Ok, so i did some quick checking and answered my own question about guidelines.

apparently for standard 8' ceilings i want a "combo mount style with down rod" and a 52" ceiling fan. these are two fans i really like. are either of these considered what i'm in need of??

Thanks!

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=234282-2126-CF-31120L&lpage=none

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=276296-54039-5QC52IBD&lpage=none

We have standard 8' ceilings in all rooms except the living room. In the larger bedrooms, and the family room, we used ceiling mount 52" fans with 4-bulb light fixtures. The smaller bedrooms have the smaller ceiling mount 42" fans with 4 bulb light fixtures.

Our living room has a pitched ceiling - quite high - and previous owners put in 2 ceiling fans 52", no light fixtures, with down rods. Eventually they're going to need replacement.

One thing to be aware of when purchasing ceiling fans: though all 4 of those bedroom and family room ceiling fans are Hampton Bay in the same style, they do NOT use the same sized bulbs in the light fixture! The two newest need the smaller based bulbs rather than the standard base bulbs. The smaller based bulbs are harder to find!

DonnaR/CA

Here is a link that might be useful: Donna's family room ceiling fan

We have 8' ceilings & went w/ flush mounted fans. Even w/ the lights attached we were able to keep the total depth to just less than 15". Every inch counts in lower ceiling rooms!

It took us a while to find ones we liked that could be flush mounted. There are many out there that can be, but you have to read the boxes to find out as they often don't display them or advertize them as such. Also watch that the light fixture is shallow. Some hang down many more inches than others.

We also used flush-mounted ceiling fans in our previous house. They are so practical for when it's not quite hot enough for AC or it's not available (central AC is quite rare where I live, so you have to haul out the window units every year), and I want to put a couple in this house eventually, especially the bedroom as I think that's going to get pretty toasty in the summer.

You want to pretty much ignore the existence of downrods and concentrate on flush or "hugger" mountings, or the option thereof. We chose Hunter fans, most of which have the "Installer's Choice" three-position mounts. The Triarch Ambassador is too long for your ceiling height. The Monte Carlo is a much more sensible design. IMO the bowl-type light kits are more pleasant than the sort with the downlights, which can create a lot of glare.

We have Regency and Minka Fans with hidden, integrated UP lights above the motor that shine up on the ceiling. Nice, indirect lighting but good enough. Used that instead of down lights on all of our indoor fans (5). We have a downlight on only one fixture and it's a bowl type, so there are no bulbs showing. The wall switch has a dimmer for the up light and controls the fan speed. It pops out of the switch plate if you want to use it as a remote. Very neat, but involves extra wiring (we built, so it wasn't an extra step for us).

Cameron

Our ceilings are 8' too. Dh is 6'3". In the master bedroom we have a regular Hunter (I think it has a 3" downrod) with a schoolhouse light. It hangs over the foot of the bed, so it's not an obstacle when walking under it. In both offices we have Hunter "huggers" (I think they now call them "snuggers") with light kits. Again no obstacle. In the keeping room we have a regular Emerson (3"-3.5" downrod) with no light, no problem walking under it.

For a living room I'd go with a snugger or regular 3" downrod and no light. I've yet to see a ceiling fan light kit that provides adequate light. Unless it's absolutely needed, I think it's better to go without, especially in a living room.

"I've yet to see a ceiling fan light kit that provides adequate light. Unless it's absolutely needed, I think it's better to go without, especially in a living room."

Our ceiling fan light fixtures put out anywhere from 160 watts to 240, depending on whether you put 40 watt bulbs or 60's in them. These are the only lights we use in the bedrooms unless we're reading. In the family room (two ceiling fans at 140 watts each light fixture) it's plenty bright in there (also 8' ceiling).

We DON'T have light fixtures on the living room ceiling fans, but we wish they did. Unfortunately, there's no light conversion kit available. When these are replaced, a few years down the line, they WILL have light fixtures on them.

DonnaR/CA

Wow, thanks for all the feedback!

I may have to broaded my search past lowes and home depot.

Is there a particular brand that's really good as for being "quiet" or one i should know to stay away from?

hunter fans are really quiet.

We can't hear ours. I do think you must have good ceiling support to help with the balance and weight so that you don't get noise.

Cameron

Ditto on hellpaso's comment. Our Hunter fan was even on the cheap end of the spectrum and it was extremely quiet. If you do not have really solid support (like a joist right where you want it, to anchor the new electrical box to), there are retrofit brackets which fit between the ceiling joists to support the fan without wobbling or vibrating. They are available in any hardware store or home-improvement center and look like this:

{{gwi:1547406}}

If you have rattling or shaking even with the proper support, the fan is off balance and you need to break out the balance kit that will almost certainly have come with your fan. If one didn't or you have lost it, you can use coins, combining the different denominations to get the right weight. Tape them down to start, and when you get the weight just right un-tape them and glue them onto the top of the blade.

A side comment: the light bulbs last longer if you use the proper "ceiling fan" bulbs instead of regular light bulbs. The ceiling-fan bulbs are made to withstand the vibration that can shorten the life of an ordinary bulb. They also fit better in the light kits. They are not much more expensive than decent quality regular light bulbs, a four-pack is usually about $4; the GE Reveal and Sylvania Daylight versions are a little more.