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plan2remodel

Add fan in small bedroom with 8' ceiling?

plan2remodel
8 years ago

I recently added a ceiling fan in my MBR, which has a vaulted ceiling. I'm thinking about adding a ceiling fan in the study / guest bedroom, which is about 12' x 12' and has an 8' ceiling. There is a desk in the room, not a bed; however, at some point, I may move a queen size bed into that room - length of bed with headboard is 7 feet.

I've seen two rules regarding ceiling fan placement: 1) place fan in the center of the room and 2) don't place fan over a bed. To avoid having any part of a fan blade over the bed, I would need to center fan at about 3' from the wall opposite the head of the bed versus centering fan at 6' from the wall.

Will it look odd to place a fan off-center in order to accommodate a possible bed in the room? Would being off-center negate the effectiveness of a fan?

Comments (19)

  • suzanne_sl
    8 years ago

    Ours were also placed like juddgirl2's. No problem. The one room even had a queen size Murphy bed which came close to the fan blades when lowering, but didn't touch.

  • chisue
    8 years ago

    Center it. No problem if some of it overhangs the foot of the bed.

  • Fori
    8 years ago

    Yup. Center it. That's simply where it goes.

    plan2remodel thanked Fori
  • wildchild2x2
    8 years ago

    If ceiling fans couldn't be placed over beds then 99% of bedrooms with ceiling fans wouldn't have them.

  • littlebug zone 5 Missouri
    8 years ago

    Well that's weird. Why in the world would you NOT put a ceiling fan over a bed? I want the fan blowing on me when I'm in bed, and the closer the fan is to the bed, the more air I'm going to get.

  • klem1
    8 years ago

    Littlebug is spot on correct and I have aditional advice for op. "Thea Said" and "I Heard" are two blow hards,don't listen to either of them.

  • plan2remodel
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    The recommendation that I saw for not putting a ceiling fan over the bed was for safety reasons, although not specific about the concern. Maybe if you sit on the bed and raise your arms...?

    There are two large windows in the bedroom that bring in a nice breeze.

  • omelet
    8 years ago

    I agree with everyone else on placing a fan over the bed, and you can look at hugger fans if you are at all worried about distance from the ceiling.

    plan2remodel thanked omelet
  • homepro01
    8 years ago

    I like hugger fans and have them in my bedroom where the ceilings are 8ft. I also like wall mount fans for people who are uncomfortable with the fans over the bed. I have the Michele Wall mount from Matthews fan in my dining room.

    Good luck!

  • K Sissy
    8 years ago

    We have always had a ceiling fan in each bedroom of our house over our beds for 30+ yrs now. We have always had 8ft ceilings, and we have never an issue with them. The only issue that I can think of, is, if a person/child is standing or jumping on the bed, and that could cause injuries. We love the fans and use them all yr around. If you live in a two story house it is necessary because it gets hot (temp var) upstairs even with the CA on, and the additional air flow is necessary.

  • plan2remodel
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    Thanks for the comments. Yesterday the electrician installed wiring and support in the center of the ceiling for a fan and added four recessed LED can lights. I have the Minka Aire Artemis ceiling fan in my MBR (where there's a vaulted ceiling), but with an 18" drop from the ceiling, this fan may sit too low. I'm thinking about the Minka Concept II Flush fan, which has 11 1/2" drop, or the Minka Aviation fan, 16" drop. I'm open to suggestions.

    I think wall fans would be too limiting. I've used this room as a den, nursery, home office, and guest bedroom.

    No A/C in our house (most houses in my area do not have A/C); adding A/C would be costly and is unlikely to meet city code.

  • K Sissy
    8 years ago

    Wow, I feel for you with no A/C. You will definitely need the ceiling fans. In our bedroom, we have also just. Added a stand fan. It helps a lot. You may want to consider that in addition to the ceiling fan as well.

  • homepro01
    8 years ago

    Plan2remodel,

    The wall mount fans do oscillate in certain models. Just another option. I have modern fan cirrus huggers and love them. For your AC situation, have you considered mini splits? They work very well and don't require the extensive duct work that traditional HVACs would require. Something to think about for the future and you can expand the mini split as you go along.

    Good luck!

  • plan2remodel
    Original Author
    8 years ago

    homepro01,

    I don't understand your comment about duct work for AC. I have forced air heating. I replaced the furnace (which is in the attic), ducts, and registers this year. I don't know what other duct work would be required for adding AC. I was told I would need to add a line for the refrigerant.

    The problem is where to place the outside unit. I'm in a townhouse. On the ground floor, the unit would be too close to neighbor's house to meet code. Alternative is to put the unit on the 2nd floor deck (hire a crane to put it there). The unit would be just outside my bedroom - I don't know if the noise would bother me.

    I'll look at the cirrus hugger fan. I have a Minka pancake fan in the living room and I don't think it cools the air as much as the Minka Artemis.

  • homepro01
    8 years ago

    Plam2remodel,

    Did not realize who had forced air already. It sounded like you had radiant heat or baseboard heat. The options you listed are the only option to add a compressor to the Forced Air system. A mini split has much smaller outdoor unit than a traditional HVAC and are quieter in my experience. But the cost to change the approach at this point would be too significant to make sense.

    Not recommending the website but this is what a mini split looks like.

  • K Sissy
    8 years ago

    What about a wall unit ac that doesn't require duct work. That might help you.

  • aprilneverends
    8 years ago

    Actually we had an incident when a working ceiling fan fell off the ceiling..luckily didn't hurt anyone. It happened in a restaurant, just a small nice diner on our way on some road trip..the fan was right over the table, we were extremely lucky that kids didn't get hurt-this thing missed them like an inch.

    I never liked ceiling fans before, but this experience gave me huge reason to avoid them. I understand it's one in a thousand chances it might fall, but...Just thought I'd share.

    Standing fan might be a nice alternative, it's also easy to store it away when there is no need for it.

  • User
    8 years ago

    In a bedroom I would center the ceiling fan in the room and reverse the blades so air is pushed up against the ceiling instead of down toward the floor.