In most cases, ceiling fans are not very pretty, so selecting the best one for your home can be quite a challenge.
Even if a ceiling fan is selected to be a similar style to your decor, it can look completely different when the blades are spinning.
Faux wood blades are not especially attractive and draw attention from the beautiful parts of a room that you want to highlight.
Ceiling fan blades that contrast with the ceiling color make ceilings feel shorter.
Light bulbs are not very attractive, so they should not be visible (unless your home has an industrial style and you use Edison bulbs #ad).
photo by Curtis Adams pexels.com/photo/a-wooden-table-near-the-couch-inside-the-living-room-7168014/
(Disclaimer - This website contains affiliate links, meaning I get a small commission for purchases made through the links that offsets the fees associated with publishing this blog, however you will not pay any additional cost)
What fan is best?
In most cases, ceiling fans are purely utilitarian and should be selected to "disappear" into the ceiling and not draw attention to themselves.
Since you likely don't want your ugly ceiling fan to be the focal point of your room, the best ceiling fan is one that blends into the ceiling.
If you have an 8 foot tall or shorter ceiling, you should research the height of ceiling fans to find which one is the shortest to allow the most head room, which is not always a ceiling hugger fan #ad.
Long dangling ceiling fan pull cords are not attractive, so consider getting a ceiling fan with a remote control. If that is not possible, then try to minimize the length of the ceiling fan cords and remove any knobs or decorative items on the end of the cords as much as possible.
Light coming from a ceiling does not produce the best light for a room, so consider using lamps or wall sconces instead of a light in your ceiling fan.
If you do want a light kit on your ceiling fan, make sure that the light bulbs are concealed and avoid a "boob" globe that attaches to the fan in the center of the globe.
If you have a white ceiling, select an all white ceiling fan with concealed bulbs (or no light kit at all) hung as close to the ceiling as the manufacturer suggests (I hung a few of mine closer to the ceiling than suggested and they still work fine).
If you have a ceiling that is painted a color other than white, then select a ceiling fan in the same color. You might want to have the ceiling fan custom painted to match if your ceiling is a unique color.
If you have a stained wood ceiling, then finding a wood ceiling fan to match your wood ceiling can be tricky. You might want to opt for a dark colored fan instead of a wood fan because sometimes trying to match and being a little off is worse than purposely choosing a different material that is similar in value (the lightness or darkness of a color).
Some poor quality ceiling fans are more expensive than quality ceiling fans, so don't assume that the most expensive ceiling fan is the best. Read the reviews and specifications to determine the best ceiling fan for your home.
What about a fandelier?
For those who don't know, fandeliers are both a chandelier and a ceiling fan.
Very few fandeliers look great, some fandeliers look ok, but others are a bit crazy looking!
My personal opinion is that if you would select the fandelier for how it looks, even if it did not have a fan attachment, then it might be a good choice for your home. If you would not select it without the fan attachment, then you should skip it.
What about a bladeless ceiling fan?
Bladeless ceiling fans are still rather new, however have the potential to be a great ceiling fan option.
Sometimes called air multipliers, bladeless fans use spinning discs inside the fan to move air.
Bladeless ceiling fans tend to be more lightweight than traditional ceiling fans as well as quieter (but not silent), however currently tend to cost considerably more than a traditional ceiling fan.
If your ceilings are less than 8 foot tall, a bladeless fan is a good option since it is safer than a traditional fan with spinning blades.
Bladeless fans also don't accumulate as much dust as traditional fans do on their blades, which is good for people who have dust allergies or are trying to reduce the amount of cleaning required in their home.
Be aware than ceiling fans with the blades enclosed in a housing are often called bladeless fans, but they are not. If they have blades, then they are not bladeless.
Exceptions to the rule
If you have one room in your home with tall ceilings and you want to install a ceiling fan that is very unique and appropriate for your decor, then feel free to do so, however consider how often the fan will be turned on and whether the fan looks as amazing in motion as it does when turned off. Be aware that some of the more popular unique ceiling fans these days are very trendy, so be prepared to replace the ceiling fan in a few years once the trend is over else your home will look very dated.
Little kid rooms can break almost all of the decorating rules, so the best ceiling fan for a kid's room is whatever they want that is within your budget. If your kid wants a certain ceiling fan with a cartoon character or unique color, then get it only if you are prepared to replace it once your kid is bored with that style.
If you want to use a fan that has a historic or industrial feel and is appropriate for the style of your home, then feel free, but research actual historic fans and make sure that the fan you select is not a poor replica in the wrong scale or proportion.
Ceiling fans in my home
My home came with builder basic ceiling fans that had faux wood blades and exposed light bulbs.
It didn't matter the ceiling height of the room, all ceiling fans were hung using the same downrod that was meant for a 9 foot ceiling.
My son's bedroom has an 8 foot ceiling, so the dark wood ceiling fan hanging too low made his room feel uncomfortable. We almost felt like we were going to be decapitated by the ceiling fan!
After I changed his ceiling fan to an all white one that was hung with a downrod appropriate for 8 foot ceilings, the room felt like we raised the ceiling by several feet. I did opt for a ceiling fan with a light kit because that is what he wanted, but the ceiling fan bulbs are concealed.
Changing my son's ceiling fan made such a huge difference in his room that I bought 4 more of the same ceiling fan to replace the fans in my other rooms.
After the fans were changed, all rooms felt like the ceilings were so much taller and the entire room brighter without a dark spinning object above our heads.
Ceiling fan options
Here are a few ceiling fan options for you to consider in your home. Feel free to click on the photos for more information about each one.
