

lorirobinson I don't disagree that ceiling fans have their place, however if you are longing for a beautiful chandelier on your ceiling there are some gorgeous modern and traditional type floor fans that are every bit as artful as these ceiling fans and would also look great in your room. I have several and store them in the winter months. (Be careful of vintage fans if you have little ones or pets around!) Happy fan shopping!

taureg I have had a plain white fan dropped from the 11 foot ceiling in my loft for years. When a top designer was over, he said to replace that fan, and put one in the living room, without the drop. The fans would be very minimal white.

I think if you have fans like that, there will be no impact on re-sale because they will recede to background.

cookiew How about ideas for Arts and Crafts style Four Square Bungalow? Ours has 10 boring ceiling fans - I'd like to change the ones at least in the main living areas.

Barb Walker Any thought of fans not being fashionable makes me shudder! In Arizona, we need every one! Glad to see some new style, though!

suedee To Needshave: I'm very surprised at the advice realtors gave you re: ceiling fans and wonder your locale. I live in the southeast and also just spent considerable time prepping a house for sale. I left two very "dated" fans in secondary bedrooms and another in the master bedroom. (All are white to blend with ceiling.) No one raised an objection to the fans and I had a contract on the house within 3 days of its listing. We sold another house in 2009 (pit of real estate market)--again with ceiling fans in two rooms and it also sold relatively quick. I think buyers want a balance of updated spaces and practicality--that is, your average buyer will understand the functional value of a ceiling fan. Really, I doubt a ceiling fan will break or make a real estate deal: I say leave those fans as-is!

CAROLE MEYER Most of the time they are the kiss of death....but these are fabulous!

Fine Art & Portraits by Laurel Wow there are some great examples here. You're right about the sound level, but a little white noise blocks out street noise.

yogapaws No air conditioning so I had ceiling fans installed in both bedrooms- a white Casablanca in master & a bronze Minka Aire in guest/woman retreat. Wish I had done it sooner.

rgillenwater cookiew: Check out http://www.periodarts.com/storefront.html

Exhale Fans Exhale Fans - First truly bladeless ceiling fan.

Check us out at www.exhalefans.com and remember to like us on Facebook for the latest updates.

bernicasey What about a wall fan that you could sort of hide in a corner? Especially if the color blended in. I like the white one (but out of my budget!):

http://www.ylighting.com/matthews-fan-michelle-parede-wall-fan.html

lowengine I was recommended this by Felix Low at Foundry Singapore.

http://www.haikufan.com/our-fan/overview/

nancam We just had this debate: to have a fan or not to have a fan. A designer said to get rid of it, but our contractor said to keep it. We are very thankful that we listened to our contractor. It doesn't replace a/c but it does help. We struggled to find one that had a good light source though. The fan was installed over our dining table which also doubles as a work surface so we wanted it to have a good light source. After looking at literally thousands of fans online for over three weeks, we compromised and got one from Savoy House which was one of the brighter ones with three candelabra bulbs. In the end we were both quite pleased with our choice.

The Modern Fan Company We agree!! Ceiling fans are an excellent addition to any room, for both functionality and design. We love designing aesthetically pleasing fans for all types of homes. Check out some of our clean and contemporary designs at http://www.modernfan.com

mcd53 Great web site modernfan. Great looking fans. Love your gusto hugger and the pharaoh is gorgeous.

Graf Developments Excellent blog Becky!

dancingfish Form and Function
I suppose if you never open your windows then a fan would be useless. But for those of us who do not live in a sealed home a fan is a great alternative to turning on the AC.

jkenfield I just want a porch fan that doesn't get droopy blades after a couple of years. That is ugly!

alibonelli The new fans are so much better it really makes the decision easy. Be comfortable in your home! Circulate the air and save money on heating and air conditioning. We built a custom home with no central air 2 years ago. There is a fan in each of the bedrooms and in the great room I have 2 (1 hangs a foot below our 15 ft sloped ceiling). We have windmills we can see in the distance so I chose to embrace the look and mirror them by using all 3 blade white fans.

houzyadoin I'm a Interior designer and I say, oh heck No! If anything there's so many to choose from and in our drought it is perfect budget/energy conserving purpose with smart style. The fan industry has come along way thanks to the respect to the old timey fans we so love. If one is having doubts for the sell of the home (leave an option for potential buyers or note that they now have the option to select a fixture they envision). So yah; if one says luv to have one or think it will support an energy need and feel; its yes a big Do It. I luv mine for hottest days and nights and with midwest droughts in summer, I look to install another. Think Casablanca, industrial chic, modern retro, or old timey airconditioning renaissance. These make a difference when the AC breaks down in emergencies. I can expect someday we will have solar panel wireless ceiling fans, for those brownout days. Many coastal homes live by these; especially active today's people going in and out their homes or businesses. With Electric companies on Smart Energy programs adjusting temps of AC during heavy periods; the fan helps keep air circulation and allow one to reduce cost at the thermometer. Like others say - you have your heart set on a chandelier; there are floor/tabletop fans as well. The low sound of the fan also helps with A wave sounds that could help in sleeping. Also for outdoor plastic droopy fans; look for fans with wood or metal blades. Carry on and stay strong and stay cool!

kphil I love this article, living in Arizona it's imperative that we use ceiling fans to help keep our electric costs to the minimum during our summer months.

mcd53 I agree. We live in Florida and have a ceiling fan in every room. If that sounds like to many try living in Florida without one. Without them we would be looking at a $500.00 plus power bill every month other than 3 months of the years. Mine look fine very nice, but even if they didn't unless the designer is ready to pay my power bill I'll be the one to make the call whether I'll have fans or not. We ave very humid miserable heat, my son raised in Florida living in Arizona now says it is dry heat there.....but it does not matter. Hot is hot.

astraea I'm tired of hearing designers to get rid of functional elements in our homes, because they don't like "the look"! I'm tired of seeing kitchens where everything is hidden & harder to use, because some designer doesn't think a kitchen should look like a kitchen. Get real; we LIVE in our homes; they're not museums!

lawr0132 We got around this in our nursery by adding a nice shade to our ceiling fan (we can't part with them since we don't have central air!). http://the2bedroomblues.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/updating-the-nursery-ceiling-fan-with-a-shade/

Nicole White Designs Inc So, so true that designers hate those pesky ceiling fans! But thank heavens for all the stylish fans that have now hit the market because yes, aint nothing cool about sweating to death in a well-designed room. I've used the first fan featured in a recent project and have been looking for a solution like the ones featured on that patio so thanks a mil!

rgillenwater Here are two stylish ceiling fans we recently purchased from Lowes. The one with the crystal ball will be installed in our master bedroom. The contemporary fan with the 9 blades will be installed in our family room. Both come with a remote. Hubby and I are anxious to get them up in our new home.

lawr0132 @rgillenwater: I'm glad you posted that one with the crystal ball--we're thinking of getting that same one for our master bedroom! I think it will look lovely.

Mill Creek Associates Has anyone ever seen a fan concealed by a drum shade. One European company has a line, but I saw a photo of one and should have tagged it and I did not. I can not find it anywhere. It was a large drum shade with a fan & light inside....it could of been custom made, but if anyone has seen this please post it!!!