18 Best Ceiling Fans, Recommended by Designers - Buy Side from WSJ

We asked experts for their favorites to make finding the right one for your space a breeze

Written By

Written by

Contributor, Buy Side from WSJ

Eleni Gage is a contributor to Buy Side from WSJ.

Updated May 29, 2024, 12:21 AM EDT

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Fans of home-reno shows know: If a fixer-upper has a ceiling fan, sure as shiplap, the interior designer will tear it out and replace it with a light fixture. The message seems to be that scrapping a fan that is out of step with your décor is easier than finding a good-looking replacement.

But that’s a bummer if you’re a fan of fans, not to mention shortsighted in some climates and in multilevel homes, where, by keeping air circulating, a fan can help maintain a constant temperature. Amanda Lindroth, founder of the Amanda Lindroth Collection, puts a ceiling fan in every room of homes she designs in tropical locales, not only to provide steady airflow, but also for the relaxing sound of the turning blades. Wendy Kerrigan, of Atelier Designs, describes the fans as “a functional need” in New Orleans. “We use a lot of ceiling fans,” she says. “I can’t sleep without one, and I have many clients who can’t either.”

Plus, ceiling fans are energy savers: Using one in the summer can allow you to comfortably raise your thermostat four degrees, according to the U.S. Energy Department. Or, put another way, having a fan can cut energy consumption by 40% in summer and 10% in winter, studies show.

Fans impart atmosphere, too, points out designer Patrick Mele, who runs his eponymous interior design firm. “Fans can be really sexy and elegant and romantic, and bring all that to the atmosphere of a room,” he points out. “I think of them as kinetic sculptures.” On top of the visual impact, he says, “Air circulation feels so great and it breathes life into a room.”

Here the decorating pros reveal which styles they consider ceiling worthy—and offer a few shopping guidelines (scroll to the end for that info).

$360 at Wayfair

$360 at Amazon

As a general rule, the more blades a fan has, the quieter it is, because it moves the air with less “chop.” But as technology has improved, two- and three-blade fans have caught up to five-blade versions, allowing similar performance but with a more contemporary look. Joy Williams, principal designer of Joyful Designs, based in both Atlanta and Chicago, calls the two-blade Minka Aire Wave II “beautiful, aerodynamic and design forward.” She especially likes the fan’s finish, which is intended to mimic distressed Hawaiian koa wood, for homes with beachy or tropical décor.

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The manufacturer claims the Haiku L Smart Ceiling Fan is “the world’s most energy efficient ceiling fan,” and the independent certification body Energy Star agrees, awarding the company a Most Efficient label for 2021. Our experts appreciated that the sustainability comes in a stylish package. The fan is available in both 52-inch and 60-inch sizes and in bamboo for indoors or aircraft-grade aluminum for a patio. All versions can be controlled with a remote control or via your phone or smart device.

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Hunter fans have a reputation for quiet, reliable motors and lifetime warranties, and these models also offer a neutral design Lindroth notes can work with nearly any décor, indoors and outdoors. The 52-inch Hunter Original is made of warp-resistant aluminum and is damp rated, meaning it will work on a porch or patio that doesn’t allow direct exposure to rain or snow. (If your fan will be hung where rain hits it, you’ll want one that’s wet rated.) Kerrigan loves them for interiors, too, praising, “ the really beautiful cast iron housing” and the durability. “It uses an oil-bath system that lubricates all the parts and kind of keeps it wearing really well over the years, you don’t get all that noise and wear when it starts getting wobbly,” she says. “You can use the same fan for 40 years.” The 54-inch Casablanca Panama, also made by Hunter, has a similar style but uses wooden blades, so it’s for indoors only.

$848 at Lulu and Georgia

If your sleeping space is less four-poster canopies and more platform-bed pared-down, Kerrigan recommends the Aurore as “a really pretty, simple fan for a more modern aesthetic.” It’s available in black, silver and white, and you can control the three-blade beauty from bed, using a remote. It’s also wet-rated for outdoor use for porch or patio catnaps, and it’s energy-star rated. You can select the size based on the specs of your bedroom, as it comes in both 56-inch and 64-inch diameter options.

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“Color is coming back,” says Kerrigan, who has been known to cover a white Hunter Original fan in high-gloss latex spray paint to turn it a specific hue. Depending on what color you’re looking for, you might be able to find an option that’s ready to hang, no spray-painting needed. Mele likes the candy-apple Minka Aire Kewl Red fan, to bring contrast and color to a room. “Your fan is not going to disappear,” he says. Highlighting it with a bold color “makes it a bit of the architecture of the room, more of a kinetic sculpture.”

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As a rule of thumb, designer Joshua Smith reserves fans for bedrooms, porches and outdoor spaces like loggias, preferring to keep the ceilings in living and dining rooms free for light fixtures. But the Titus 52-inch fan with matte white blades and brass hardware “is so beautiful and modern, it totally works in a public space and even feels decorative and appropriate,” he says. “It’s the prettiest I’ve ever seen, and it’s my go-to.”

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As the name suggests, a fandelier is a cross between a fan and a chandelier—or sometimes a fan masquerading as a chandelier. Williams has two favorites: The glittery, almost-over-the-top Crystal Fandelier from Neiman Marcus hides the three fan blades behind 20 pieces of beveled glass crystal. The Four-Light Fandelier has a vintage-inspired look and surrounds the fan blades with a fabric shade so that it looks like a light fixture unless you’re standing directly beneath it, looking up.

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For indoor spaces that need light, Kevin Sawyers, principal of San-Francisco–based interior design firm Sawyers Design, suggests the Minimalist 56-inch LED fan from Monte Carlo (it’s Energy Star compliant, as well). He likes the natural look of the curvy wooden blades, made of either weathered oak or dark walnut. If you’re after value, the Verse 60-inch fan has a quiet, energy-efficient motor that delivers strong airflow, says Jean Liu, principal of Jean Liu Design in Dallas. She notes that the Verse is priced well because it’s a direct-to-consumer brand—no store markup—and she has found that fans are generally in stock and often ship the next day, an appealing prospect in light of recent supply-chain issues. Both are indoor-only fans.

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“For me, simpler is always better,” says Kerrigan. That’s why she loves these outdoor fan options with no light fixtures and straight lines—perfect for porches or balconies on contemporary houses. The Minka Aire Extreme has a 65-inch diameter, making it ideal for great rooms or outdoor living rooms or pergolas by the pool. (It also has a CFM of 9036—if that means nothing to you, check out the guidelines below and prepare to be impressed.) With a whopping eight blades, it’s an almost industrial-looking option. If you like the aesthetic, but have less space to work with (or just prefer a more streamlined aesthetic), consider the Minka Aire Simple which has a 52-inch diameter and a very respectable CFM of 5745. The remote-controlled fan is Wi-Fi compatible if you add on the Bond Smart Fan attachment, sold separately.

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With a light-fan combo, one ceiling fixture handles both cooling your space and illuminating it. (Pro tip: If there’s already a light mounted on the ceiling, make sure your fan is installed fairly far from it, Lindroth says, to avoid a strobe effect.) A fan with lighting typically requires more energy than one without, but you can counteract that by looking for Energy Star–certified fans that also use LED bulbs. Monte Carlo’s 60-inch damp-rated Armstrong model meets those criteria, and the company claims it’s 60% more energy efficient than standard fan/light combos. Sawyers appreciates its “modern, simple lines.” The Craftmade Phoebe fan, also 60 inches in diameter and damp-rated, has a similar but simpler design at a lower price. These are both indoor-outdoor fans.

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Cue the nostalgia! Designers are loving retro oscillating fans, the kind that turn their heads lazily, as if watching the world’s slowest tennis match. Mele calls them “propeller fans,” and Kerrigan says they’re “different and fun for an outdoor porch, or a farmhouse aesthetic.” She likes Craftmade Bellows III, which is indoor/outdoor rated and comes with a remote control. He recommends Matthews’ Diane for ceilings, and the Michelle for a wall-mounted version. These aren’t just cute, they’re also wildly practical for small or oddly shaped spaces such as nurseries, halls or the home office you built in your former walk-in closet. The Craftmade option has a diameter of 18 inches, and both Matthews models clock in at just 13 inches. (Hang one near your HVAC unit and it will make the AC or heating more efficient, too.) And if you like the look but have more space to play with, consider a dual oscillating fan, like the double-headed Dagny.

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Most designers shy away from bladeless models—which cool by circulating air thanks to a turbine in the base, rather than rotating blades—on the theory that a fan should look and feel like a fan so you get the “feeling of Mother Nature’s breeze almost,” says Smith, and enjoy “that little kiss of the wind.” But bladeless models have definite advantages. They’re lighter, easier to clean, safer (no whirring blades to avoid when folding sheets) and use less power. Also, not everyone wants or needs the feel of the wind their hair. “If I have a client who suffers from dry eyes,” Smith says, “a bladeless option would make total sense because you wouldn’t have the breeze drying out your eyes,” the way a bladed fan might. He prefers bladeless fans that recede rather than making a statement. On the other hand, if you want your fan to garner attention, “the Flaire Era Bladeless Fan is sculptural and comes in great finishes,” he says.

The type of fan you want depends on where you plan to use it. In a bedroom, Mele likes antique wood or caned fans if there are “high ceilings and a canopy bed. But in a kids’ bedroom with bunk beds, you might want a bladeless fan to avoid introducing the temptation to toss stuffed animals onto the rotating blades.

Most designers advise against fans in formal dining rooms which, says Kerrigan “call for a central light fixture.” She adds: “If you’ve ever tried eating under a fan in a restaurant, it’s not a great experience, your food gets cold. It works if you’re eating crawfish on a porch, but that’s about it.” That said, if your dining area is in what Mele calls “a large, one-room living type of place, maybe with modern decor, and a lot of glass,” it can be a nice design move. “I think fans look great as centerpieces used in more contemporary settings,” he says.

Standard ceiling fans start at 42 inches in diameter, referred to as the “sweep” of the fan. A 42-incher will work effectively to circulate air in rooms that are up to 144 square feet, or 12 by 12. A 60-inch fan can handle a 15-by-15-foot room—and there’s every size in between. You may want to check out guidelines for measuring a room and picking a fan.

You should also pay attention to how much air a fan circulates, which is measured in cubic feet per minute or CFM, says Liu. The larger the space you want to cool, the higher a CFM you should look for; 2,000 to 3,000 CFM will cool a small bedroom (200 square feet or less), while a large space (450 square feet or larger) requires a CFM of 5,000 to 9,000.

Hanging a fan too high compromises its ability to move the air in the room. Most fans are sold with a short down rod (the extension pipe that connects the body of the fan to the mounting hardware on the ceiling). For a ceiling taller than 10 feet, there’s a chance you’ll need a longer down rod, which you can buy separately.

If your ceiling is angled, you’ll need a fan that works with a slope adapter, says Liu. Most models come with a mounting kit, but if your ceiling is very steeply sloped, you may need an extra part. (You can figure out your ceiling’s slope with an online calculator.)

Eleni Gage is a contributor to Buy Side from WSJ.

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