The humble ceiling fan is a workhorse of functional design. Unlike so many other fixtures in the home, ceiling fans can be good Feng Shui and radically improve the comfort of a space — during warm and cold seasons alike — while slashing energy expenditure, keeping homeowners’ budgets free for more expensive and luxurious home design purchases.
Unfortunately, ceiling fans are not often known for their interesting design. If you want every fixture in your home to dazzle and amaze, here are a few ceiling fans that look iconic in any space:
Sycamore
Bursting onto the ceiling fan scene with a disruptive new design, Sycamore offers the Uno, which is a fan that utilizes a single sinuous blade to circulate air around the space. Unlike fans with three, four or five blades — which is typical for ceiling fans — the Uno operates at lower speeds to create an effect like a natural breeze. As a result, you and your guests can appreciate the unique look of the Uno even while it is actively working to keep your area cool.
Minka-Aire
Minka-Aire is an established ceiling fan company that has almost always prioritized the form of their fans. Though they offer many traditional models, Minka-Aire is best known for their contemporary styles, which are indeed functional works of art that fit well in the most gloriously modern homes. Fans within the Curl and Wave lines are among the most remarkable, and they tend to be more affordable than other artistic fans on this list.
Modern Fan Co
Originally called Period Arts and dedicated to crafting fans in the style of Arts and Crafts homes constructed at the beginning of the 20th century, the Modern Fan Co has a new goal: innovative modern fan design. Using unique materials like leather and steel, these fans can offer more textural interest to a space than ceiling fans of other brands. In particular, you might be taken by the LeatherLuxe, which wraps its motor in leather for warmth and quiet.
Hunter
One of the oldest ceiling fan companies still in operation, Hunter was founded in 1886 and continues to offer some of the best ceiling fans on the market today. Hunter fans have maintained a reputation for the quietness of their fan motors, which tend to operate smoothly for decades with minimal maintenance. Today, Hunter offers excellent variety in its models, but one of the more unique and interesting styles is their Cranbrook line, which comes in a delightful range of colors to suit any mid century modern room.
Fanimation
Fanimation is a company that prides itself on offering some of the most exciting fan designs on the market. One of our favorite fan designs of all time is the Fanimation Torto, though it seems that this style was available only for a limited time. The Torto was outstanding for its three curved blades, which would be especially trendy now as twisting, turning lines are popular in home design. You might look for a Torto fan in secondhand markets like Facebook Marketplace or OfferUp. While you are looking, you might also search for the Fanimation Maria, another discontinued style which uses a single round blade to push air around the space.
Kichler
Kichler is first and foremost a lighting company, though it offers several ceiling fan styles that are more than worthy of your attention. One of the most unique is the Kichler Maiden, which has a single blade that is exquisitely molded to follow the gentle curves of a bird’s wings in flight. If you are looking for something simpler and straighter, you might consider the Kichler Link Fan, which looks to have its single, flat blade twisted in the middle. Both Kichler styles use acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) which is a type of plastic that is easy to manipulate into different forms.
It is never wise to remove a ceiling fan entirely; though it might be outdated in style, it will provide invaluable energy savings for years to come. Instead, you should replace your old ceiling fan with a new one that promises to match your design aesthetic perfectly. If you love to make statements with your home fixtures, any of the fan makers listed above can delight and thrill you with their cutting-edge models.