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Shopping Guide

Shopping for Ceiling Fans

There are a lot of ugly fans. But if you choose carefully, it’s like adding a piece of sculpture to a room.

Finding the right ceiling fan can be “a bit of a needle-in-a-haystack search,” said Michael Cox, a New York-based interior designer. (The steel-and-wood Falcon from Rejuvenation, above, starts at $769.)

The mere mention of ceiling fans may conjure up sweltering summer days, but they can be useful at any time of year, in almost any climate.

“Even in wintertime, in a room that has a fire going, a fan on low can keep the heat circulating,” said Michael Cox, the principal of the New York interior design firm Foley & Cox, who has installed them in homes from Canada to the Caribbean. “It keeps the overall temperature of the space a little more regulated.”

Unfortunately, they aren’t always aesthetically appealing — especially in recent years, as the market seems to have been flooded with clunky models.

“I compare fan design to lighting design: There’s generally a lot more bad than good,” Mr. Cox said. “It’s a bit of a needle-in-a-haystack search. But there are certainly a lot of great options out there.”

Choose carefully, he added, and it “becomes a piece of sculpture almost, hanging from the ceiling.”


  • Does your fan need a light? If so, look for a design with the light integrated into the fan, rather than tacked onto it, Mr. Cox advised.

  • How will you control it? Fans can be controlled by wall switches and pull chains, but “we always prefer a remote that can be tucked into a drawer or a box” when you’re not using it, Mr. Cox said.

  • How large should the fan be? “Bigger is better,” he said. “If you’re going to have a fan, it should look strong and functional.”


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Fan with remote control and optional light by Ron Rezek for the Modern Fan Company

$436 at Design Within Reach: 800-944-2233 or dwr.com


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Fan in resin, aluminum or bamboo finish with remote control and optional light

From $688 at Haiku: 855-734-9418 or haikuhome.com


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ABS plastic fan with remote control

About $240 at Build.com; 800-375-3403 or build.com


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Steel-and-wood fan with remote control and optional light

From $769 at Rejuvenation: 888-401-1900 or rejuvenation.com


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Metal-and-wood flush-mount fan with remote and wall controls

From about $572 at YLiving: 800-236-9100 or yliving.com


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A version of this article appears in print on  , Section RE, Page 10 of the New York edition with the headline: Air Circulation With a Bit of Flair. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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