I think I'm going to install the one thing that every home show ever tells you to remove: the good old ceiling fan.
Tom Scheerer via Pure Style Home
Here's the deal: my kids can't sleep. With a big, open main floor and a small upper level, the bedrooms up there don't seem to have a chance at staying cool. All the hot air rises right up to their room, and even with the air conditioning on, it just never really cools down. And kids who don't fall asleep until 10pm are tired and crabby indeed.
Here's the problem. Choosing a ceiling fan is a bit like choosing a car. When you inherit one, you accept it happily for its good solid functionality, without thinking too much about what it looks like (like the fans in our townhouse in Brooklyn and our rental in Boulder; also like the Ford Taurus and Buik Century we are grateful to have but never would have chosen ourselves.) When you are picking one out yourself, you discover that you really don't like the looks of any of the options out there.
We need ceiling huggers (basically flush mounts), with light kits and a blade span around 44". I'm thinking white and contemporary. We have nickel hardware through out the house, but an all-silver fan would be too cold and stark in the bedrooms.
Also they can't be too expensive. Do you know how many options that leaves? Just two.
1. The Minka Aire Concept II 44" flushmount, around $264 from various sources
(Or this variation, the Minka Aire traditional flush ceiling fan, around the same price.)
2. The 44" Encore Possini Euro White Hugger Ceiling Fan, about $199 from Lamps Plus.
There are some super budget-friendly options, but this one is too cottagey
And this one is pretty ugly.
I like to think that these fans will be a long-term investment and that it makes sense to go with the higher-quality ones that also happen to be more style-appropriate to our house. But at the same time, I tend to be cheap about the boring stuff.
If you want to see some beautiful spaces with ceiling fans, check out Lauren Liess's post on the use of fans in Tom Scheerer's work. Makes me feel like there is hope!
Don't do it! Don't you live in, like, Minnesota, where you have long, cold winters? Half of the year you'll be cursing about how fugly and useless that thing is. What about a good old-fashioned fan in the window during the summer? Is that just not an option? The girls' room is looking so cute, there's got to be another option....
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