What a timely post. I've been looking for a ceiling fan to replace the wobbly wooden monstrosity currently perched in the middle of my bedroom ceiling like a giant, pull-cord activated spider. It hasn't been difficult to find a stylish ceiling fan-- it's been IMPOSSIBLE to find a stylish ceiling fan that costs less than $200. My budget is as breezy as my new fan needs to be.

I'm so prejudiced against ceiling fans, its not even funny.

While I admit these fans are much nicer than most of the models you see around, they still wouldn't be my first choice.

Kelliente, if you find something PLEASE let me know. I'm looking in that price range, unsuccessfully, too.

http://www.ylighting.com/modern-fan.html

Bear in mind the cleaning upkeep for your selected ceiling fan when making your decision. I cring at the thought of how much dust the beautiful Monaco would collect. :-)

we have the cirque fans and they are so awesome. i love them.

I prefer a very simple Casablanca fan with no visible venting on the motor housing, no light fixture, remote controlled so there are no chain pulls, and in a classic white finish that is actually like Swiss Coffee so it fades into the ceiling.

I don't want to see the fan when I walk into the room, I just want to feel it.

I love ceiling fans. I hate air conditioning so ceiling fans are vital.

What are one's choices without AC?

The Minka Aire's City Contempo fan is pretty cool. It is tough to find cool ceiling fans - great post.

the minka concept 2 is a nice model if you're looking for something with a lower profile - works with modern and traditional decor: http://www.minkagroup.net/productdetail.asp?productid=5779&div=167&divname=&sku=F518-BN&styleid=194&catid=2218&colid=

Kelliente & KelleyK - you might want to try looking at Lowes. They have alot of ugly ones, but also a handful of more simple modern fans for good prices. We picked up this one:
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=75849-22716-L05BN&lpage=none
We didn't care for the wood finish, so spray painted the blades white.

I can't recommend this Litex fan from Costco enough:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11270515&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US&s=1

It's not only modern but very silent and at less than $70, shipping and handling included, I doubt anyone will find a better modern fan. (We basically bought all the fans for our home for less than one fan at modernfan.com.)

If you want a sturdy modern fan, I can't recommend this one from Costco highly enough:

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11270515&whse=BC&topnav=&browse=&lang=en-US&s=1

And for less than $70, shipping and handling included, you can't beat it!

I bought a westinghouse comet fan in black for my industrial loft bedroom, and i love it. There isnt much to go on based on pictures and reviews on the web, but i took the plunge and am very happy i did so. It is quest and moves a lot of air. the only negative is the lamp which has trouble lighting a 20 by 25 room with 14ft ceilings. still i recommend it for an inexpensive, modern looking fan.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.farreys.com/i/ceiling_fans_westinghouse/fans_lg/78016.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.farreys.com/ceiling_fans/westinghouse/comet_fan.html&usg=__tz0VJtnvONFzknAduEIixRE0bPo=&h=250&w=540&sz=13&hl=en&start=10&um=1&tbnid=8iBDas3oHJJhMM:&tbnh=61&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwestinghouse%2Bcomet%2Bceiling%2Bfan%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1

Minka Aire Concept line has very clean lines, is very quiet, and has a powerful motor, particularly if you get the "wet" model for outdoor use. It is not under $200, but is something like 250 with delivery from Hansen Wholesale (just google it). A fan is all about the motor, and strong motors are pretty expensive to make, so truly good ceiling fans do seem to start at the $200 mark.

it is *quiet* and moves a lot of air

I'm looking for a fan just like the one in this post on Daryll Carter's home:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dc/look/darryl-carters-virginia-house-071043

Three tapered blades, black, no light. It's the platonic form of ceiling fans as far as I'm concerned. Anyone have any ideas? I emailed Elle Decor and they said it's vintage.

There are great modern fan options available through Costco.com.

We bought the Litex 48" fan for less than $70, shipping and handling included. At that price, you can't beat it! And everyone's that complimented it is always stunned at where be bought it and how inexpensive it was, considering that it's all brushed metal.

(I'd provide the link, but my comment containing it has been removed twice now.)

I think the "ugly" one is fine.

I have 2 of the fans that Carrie too posted about from Lowes.

I also painted the blades white! They look great for about $120!

I like the fisherman style Rainman fan by Minka Aire: simple and clean lines.

Just remember to think about how low the fan hangs with regard to your ceiling height. We have 8 foot ceilings, so the low hanging varieties (some really attractive) were not options. We settled on some practical, plain, white fans form Home Depot (or maybe it was Lowes) -- nothing special, but they do the job.

I like the old traditional fans. If you don't want to notice it, get one the same color as your ceiling and it will blend in better. I really dislike the blades that look like leaves.

Here's one from Fanimation that hides the blades:

http://fanimation.com/products/air_shadow/?group_id=10

This one is more modern:

http://fanimation.com/products/cumulos/?group_id=479

I want the belt-driven model:

http://fanimation.com/products/brewmaster/?group_id=154

I think I'd hand laundry off the belts when vegan family members visited. 'Yeah, I'm green like that! Eat your humus.'

'hand' should be 'hang'

dwr has alot of simple modern fans. kinda pricey, but duh.

http://www.dwr.com/category/accessories/fans.do?sortby=ourPicks&page=all

Another vote for the Minka Aire Concept II. I needed a very low-profile fan for our playroom (8 ft ceilings), which opens to the dining room and kitchen, and it's great. Nobody bumps their head on it, it's incredibly quiet, and looks cool. I've gotten a lot of compliments on it.

One more vote for the concept II. We put 2 in our last house, and 3 in our current house. If you have a white ceiling, it really disappears in the room. But oh, the hurricane it can produce!

Quite timely post. I'm looking for a fan for our bedroom. My requirements: no light, good for low ceilings, not terribly ugly. The Minka Aire Concept II looks good, and I wish the costco fan didn't hang quite so low.

we bought this one about 18mths as we thought it looked contemporary, had a light and was affordable. we have been really pleased with it. its on sale at the moment for $189
http://www.lampsplus.com/Products/44-inch-Casa-Vieja-Probe-Ceiling-Fan__86879.html

funny this is a battle i lost with my husband too! I hated the idea of removing the ceiling fan in the living room only to put another one up as well, tried to keep one out of the bedroom but I couldn't convince him either! we got the Waterton II from The Home Depot it's pretty good don't look too bad

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100403906&N=10000003 10019010 501492

IMHO, it's not the blades that are ugly--it's the light fixtures that are, well, just peculiar.

I could see that Costco fan in a couple of my rooms. My decor's not super-modern so the space-age fans wouldn't work here.

Cashew, I'm with you. A polite no-thank-you to fans on my ceilings.

I replaced my "Victorian"-looking things with Minka Concepts and a Minka Cirque (which has turned out to be my favorite). I had gotten them through Expo; too bad that small D.C. fan store is closed now--it had a great variety and the people there were very knowledgeable.

That Costco one IS nice!

A fan that really cools the air is the wall-hung 18" AirKing. You have to stand directly under the ceiling fans for them to work.

Another vote for the Minka Concept II fans. Great for very low ceilings, quiet, and they move a LOT of air. We do have central air conditioning, but don't have to use it nearly as much since getting three of these fans last year.

For those that painted the lowes fan, what type of paint did you use?

for those looking for the most energy-efficient fan out there, the best-rated one i've found is the hampton windward...and it's not very expensive at all. the blades were developed by aeronautics people.

We just found a pair of these:

http://www.hunterfan.com/product_detail.aspx?id=30837

..at Home Depot, for the bafflingly low price of $34 apiece. Can't find it on their website, alas..