Page 55 - Lighting Magazine February 2018

Indiana and most of them preferred decorative lighting over ceiling fans. When they were select- ing fans, they o entimes had to talk clients out of ‘fashion fans’ and educate the owner [about] blades and the motors. The designers want to match carved wood blade nishes to other wood furniture and stay away from the printed, pressed wood blades common with the ‘fashion fan’ styles and commodity products.”
Interior designer Marc Langlois added, “There are a few I like, but unless you have extremely high ceilings I tend to talk clients out of it — like TVs above replaces.”
The sticking point for the interior design com- munity appears to be the light kit, or rather, using the ceiling fan in place of a lighting xture. “As a de- signer, I feel that if a ceiling fan is needed – either for circulation or cooling – it is the responsibility of the designer to select one that aesthetically ts the room,” stated interior designer Terrance Mason. “I hear from other designers all the time about how they hate ceiling fans because they can’t put a decorative xture there. The designers are more concerned with how the room is going to photograph rather than function, which should be their rst concern. The good news is that there are decorative fans that are aesthetically pleasing.”
Interior designer Wendy Lepko has embraced ceiling fans in her work, explaining, “They help en- ergy e ciency and there are so many wonderful ones now. I’m happy to use then when requested, but I’m very selective. I would [use them] for high
ceiling spaces, homes without central air, and sometimes they simply add to my design vision.” She has also spec’ed ceiling fans that were notice- ably decorative, such as one with crystal accents for a formal bedroom and one for an o ce that had blades complementing the cream carved pic- ture frames on the wall.
In one instance, interior designer Donnamarie Bates so ened her stance on ceiling fans a er a client insisted on having them in a house with 8- . ceilings. “It was quite a challenge to nd the right ones per room,” she recounted. “Initially I wanted them to fade out of sight, but I nally embraced the fact that it was to please my client. A er much research, I found some perfect choices which are now the jewelry of each room. I do believe [ nd- ing suitable fans] was easier than usual since this was an ultra-modern home, so the fans were uber- contemporary, but normally I dislike them!”
The majority of the interior designers who weighed in on the topic said they preferred ceiling fans (usually white) that blend in with the ceiling so that they would be hardly noticeable. If a close match to the ceiling isn’t found, interior designers such as Kathryn Spetz will even paint them the color of the ceiling to look more custom.
“I don’t like them and try to avoid if at all possible,” noted interior designer Robyn Fryer- Zumwalt. “If I need one, I keep it the same color as the ceiling so it disappears. I feel most people try to make them be a focal point of a room instead of just for air circulation. I have them in all of my
The Kodiak fan
from Cra made, is all white — which
is what most interior designers say they prefer because it can blend in with the ceiling.
FeBRUaRY 2018 | enLIGHTenment Magazine 51