I keep seeing people taking fans out of bedrooms on HGTV and blogs. I think that maybe fans aren’t very fashionable.
I say “I think,” because I have no idea what’s actually in-style and I also really don’t care. I live in the Midwest, where a fan is pretty much a non-negotiable in the summer. It gets hot up in here.
The ceiling fans in the new house are the very last light fixtures I have to choose at this point. I already have a few small versions for the smaller bedrooms. But I need larger ceiling fans for our bedroom and the living room. (And on the back porch, actually. I guess I need three fans.)
Here are a few of my picks. (Note: Both rooms are well-lit. I don’t foresee the need to use the light on the fan as a main source of light. If that matters to you.)
The farmhouse chic: Carter Indoor/Outdoor at $379 (Ballard Designs)
The budget choice: Hunter Matte Black at $79 (Hope Depot)
The uplight: Fanimation at $234 (Amazon)
The lantern: Home Decorators Collection Abercorn at $209 (Home Depot)
The sleek: Merwry at $89.25 (Home Depot)
Weigh in. What do you like best?
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Julie says
I love the cheap black one but I love dark wood instead due to the potential dust issue;) Guess the black would make me dust more though… 🙂
Mara says
I love the Merwry, but when I click on the link it says it’s $124, not $89.25?
Kim Woodward says
Hm that’s strange. It’s still showing $89.25 for me? Could it be regional? It looks like the black is $89.25 and the other colors are $124.
Liz says
Love ceiling fans, and love that Abercorn. We recently replaced our dining room chandelier with a big Hunter ceiling fan, and I wish I had gone for something with a nicer light in it. Also Midwest (Kansas City) so I feel ya.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_183013-79-54044_1z13djp__?productId=4332190&pl=1&Ntt=hunter
Kim Woodward says
Thanks for sharing! You picked a great one! We love Hunter fans, too.
Lisa H. says
I like the farmhouse chic one for a living space. After that, I think it depends on your plans for the room.
Also, I agree that fans in the bedroom are a no-brainer. Even with central AC out the whazoo here in Phoenix, I STILL want a fan in my bedroom for airflow and between-season cooling. Honestly, it’s something people enviously comment on when they visit my house ( we have ceiling fans in every room but the kitchen, bathrooms, and laundry room).
Kylie says
While I like the Ballard one, our home is full of Hunter fans and they’re reliable, quiet, and easy to install. That would maybe leave extra room in the budget for some great decor, too.
Kim Woodward says
Definitely practical advice. We do like the Hunter fans, too.
Kelly says
I love the farmhouse chic (top left)!! In my experience when the light is on top of the fan, if you ever do have it on, it makes the fan kind of eerie looking, and the spinning blades cast an unpleasant shadow.
Gretchen says
it’s funny; I actually can’t stand sleeping with a fan blowing on me, so ripping our ceiling fan out of our bedroom was an easy decision….and then when that room was on AT, all the negative comments I got were about what a dummy I was for taking the fan down just to make the room look better…which wasn’t why I did it at all. So, you know, the lesson here is do what you want because someone’s going to criticize no matter what. But you probably knew that already :). Anyway, I’m on team sleek!
Linda says
For appearance only, I like either Chic or Budget. For the difference in the money, I’d get the budget one.
Kim Woodward says
Yep – I am feeling the same way.
Kim says
We have the Home Decorator’s lantern one from Home Depot in our home office. The way it was displayed in the store we assumed it had a long down rod with it – it did not. So we need to get one. It puts off a really cool light pattern on the ceiling but right now not much light – more like ambient light. Maybe some different bulbs would help?
For our new family room we knew we wanted a fan for the summers (northern Iowa here!) but didn’t need a center room light. So I splurged a bit and got the Bistro ceiling fan from Restoration Hardware. I LOVE how it looks!!! We haven’t used it yet since it’s the dead of winter but I do love how it looks in my farmhouse-style family room!
We did cheap in our bedrooms upstairs for now since we are the only ones who’ll really see them and I was so over choosing things! Just got some from Lowes and HD. Splurged a bit for the RH one for the family room since it’s one we’ll see daily and so will any guests.
Kim says
RH Bistro fan $289
https://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod2990698&categoryId=search
Elizabeth says
I love the fan with the lantern but I am a bit obsessed with all things lantern at the moment. I live in upstate NY in an old farmhouse and I just think lanterns are perfect with the shabby-chic farmhouse style. With that said, we have a fan in the living room because our fireplace is in there so it moves the air around. We also have one in all the bedrooms upstairs. My suggestion is this, go with what you love. You probably will have them long enough to get your money’s worth so spending a little more and getting what you want is still more economical than getting the bargain, deciding in a year that you hate it and replacing it with what you wanted first.
Kim Woodward says
I like the lantern, too. There’s something classic about it.
I don’t think I’ll feel strongly enough about any of the options to “hate” it – I’ll probably forget about it actually. 😉 Once a decision is made, I’m moving on. Hahaha.
Stephanie says
You’ve got Menards out by you, right? If so, there is a fan I just bought in their ad from last Sunday. It’s super cool. $128 after 11% rebate. Kind of the best of both worlds.
http://www.hunterfan.com/Ceiling-Fans/Landsdowne
Sara says
The farmhouse chic is my fave but obviously not economical. Second choice is the sleek.
Debbie says
Add another vote for the sleek one. No visible hardware on the fan blades gives it a nice clean look.
LibraDesignEye says
Splurge on the one for your bedroom – you’ll look at it a lot more than the others from bed over the years. I like the simplicity of the mewry and the price for the rest. Not an uplight or lantern fan . . love the rustic but would only put it in the bedroom if you had a gray or denim sort of design plan to tie it in ..
Kim Woodward says
That’s such a great point – you really will see the one above your bed a lot more! Never thought of that!
Kim Woodward says
Oh, and you make a good point about the rustic. Our bedroom ceiling will be barn wood, god willing. SO it could work well.
Rachel says
We are pro-fan also — I can’t sleep without the white noise, and love the cool factor in the summer. My favorite, style-wise, is top left, but that price tag — yikes! If it were me, I’d probably go with the bottom right one. Good price and I love the sleek look.
Christine says
My questions would be, what color hardware do you have for kitchen cabinets? front door handle? My first choice is the uplight. I like the warmth of the wood blades and the oil rubbed bronze look to the metal. I also like that you at least have the option of a light on it, even if you don’t plan on using it. I don’t think it looks overly modern which might look out of place, even in a ‘modern’ farmhouse. also, I’m always a sucker for the original price thing, I’d be like, look how much money I saved honey!
cassie @ primitive & proper says
i am team fan! i can’t sleep without one in the summer! i love the sleek one and am in the market for some for our home later this year.
Theresa says
I really like the sleek one! Then the uplight. Obviously the cheapness in me was pleased by the price of the sleek one. ? Good luck!
Heart and Haven says
I like the lantern one for the back porch, and I’d probably do the budget friendly Hunter matte black for the bedrooms (unless the other ones had other really cool features that warrant the more expensive price).
I LOVE the ceiling fan in my bedroom and have it on year round. I’m looking to install a ceiling fan in our vaulted ceiling fan, hopefully before this summer!
Kayla says
I personally do not like the look of ceiling fans but you need them! I like going with a white fan against a white ceiling. Can’t really see them. We have light fixtures on them but usually use lamps for our lighting.
Amy says
Wow that Ballard one is really nice, but being practical, I would lean toward the Merwry to stand the test of time (and my budget). BTW, as a fellow midwesterner I whole-heartedly agree to keep a fan in the bedroom!
Good Luck!
Emily @ imperfect says
Because you need more options (and also, whatever you go with is going to be awesome!), what about this? http://www.homedepot.com/p/Hunter-Key-Biscayne-54-in-Outdoor-Weathered-Zinc-Ceiling-Fan-59135/206279893
Christine says
I like the look of the fan blades on this option!
Emily @ imperfect says
Oh man, that Ballard fan is cool. I like it a lot. I’d probably go the budget, simple route though. Because practicality always wins for me. Is it possible to find a warm wood budget fan instead of black to kind of blend the best of both worlds?