You might think of ceiling fans as a way to beat the heat in the summer, but they can also be a stylish addition to your home decor. The right ceiling fan can really pull your room together, and with so many styles and designs available today, finding the perfect fan for your home is just a matter of looking. You aren’t limited to the selection at your local home hardware store – you can find ceiling fans of any size and style online.
Before you begin the quest to find your perfect ceiling fan, take a good look around your home. What color is your wood furniture and wood trim? You should also look at metal hardware and fixtures like doorknobs, wall sconces, and light switch covers. Make sure you’ve measured the square footage of the room and you’re getting a fan in the right size, and think about your overall decorating theme so you can choose a style that coordinates with it.
Match Your Fan to Your Wood Trim and Furniture
What type of wood finish do you have on the furniture and trim in the room where you’re hanging the fan? You want the wood finish on your fan to match the wood finishes that are present in your room. If your furniture doesn’t match your trim, it’s probably best to go with the color of the trim for your fan, since it’s a permanent fixture and you want it to match with the more permanent features of the room. Usually, it’ll just be the blades of the fan with a wood finish, but some models have wood over the motor housing, as well, with minimal hardware.
Consider the Color of the Metal Hardware in the Room
What type of metal finish do you have on the hardware in the room? Choose a fan with hardware finishes that match the hardware finishes in the room where it will hang. If your doorknobs and other hardware, like outlet covers and light switch plates, are different colors, you could go either way, but most people try to match the fan’s metal finishes to those finishes that show up most often in the room.
Make Sure the Fan Is the Right Size for Your Room
When you’re buying a ceiling fan for your home, you absolutely have to make sure it’s the right size for the space you’re putting it in. You can buy small ceiling fans that are just 29 inches wide or large ceiling fans that are 60 inches wide or wider. Before you choose a fan, measure the square footage of the room it’ll be in so you can get the right size fixture.
If the room is smaller than 75 square feet, you can use the smallest ceiling fans – don’t get anything bigger than 36 inches across. For rooms 76 to 144 square feet, choose 36- to 42-inch ceiling fans. For rooms 145 to 224 square inches, choose 44- to 50-inch fans. For rooms 225 to 400 square feet, choose 50- to 54-inch fans.
If the room is much larger than 400 square feet, you can choose a fan that is 60 to 80 inches across, but for very large rooms, reconsider before you buy a super large fan. Instead of hanging one gigantic ceiling fan in a very large room, it may be more effective to hang two or more smaller fans. For example, if the room is 600 square feet, think of it as two 300 square foot spaces and buy two smaller fans sized accordingly. This provides better air flow to both sides of the room and usually looks more balanced.
Choose a Fan That Matches Your Decorating Theme
Of course, when choosing a new fan for your home, you definitely want to choose one that adheres to your decorating theme. Fortunately, you can buy fans in a wide range of styles these days. If your look is more minimalist and contemporary, choose a sleek, minimalist fan with gently curving lines and only two or three blades. If your look is more industrialist, choose a dual fan or a fan with eight or nine blades. Just keep shopping around until you find the perfect fan design for your space.
You might not think of a ceiling fan as an accent piece, but it can be if you take the time to look for the perfect one. The right ceiling fan can take your home decor to the next level, as well as keeping you nice and comfortable.
