I know, practically, that ceiling fans are an economical and earth-friendly way to keep cool during the summer and stay warm during the winter. Yet, I find it hard to get past the fact that many ceiling fans are hideous. So when I recently found ceiling fans that didn't actually look like ceiling fans, I was amazed and a bit relieved.
I grew-up in the deep South and ceiling fans were installed in every room. I can still hear the clicking of the fan at night. The sound was comforting, but the aesthetics were not. Every fan was the same; bell-shaped frosted glass and wooden blades with a gold switch pull hanging in the middle of the room. Even as a child, I knew they were eyesores.
Then companies started making more "decorative" fans with blades made from rattan or sculpted in super modern shapes. I applauded the attempts to make ceiling fans more palatable, but drawing attention to a fan might be worse than the standard model. You don't want the ceiling of a room to be the focal point.
Then a few weeks ago I discovered the Mistral Ceiling Fan by Moooi. It looks like a sleek contemporary pendant light, but embedded in the shade is, voila, a fan! After a little more research, I found a few more ceiling fans that looked like beautiful light fixtures that I would be proud to have in my home.
Hopefully, this trend will catch-on and ceiling fans in disguise will be available everywhere!
Images: 1. Chic Tip: Mistral Ceiling Fan 2. Phillippe Malouin: Dervish 3. Designer Homez: Big Ass Fan 4. Home QN: Ribbon Fan 5. Your Decorating Hotline: Casablanca
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Boy, would my cats be running for cover with the second one! They freak out for the first couple uses with just our normal-looking ceiling fan.
Numbers 1, 2, and 5 above look so small that they wouldn't do much in an average sized room, but maybe the pictures are deceiving? This is a neat idea, but honestly there are some mainstream fans out there that are totally inoffensive, so I wouldn't be in a hurry to spend a lot for one of these alternatives.
It makes me sad that ceiling fans are considered an eyesore :( I find some of the more modern ones to be quite attractive! (Here in the tropics, our only options are ceiling fan, rotating standing fan, or minisplit... I'll take the ceiling fan, thanks!)
The idea of a hidden fan is very cool, but some of these hidden ones appear too small to fulfill their purpose. I might be wrong, though.
The ribbon fan is fantastic! Does it also reverse, I wonder? Perhaps that's what they're working out. What's that language in #2?!!
I like the idea of the first one, but it comes with a pretty hefty price tag.
I like 1. 3 and 4, but my goodness, when did ceiling fans become so expensive?
A lot of these have blades that are so small that they wouldn't really move much air.
I'd also be concerned that the first one wouldn't move any air.
We have a ceiling fan up in a tray-like ceiling. The fan is practically enclosed up in there, sort of like that first fan, and it's useless - we need to put an extender on it to make it drop down.
So the first one makes me think the only moving air would be directly below. Not so useful when it's 90 degrees. :)
calling an appliance hideous is too much i guess..never understood the sentiment behind that...tropical climate calls for fans and its the best way to keep ur cooling and heating bills low...more the circulations, better the air conditioning.
#5 looks like it would be perfect in my master bedroom, if the candles were safe with the fan on and not a pain to light and blow out. Too bad I don't have 6 grand to drop on it.
alisonnf im pretty sure those are electric candles....
The second one reminds me of going thru a car wash, and I really do mean that in the most positive way possible!
what an absolutely fantastic idea! I LOVE all of those, especially the first one! We currently have only two (nice new, clean and modern) ceiling fans in our home, but we think they are a MUST in certain rooms!
Wow - I'd love to test out 2 & 4.
If you're looking for a more cost effective option, my friends installed an exhaust fan in the attic of their 89 year old house, right over the main staircase - it really works to push hot air down in winter and draw it up in summer.
Is the second one an art piece, or is it actually possible to buy one? Because I don't even have a place for a ceiling fan and yet I still want that.
I am in love with number 4 - that is just gorgeous. Much better than my perma-crooked fan with dome light. :)
Yeah, I agree with you--ceiling fans are pretty hideous. Nice to see some other options! I'm doing fine w/ my all metal Hunter and Dragonfly tabletop fans though!
I love this ceiling fan! I have two in my house and I hate the look of both of them but cannot get rid of them because they are just so nice in the summer! Great find!
A couple of these (2, 5) are teetering very close to "function? Who needs function when you've got FORM?!"...which renders the whole exercise largely pointless.
These are an improvement over the traditional ceiling fan? I guess there really is no accounting for taste!
I definitely prefer just a simple ceiling fan over these.
Looks like only #s 3 and 4 might actually function like a real fan in a normal-sized room. I don't really think any of these are better looking than some of then nicer more traditional fan options out there. But then, I don't really get the vehement ceiling fan hate. I think the light kits on many of them are the really unattractive part.
Like some have said above...I don't understand the general aversion to ceiling fans on design blogs. There are very few pretty microwaves, but you buy one anyway, because it makes your life easier and more comfortable.
My husband and I just bought a new house. We can't wait to go buy a ceiling fan for the bedroom. I agree that many of the old school fans have horrible blades and globes, but there are plenty of contemporary ones now. I don't love any of the options listed, because they don't look like they'd get the job done. Good post anyway though.
what are sources? I'd love to buy dervish or ribbon, where do we get them?!