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You are visiting: Home » Decorating/DIY » Decorate Your Home » Ceiling Fans in “Real Life” Decor

Ceiling Fans in “Real Life” Decor

by Lindsay Ballard on July 7, 2011 54 Comments

Ceiling fans are one of those things that I think interior designers choose to ignore.  You very rarely see them in areas other than outdoor living spaces in design magazines and TV shows.  Could you imagine the designers at Million Dollar Decorators adding a ceiling fan to one of their bedrooms?

Southern Living

As far as I’m concerned, the lack of ceiling fans in good bedroom design leaves a lot of “real life” to be desired. I am one of those people who really needs air circulating above me as I’m sleeping.  For my husband and I, having no ceiling fan is a deal breaker in our master bedroom redesign.

Sunday in Bed

We are now facing the question about what color blades our fan should have.  Before we painted the bedroom, the dark blades blended with our beige wall and ceiling color, much like this room.  It looked great.

Urban Grace Interiors

But now that our ceiling is white, it really stands out too much to me.  We will have some dark toned wood in the room, but I’m worried that the dark blades are too much with the ceiling.  It took us a LONG time to find a ceiling fan when we moved into our home, but we fell in love with this fan and its design.  I am really struggling with this decision.

I bought some white blades to switch out, but the blades I bought were bright white, uber plastic-y and were definitely not going to work.  Back to the store they will go.  Perhaps white blades made of better materials will be okay.  I’ve also considered painting the reverse side of our current blades to be an exact match to our ceiling, so that’s an option.

What do you think I should do?  What color are your ceiling and ceiling fan?

About Lindsay Ballard

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.

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Comments

  1. Holli says

    July 7, 2011 at 9:53 am

    We have white ceilings and our fans are the oil rubbed bronze look with the darker brown blades in some rooms, in others we have the cherry blade side showing, and in our office our fan is black.

    Reply
  2. Suzan says

    July 7, 2011 at 9:54 am

    I think that since you think the brown blades will be too “in your face”, I would paint the blades to match the ceiling…exactly. My ceiling fan (I also need that air movement!) is white and my ceiling is white so it kind of disappears in the grand scheme of things.

    Reply
  3. Katie @ Haute Apple Pie says

    July 7, 2011 at 9:56 am

    AMEN! I couldn’t agree more that fans are a must for the average home. Design mags always have me thinking that my fans and my normal height ceilings are so lame but then I remember that sweating in my sleep is much worse! Our ceilings are white and the fans are all white so that they blend in as much as possible. Good luck!!

    Reply
  4. Kristen says

    July 7, 2011 at 9:58 am

    I have been having the same dilema. My husband and I need a ceiling fan for our bedroom but it is hard to find one that doesn’t look cheap and is affordable, plus the color of the blades is a whole different question. I like the idea of matching your ceiling.

    Reply
  5. Sandra says

    July 7, 2011 at 10:10 am

    I’ve spray-painted ceiling blades before, with great results. You can keep your existing fan and then paint it any color you like.

    Reply
  6. Katie @ Wildwood Creek says

    July 7, 2011 at 10:11 am

    I totally agree. A beautiful light works from a design standpoint; however, for real life, we need a ceiling fan while sleeping. I think the perfect solution is to paint one side of the blades the same color as your ceiling.

    Reply
  7. Stephanie @ Figments of a Mom says

    July 7, 2011 at 10:28 am

    My husband and I just had this conversation the other night. We currently have an overhead light above our bed, which I despise. I would love a chandelier, but also have a need for air circulation. I’m torn! If the fan wins, I’m putting a chandelier in my closet.

    Reply
  8. Ashley says

    July 7, 2011 at 10:31 am

    Hi~
    I used to work at a lighting store and I would advise that you DO NOT paint your current blades. It could cause your fan to become uneven and then you would have one of those issues where the fan makes “ticking” noises or wobbles. The blades are all weighed when they are shipped out so that they are all equal. And as light as paint may seem it could cause problems.

    Instead of trying to blend in the fan maybe try some type of decorative blade that goes with your decor?

    Reply
  9. BeColorful says

    July 7, 2011 at 10:48 am

    Designers be damned. I am a peri-menopausal woman that needs her fan! :0
    Pam

    Reply
    • Nancy says

      October 12, 2012 at 9:43 am

      Amen, sister!

      Reply
  10. Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions says

    July 7, 2011 at 11:04 am

    I’m with you, Lindsay ~ I need my ceiling fan on at night while I’m sleeping. Plus with menopause right around the corner, I’m sure it will become my best friend at night! : ) Our ceilings are white and I have white ceiling fans and fan blades. My thinking is I like the function, but I don’t need it to be the first thing people see when they walk into the room. Not exactly my idea of a focal point. I’d let that guide you. Of course, I’ve also seen them covered with wallpaper, fabric and scrapbook paper, so you could always match whatever else is going on in your room, but again, it will bring the eye up to it. I’m curious to see what you do now!

    Reply
  11. Connie says

    July 7, 2011 at 11:05 am

    I completely agree… on every design show the first thing that goes is the fan. I would love a beatuiful chandelier, but I use my ceiling fan!!! I don’t have a great solution… I’m going to be reading all the comments for a good solution too 🙂
    Thanks for addressing this!!
    Connie

    Reply
  12. Kate in Vienna says

    July 7, 2011 at 11:29 am

    There does seem to be a discord between “designed” rooms and “real life”. I love and use my ceiling fan all year, but hate, hate the light kit attached! Hmm, another item to put on my list of things to do?

    Also, it drives me nuts when I see a “designed” room and know that there is no way that the lamps used are actually functional! Usually they are are on a table far from an electric source!

    Reply
  13. Cap Creations says

    July 7, 2011 at 11:30 am

    Did you try the white ones you bought at all? It may give you a general idea and you could tell if white would be better. Have you considered painting your blades the same gray color that’s on some of your walls? I know it will still stand out probably as much as the brown against that white ceiling BUT the gray would match so it might actually look good. Just a thought!

    Reply
  14. Aimee says

    July 7, 2011 at 11:38 am

    Why don’t you repaint your current fan blades? Maybe with chalk paint? It would give them a softer look.

    Reply
  15. Aimee says

    July 7, 2011 at 11:40 am

    Ah, just saw the issue about the blades being weighted equally…I know you can buy teensy weights to put on the blades if they’re weighted unequally. It may be an option.

    Reply
  16. Sylvia says

    July 7, 2011 at 11:51 am

    Clearly we GRITS must have a ceiling fan. I agree that there is reality and there is the design world. The designer Laurie Hickson-Smith (was on Trading Spaces) lives in Mississippi had ceiling fans in her own home. One of the reasons I love design blogs like yours is that it is design by real people, for real families, living real lives… with ceiling fans.
    I think I’d paint the blades to match the ceiling.

    Reply
  17. Chris says

    July 7, 2011 at 12:15 pm

    I think ceiling fans can be ok , what makes them tacky is the light attachment , I think fans should never have a light , if you cap it off it looks so much less offensive and clean , you can have a very functional bedroom with lamp lighting alone , I think white blades and remove the light !!!

    Reply
  18. heidi@thecraftmonkeyblog says

    July 7, 2011 at 12:46 pm

    Definitely NEED ceiling fans! We live in the South and if we didn’t have ceiling fans our energy bill would be outrageous! {actually once when I showed a pic of my kitchen/dining room someone left a comment saying that I should take down the “eye soar” ceiling fan…uh yea, No thanks!}

    I think it would be pretty if you incorporated both of the colors from your room, the grey and the white. Maybe the hardware white & the blades grey or vice versa? I LOVE your new room btw!

    Reply
  19. Jody Smith says

    July 7, 2011 at 1:11 pm

    I always wonder to myself when the designers take out ceiling fans-“Aren’t those people going to be hot when they sleep?”. We have them in every bed room and living room. They are on all the time in the summer (yesterday it was 106 here). Our house came with them already and they are all white (they blend into the ceiling). I think it would be a good idea to paint oneside of the blades white-that way you can just flipped them over when you want to wood look again. SAVE THE CEILING FANS!!!!

    Jody

    Reply
  20. Amanda @ Serenity Now says

    July 7, 2011 at 1:41 pm

    When we moved into our house, our kitchen had a turquoise ceiling fan…for real! The other one by the stove was white. It looked *fabulous.*

    Reply
  21. Barbara aka Pink Overalls says

    July 7, 2011 at 1:54 pm

    Interesting. I agree that ceiling fans are SO useful, but can be ugly. I like the idea of choosing or adapting a fan so there’s no light. Usually, that’s the ugly facor.

    But that brings up another problem. You need to be able to turn on a light with a wall switch when you enter a room. I think this is building code in most places.

    It’s a dilemma. I blogged about this very topic just a couple weeks ago.

    http://diyhomestagingtips.blogspot.com/2011/06/ceiling-fans-good-or-bad-
    for-bedroom.html

    I vote for white fan, white blades. I’ve painted ceiling fans and it didn’t make them wobble.

    Reply
  22. Kristen says

    July 7, 2011 at 1:55 pm

    Check the other sides of your fan blades. Sometimes fixtures come with two shades (one light and one dark).

    Reply
  23. Sam @ The Junk House says

    July 7, 2011 at 3:27 pm

    I have 2 ceiling fans in my bedroom! They were both there when I bought the house. I thought it was too much, until I slept under them. LOVE! I don’t know how people live without ceiling fans, especially in Phoenix! My ceiling is white and so are the fans and blades. You should try buying nicer white blades. I think mine are store bought and they aren’t shiny or plastic-y looking.

    Reply
  24. Steph says

    July 7, 2011 at 3:48 pm

    This is mad expensive, but it would look awesome in your new room: http://www.ylighting.com/moooi-mistral-ceiling-fan-pendant.html

    I’m really liking the idea of the new ceiling fans with drum shades that hide the blades. I saw one at Lowes, but they only had one kind and it would not go well in your space.

    Reply
  25. Christine Aldinger says

    July 7, 2011 at 4:00 pm

    paint paint paint!!

    Reply
  26. Trisha Haynes says

    July 7, 2011 at 5:13 pm

    If you use spray paint and lightly apply several thin coats there should be no problem with the “weight” of the paint throwing off the balance. My husband & I were just having a conversation about adding a ceiling fan in our great room and color is our primary concern. We too need the functionality but worry about it being a focal point. White ceiling plus white fan hopefully makes it less noticeable… can’t wait to see what you decide! 😀

    Reply
  27. Stacey says

    July 7, 2011 at 6:00 pm

    I agree that the dark fan is too much with your beloved chevrons 🙂 I say paint them slightly darker than your ceiling. I think an exact match will make the hardware and light fixture stand out, the opposite of what you want.

    Reply
  28. Beth Partin says

    July 7, 2011 at 6:47 pm

    I think I would go with the gray from your stripes!

    Reply
  29. Amanda@allthingscreativeaz says

    July 7, 2011 at 8:15 pm

    I agree, ceiling fans are totally necessary and won’t ever be leaving my house! I’m working on my master bedroom right now too. My plan is to paint our ceiling fan blades either the color of the ceiling (a light grey-blue) or one shade darker.

    Reply
  30. statia says

    July 7, 2011 at 9:09 pm

    I’m so not a fan of white fan blades. For one, I couldn’t find a single one that doesn’t look cheap. Two, as much as I’m ashamed to admit this, my fan blades don’t get cleaned as regularly as they should, and white fan blades, plus two dogs, plus endless amounts of home improvement dust, and two kids… I don’t really have to elaborate, do I? We have the same fan as you and it looks better in our room, but our room isn’t bright like yours. It’s moody and brooding.

    Reply
  31. Kelly@TearingUpHouses says

    July 7, 2011 at 9:32 pm

    i would try to color match your ceiling. (we spent today working on fans, ironically!)

    Reply
  32. Phalloeun says

    July 7, 2011 at 11:00 pm

    I thought I was the only one that couldn’t live without a fan in the bedroom! I am so glad so many people share my love for circulating air.

    Reply
  33. Tracy E says

    July 7, 2011 at 11:07 pm

    A solid gray for the blades and spray paint all the hardware black.

    Reply
  34. Cathy says

    July 7, 2011 at 11:17 pm

    Hi there,
    Personally, I’m not too overly bothered by the matching stuff. Or at least that’s what I thought until I realized by reading blogs that I could do something about say, “the blades on my ceiling fans”. Dah!!!
    My vote is to paint them the ceiling colour. The fan you have in your bedroom is the same as the one in my bedroom. It was here when we bought the house and is on a remote. The only thing I don’t like about the remote is there is no way to reverse the blades. For summer use it’s great but for the winter (here in Canada) it’s great to be able to bring the heat down from the ceiling.
    I lived for eight years in a 7th floor apartment with a SW exposure without air conditioning. I don’t think I would have survived the summers without my ceiling fan and my large box fan that I sat on the window sill and had it suck in the cool air from outside at night. I had wired my own ceiling fans so was able to use the light switch on the wall to turn the light on and off but it didn’t make a difference to the fan part. It’s speed, on/off and direction I adjusted using the chains attached. It made things easier as I ran the fans 24/7/365.
    Good luck with your decision and btw I love the chevrons on your walls.

    Cathy

    Reply
  35. Robyn says

    July 7, 2011 at 11:53 pm

    I have a similar challenge. I’m on a quest to find 3 ceiling fans for our front porch. Living near Atlanta, it’s easier to enjoy a covered porch in summer when it has fans. I can not find a cottage-style that is affordable and attractive and rated for outdoors. I want a nice looking light fixture since it greets people to the poach, not that lame clouded glass ball that so many companies have. Any suggestions?

    Reply
  36. Janelle says

    July 8, 2011 at 7:55 am

    Have you thought about painting your existing ceiling fan? I have the same issue with ours and lately, I have considered spray painting it.

    Reply
  37. Danielle says

    July 8, 2011 at 9:00 am

    GOOD ARTICLE! You are so on the money with ceiling fans…they are part of real life and a necessity in the midwest where I live!

    In this case, I would paint the blades the same color as your ceiling. You don’t want the fan to stand out in this beautiful room and take away from all your hard work.

    Reply
  38. Stephanie says

    July 8, 2011 at 9:48 am

    I love my master bedroom ceiling fan. My walls are fray and the ceiling is white. The fan is bushed nickel and black and looks sophisticated in our space.

    Reply
  39. Lindsay says

    July 8, 2011 at 11:44 am

    I appreciate you posting something about this! I find the same is true for large TVs. Don’t see many of those in design mag pictures of living rooms…

    Reply
  40. Theresa says

    July 8, 2011 at 2:54 pm

    It gets crazy hot here so ceiling fans are a must. There are actually some really nice ones available here because of it. For our bedroom our fan is brushed nickel with pewter colored blades and 4 pendant style (I think that’s what you’d call it) lights facing down with frosted glass shades. We got it on sale at a lighting store, but I want to say the original price was around $100 and it is lasting really well. The gray goes really well with our curtain rods and the other hardware in the room and would probably look good with the grey on your walls too. In our room the ceiling fan is an accent not an eye sore. Our living room has a lot of dark wood furniture so we went for an oiled bronze fan with dark wood blades. The kids rooms have painted walls with white trim, ceilings and furniture so we are sticking with white fans there.

    Do you have a lighting store with a good selection of ceiling fans near you? The one near us had a WAY better selection than any of the home improvement stores as well as better prices for a better product.

    Reply
  41. Rob O. says

    July 8, 2011 at 4:36 pm

    I couldn’t agree more! The rooms featured in most magazines are simply not real. And that goes doubly if you have a small child!

    Seems like ceiling fan companies have finally taken notice that we gravitate towards the less ordinary and are now making a much broader array of styles and colors.

    Unfortunately, most of our fan are what came with the house, so they’re not really in styles or colors that we would’ve chosen. But they are very nice fans, so we’re going to wait most of the out and focus on other areas of improvement. We did, however, replace the ancient builder-grade white & shiny brass model in our son’s room with a ceiling-hugger that’s all white. And we’re about to replace the fan in our home office with something less garish. I’ve been looking at more modern styles in brushed nickel finish with espresso-colored blades.

    Reply
  42. jenn says

    July 9, 2011 at 8:26 am

    I vote for trying a whitewash finish with the ceiling color and if that doesn’t look good you can try a solid white finish. My roommate painted her blades to blend with the ceiling and it helped A LOT.

    Reply
  43. Adrienne says

    July 9, 2011 at 10:11 am

    it’s a deal-breaker for sure! fans are required in texas!!

    Reply
  44. Libby Hosler says

    July 9, 2011 at 1:15 pm

    ITA with your liking of fans. You know what? I live in STL, it gets ht here and , um. I like ceiling fans. paint them the same color as the ceiling, is my vote.

    Lindsay!! I work at the JoAnn fabric in Ballwin and I brought your blog name up to a cusotmer last night and she ALSO reads your blog. She was covering a night light (one of your past projects?) and I told her about your sailcloth curtain project. you are very popular around these parts, Miss.
    🙂

    Reply
  45. Roeshel says

    July 9, 2011 at 9:18 pm

    Another ‘fan’ of bedroom fans. Great suggestions above. We haven’t gotten to renovating our room yet, so I’ll spare you the ugly details. 😉

    Hope you’re having a great weekend!

    Reply
  46. Vicki J says

    July 11, 2011 at 11:06 am

    With all the responses you have gotten showing the love for the ceiling fan one starts to wonder WHO are they designing for????

    We have to have air moving in our house due to some high ceilings.. summer or winter or else we will get elec bills like the national debt… and its plain ol more confortable!

    Reply
  47. Ruth says

    July 12, 2011 at 4:01 pm

    We also need ceiling fans in our home. I think painting them is probably the best idea. That way you can have the exact color you want.

    Love that porch and the ceiling fan in the second picture. Our ceilings are too low for such a bold fan.

    Ruth

    Reply
  48. Joy says

    July 18, 2011 at 3:46 pm

    Luckily our living room has a trey ceiling, otherwise the fan we have would be too low even for us. Not all light fixtures on fans are ugly; ours has a light that faces up, and is mainly decorative in use. Might not work for a bedroom, though, if you want light from that source.

    Paint or find some kind of cool wallpaper to spiff up your fan.

    Reply
  49. Lynne says

    July 20, 2011 at 9:30 am

    We bought a house that had ceiling fans in every room, but they are from the 80’s — so they are brass and oak colored wood. We have been painting them, and honestly you can’t tell the difference from brand new fans after they are painted. I have been painting the blades brown, and the fixtures oil rubbed bronze. The color looks great against our white ceilings and light colored walls. We have a kind of pottery barn look to our house — slipcovered sofas, etc.

    Be sure to show us some pictures!

    Reply
  50. Jenny says

    December 15, 2011 at 2:51 pm

    I agree with Chris – I think ceiling fans look better without the light attachment – our house was wired so that at least one of the outlets in the room is attached to a light switch – for instance, in our entryway – so I can flick on a lamp easily without having to stumble in the dark. Light attachments are too bright, too hot, and hang too low (at least for my 8 ft ceilings and 6’3″ husband), but the fan is a necessity here in Texas. If you must have a light attachment, I prefer the bowl kind (like yours) over the 4 cups sticking out and an all white fan will always blend into an all white ceiling and becomes unnoticable in all my rooms.

    Reply
  51. kimberlee dyer says

    January 22, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    try silver paint or a light gray tint-good luck. please post a picture so we all can see

    Reply
  52. E. says

    March 25, 2012 at 5:05 am

    This is great. I live in a desert climate, and people around here underestimate what a good ceiling fan can do on hot days! Air conditioning is not always necessary.

    Reply
  53. Nancy says

    December 12, 2012 at 8:54 pm

    Help, I need advice, I am enclosing my patio into a sunroom and do not know whether to get a white or brown ceiling fan. I am getting a cherry wood electric fire place and shelf in there. Most of my decorator friends say I have to get brown to match the furniture and that white is so out of style. However, I am thinking white would be good and bright against the white ceiling and will make the room look bigger and brighter. Please share any thoughts, I need to decide in a few days.

    Reply

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About Makely

Lindsay Ballard is a former college mascot turned political geek turned roller derby playing, DIY fanatic.

Lindsay chronicles her projects, design ideas, and lifestyle tips here at Makely, where she shares tutorials and inspiration. Her DIY designs are bold and graphic, while her spirit is fun and full of color.

Lindsay lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband (Tom), children (Zack and Emma), and dogs (Duke and Jill). She plays roller derby for the Rockin' City Rollergirls out of Round Rock, Texas.


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