Three bladed fan? There's lots of fan options these days- I particularly like the three bladed and even two bladed fans that look like helicopter blades.

I don't have an answer, but if that's your house, it is GORGEOUS! Totally jealous!

We love our Artemis fans by Minka Aire:

http://www.minkagroup.net/ProductDetails.aspx?id=4816&brand=Minka-Aire%C2%AE&sku=F803-MP&name=Ceiling%20Fan

Gorgeous bent wood styling and works wonderfully--plus it is nearly silent. Not cheap but worth it--we get tons of compliments on ours.

I have to disagree with Ansela. I have a ceiling fan above my bed, and while it may not change the temperature of the room, it keeps me feeling comfortable on all but the hottest summer nights. I don't have to turn to air conditioning on as often as I would without it.

I immediately thought of the Artemis fan too. I love the wood but am intrigued with the clear acrylic one too - especially for low ceilings, I bet it feels less intrusive.

i have the translucent artemis fan and i LOVE it. totally beautiful and unobtrusive.

if your ceilings are off white, get the plainest, most blend-in-able fan you can in the most traditional unadorned style. I had the same problem, bought an off white fan that nearly matches the ceiling and it "disappears."

look at The Modern Fan Company - i like their ball fan, or if you want to splurge look at Boffi, or for a cheap option i like the simple industrial 3 blade fan by Westinghouse.

I also like the Artemis fan - but with the Translucent Blades - When it's running it's just like you have a pendant in the center of the room

I like linbo's idea of the disappearing fan, but I had two other thoughts: 1. Get a designer to stay with you in the summer, and s/he'll come up with one (In the words of Foghorn Leghorn, "That's a joke, son, that's a joke"), or 2. use a non-ceiling fan. When we bought this house, most of the rooms had ceiling fans. It's hot here, so it's A/C AND fans. For the two rooms that didn't have ceiling fans, we opted for free-standing ones. While they don't make a design statement, they were affordable, hassle-less, and (here's the best part) they've movable. We could call it "custom comfort." This summer, one of our guests took advantage of the A/C, the ceiling fan, AND a smaller, tabletop fan. It's not that we had the house too hot. He just liked the feeling of the air directly on him, more so than his spouse on the other side of the bed.

I have the Artemis translucent, you can get them cheap(er) on Ebay sometimes. My other option is the cheapest fan they sell at HD or Lowed. It's like $25, white, industrial looking. We put it in our LV Home (which looks kind of like the one in the pic) and it's very unobtrusive.

Thanks for all the feedback! Unfortunately, the picture is not my house but is one in my neighborhood. mines much smaller but yes, I love the windows! The artemis fans are gorgeous. @smellofsawdust i tried this summer to find a vintage-looking stand fan with lil'success for the living room. Last summer i saw them everywhere. The problem though is its an older house with limited power outlets. I'll let ya'll know what i figure out!

Check out the Big Ass Fan company- they make industrial fans but recently they have been appearing in residential spaces. Very modern look and they really do work. www.bigassfans.com

@Ansela I have to disagree, as well. Fans make a huge difference. Perhaps you live somewhere more northerly? In general, having a fan is a way to green your energy usage since energy consumption for air conditioning is substantial. Running a ceiling fan allows a higher set temperature with equal comfortableness.

Don't get me wrong, I have absolutely nothing against air conditioning! But sometimes, after you've been outside in the hot, Florida summer sun all day, you just want to cool off in the home version of a breeze.

For a true mid-century modern look, try Period Arts... they have some cool designs that work great with the era:

http://www.periodarts.com/

A cheap option is http://www.lowes.com/pd_75849-22716-L05BN_4294856737+4294867912_4294937087_?productId=1260197&Ns=p_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1&pl=1&currentURL=/pl_Yes_4294856737%2B4294867912_4294937087_%3FNs%3Dp_product_prd_lis_ord_nbr|0||p_product_quantity_sold|1 . We bought two (for different rooms) and spray painted the blades of one a deep brown (spray evenly so it does not rock when installed). They both look great with my mid-century decor.

@ Ansela: You must be lucky enough to live in a cooler climate.:) Ceiling fans may not lower the actual temperature, but they make a massive difference in the comfort level of a hot room (says someone who has lives in the tropics).

The artemis fan is a great choice! I echo all the commenters who agreed.

As an alternate to fans, solar shades are great for cutting the heat but only if they work with the style of your windows.

At has some helpful posts related to this:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/dc/air-water-quality/10-fantastic-fans--118175

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/best-table-fans-2010-122911

And one from DesignSponge:

http://www.designspongeonline.com/2010/06/ceiling-fan-roundup.html

They make a HUGE difference. I keep my air conditioner at 80 at night to save on energy costs and sleep with my ceiling fan on. On the few occasions where I had to turn it off (it makes a rocking sound on occasion), it quickly goes from cool to warm in the room.

Casablanca Fan Co. makes a number of modern style fans, including one called the "Bungalow".

I personally love the San Francisco fan
http://www.ylighting.com/mnk-f529.html.

I live in hot and humid Dallas and only use table top fans (well, a/c too but not too low--83 in the day).
Caframo Dragonfly fan at my desk (same design since 1958) and a Hunter "Retro" fan in the living room. The also make a "Retro" pedestal fan and a crazy bright red 50s looking fan: http://www.hunterfan.com/Products/Portable-Fans/Heritage-Fan-90313/

Might as well try out a table or pedestal fan at first. I'm suspecting you won't even want a ceiling fan after that.

This is timely for us. We have nasty old fans (not cool old) throughout our house.

Think we are doing like Linbo; get plain white to blend in (and match track lights). It also keeps the cost down since we need 5.

Briefly read through the comments and was surprised no one mentioned "Fanimation". We recommend them all the time at work (I'm a designer) particularly for historical renovations & such.

Something along these lines would look lovely in your type of house:

http://www.fanimation.com/products/centaurus/

We live in Fairlington in a 1940-build townhouse and bought this: http://www.restorationhardware.com/rh/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod1870022&navAction=jump&navCount=2

I live in Cancun, and while I love ceiling fans, they don't always help to deal with real heat. If the room just gets mildly warm, go for it.

If it really heats up in there, you might want to try another solution.

Good luck!

Maybe some blinds for the hours when the room gets the most direct sunlight...

I love our fans, they are modern and streamlined without being too obvious. We have the brushed nickel with the cap rather than the glass light cover.