Surely I'm not the only person still living with HORRIBLE, HIDEOUS 1980's (maybe eeeearly 90's) ceiling fans in their house?! Here is the current 80's artifact we are living with:
Believe it or not, this is actually a slight improvement from what it was before. Before we purchased our house, it was being used as a rental home to college kids. Somewhere along the way, the pull cord must've broken off and instead of spending the $3 it would take to replace it, someone had cleverly scotch-taped two golf tees to what remained of the cord to try to extend it so it was reachable. I'm sure you can imagine how classy that scenario looked swinging around on our living room ceiling! Not exactly the vibe I was going for. Needless to say, after a few years of college kids living here, golf tees were some of the tamer souvenirs we have been left to clean up.
Okay, so is anyone else living with not so attractive ceiling fans? If so, it is time to remedy that situation PRONTO. I know, I know. When you are on a budget it is hard to think about shelling out money for light fixtures, especially ones that work just fine. But, I assure you, a few minor upgrades on light fixtures can make a huge impact on your space and intention in your design. And these updates don't {necessarily} have to break the bank.
A few months ago we replaced the ceiling fan in our bedroom simply out of necessity because the old one died. My husband cannot function without a fan in the bedroom. We didn't get anything fancy but let me tell you that it was $100ish bucks well spent. The new ceiling fan (like almost all new ones now do) came with a remote control!
What started out as a little luxury having a remote control has now become a necessity in my book. Imagine it: you are suddenly burning hot in the middle of the night. Gone are the days of getting up, climbing on top of the bed, clonking your head on one of the blades (that has actually happened to me on multiple occasions), and then having to wrestle with pulling a janky cord to speed the fan up. And after all of this, you are wide awake, not to mention mildly concust. With the new fan, now if I get hot, I just have roll over to my bedside table, hit the button on the remote, and I'm cool as the flip side of my pillow.
After spending time researching cool ceiling fans (I can honestly say I no longer believe that is an oxymoron!), I'm having a little regret over our bedroom fixture purchase. In retrospect, I wish I had spent a little more time finding a fan with a design style that really spoke to me rather than buying the first non-hideous one that we could find. There's nothing offensive about the plain one we have in our bedroom but there's also nothing to write home about either. Other than the remote, obvi.
So, I'm not going to make the same mistake with the other rooms in our house.
This is the bad boy that has changed my entire outlook on ceiling fans:
How slick is that?! The materials it is made of feel very contemporary but the shape of it feels very classic and timeless. And it is soooo easy on the eyes. I'm thinking this is a must-have for at least one room in our house. And it is priced just over 200 bucks! If I haven't convinced you yet, check it out in MINT:
I initially saw the fan over on Nesting with Grace and it was love at first site for me:
I know what you're thinking: so she found one ceiling fan that isn't honking ugly. Miracles can happen. But honestly, after doing some digging, today's ceiling fans truly aren't the chintzy, brassy cheap-looking versions that they used to be. For as little as a few hundred bucks (plus the obvious cost of installation unless you have the benefit of a super handy person in your life), you can find a new fan that will easily elevate your space.
I've rounded up a few of my favorite, affordable, non-hideous ceiling fan finds:
This one is one of my other favorites. It is so beautifully designed that it could almost pass as a piece of art! It comes in multiple shades of wood but I love this lighter finish.
This one is rustic but sophisticated enough so it doesn't feel country. It is an indoor/outdoor fan so I can picture it working in all different types of scenarios. I like the woodwork around the actual lights that mirrors a traditional light fixture just with a fan attached.
I love how this fan mimics a propeller. In fact, as I am typing this, my airplane-obsessed 3 year old would love this for his room. And, mama wouldn't mind either.
If you don't need a light attached to your fan, this 8 blade fan would offer you plenty of air flow and looks super chic, to boot.
Lastly, I love the chic industrial vibe this fan has going on. It comes in a variety of finishes and is the perfect combo of new and old. It could easily mesh with a variety of decor styles.
I hope this has motivated you a little to think about those light fixtures that we all just take for granted and don't want to deal with!
xo, Cameron
