Page 54 - Lighting Magazine February 2018

The gReaT DiviDe
Ron Rezek’s Modern Fan Company was cited a few times by designers as o ering ultra-contemporary fans that would suit Contemporary room se ings.
THE GREAT DIVIDE
Lighting showrooms love ceiling fans, while the majority of interior designers hate them — and both sides are passionate about their reasons. BY LINDA LONGO
50 enLIGHTenment Magazine | FeBRUaRY 2018
www.enlightenmentmag.com
For years I have heard that interior de- signers “hate” ceiling fans and refuse to spec them in the homes they design, but I had never actually asked any designers if the rumor was true...until the other
week. On my Facebook page, I asked the ques- tion since ceiling fans were on my mind as I was preparing this issue.
Over the years I have watched ceiling fan de- sign evolve from the basic builder grade black and white nishes to more decorative looks, de- tailed nishes, and ner accents (even crystal). My thought was, with all of this aesthetic devel- opment surely interior designers would nd the product category more appealing. I was wrong. In all, 48 individuals from all over the country – and
Canada – weighed in on the topic.
In Southern and Western states, it was agreed
that ceiling fans were o en a necessity – although one designer piped up, “That’s what AC is for!” and another quipped, “I have clients with 20'-high ceil- ings and no way would they have a fan. If you have high ceilings, you should a ord the electric bill.”
Interestingly, the designers who do spec ceiling fans o en do so at the homeowners’ request. It seems that consumers don’t view ceiling fans with the same stigma, perhaps because so many new home builders include them in their model homes.
On the interior design side, however, ceiling fans are a necessary evil. Lighting industry veteran Rob Emery reported, “I conducted an interview survey of interior designers in Kentucky and southern