I couldn’t decide on a pun. Anyway, today we’re talking about fan shopping. And how difficult it is. Why can’t they just make a quality, modern but not too modern, reasonably priced fan that includes a remote and offers enough light?
Schoolhouse offers a great Ceiling Fan Buyer’s Guide that helped me decide what size blades I need and other info to help me decide. (P.S. Schoolhouse is also having a 15% off fans sale for the 4th. Use code AMERICAFAN19.)
I spent an entire afternoon perusing all the sites where I thought I may find that perfect fan. Overstock, Amazon, Schoolhouse, Allmodern, Ebay, Lowes, Home Depot, even Walmart (note: I did not consider Wayfair due to its current practice of selling products to the concentration camps on our borders). I found that Amazon typically offered the best price + shipping scenario, so all my picks are linked there. Don’t worry, they’re not affiliate links…I don’t know how to do that yet.
After reading thousands of reviews, I wanted to stick with Hunter as they’re a company that only makes fans and I’ve been satisfied with my Hunter fans in the past. Also, we’re paying to have them installed so I want to get it right. It would cost us a lot more to cheap out on a fan and then have to pay to have it installed, removed and a new one installed.
Here’s the email I sent to Zach with the final choices:
Hey!
So, since this is a big deal to replace, I’d rather spend some more money up front and get good quality fans that will last. There are four that I like:
Brand: Solid, reputable brand
Looks: He’s a beauty! Modern and sleek but still traditional enough
Reviews: Good reviews, typically 4+ stars
Remote: Has a remote (though it’s kind of ugly – not pictured on Amazon but I price-checked it everywhere); can use both switch and remote (most with remotes you can’t also use a switch to control speed)
Light: Integrated light (I’m not entirely clear what this means but it’s supposed to give off more light, though probably costs more to replace)
Blade: 52″ – this is my preferred size
Room(s): Suitable for any/all rooms – master, roomie’s room (though it’d be moved to one of the new bedrooms during reno) and living room
Noble Bronze Hunter – $70 (renewed)
Brand: Solid, reputable brand; renewed/refurbished, probably fine but ya know (otherwise I think it’s $150)(comes with 90-day warranty)
Looks: Looks okay, kind of like a new version of a dated fan; my least favorite of the options as far as looks
Reviews: Good reviews (on full-price listing)
Remote: No remote
Light: Uses 2 regular bulbs
Blade: 52″
Room(s): Suitable for roomie’s room, maybe ours; probably not the living room but could be convinced I suppose
Brand: Not a recognized brand
Looks: Pretty good lookin’
Reviews: Really good reviews, but only six of them
Remote: No remote
Light: Uses 2 13W GU24 bulbs, so not much light and specialty bulbs
Blade: 52″
Room(s): Suitable for all rooms
Brand: Not a recognized brand
Looks: White, so a different look, but overall I like it; I think it’d blend nicely into the ceilings
Reviews: Has really good reviews BUT other fans from this brand have terrible reviews
Remote: Has a remote but can ONLY be controlled by the remote (also potentially works with Alexa)
Light: Integrated LED light; dimmable, 2 E26/A15 bulbs, 800 lumens *side eye* (I prefer 2500 lumens), 8.5W
Blade: 52″
Room(s): Would use in the bedrooms, not living room
PREFERRED OPTION $650:
Master: Hunter black $250
Roomie: White Prominence $150
Living Room: Hunter black $250
SECOND CHOICE OPTION $550:
Master & Roomie: White Prominence $300
Living Room: Hunter black $250
TOP CHEAPSKATE OPTION $300:
All: Hardware house $300
*Risky though if it’s a crap fan
UPDATE!
WHAT WE ACTUALLY WENT WITH $300:
Master & Roomie: White Prominence $300
Living Room: None for now
After lots of thought, I decided I’m going to want white in the guest rooms so that the fans quietly blend into the ceiling. I still want the black one for our room, but here’s our thinking. Roomie’s room will eventually become the kitchen (oops – you haven’t seen the floorplan options yet, so pretend you didn’t hear that). When that happens, we’ll move his fan into one of the two new bedrooms. I’ll want matching fans in the bedrooms, so we figured let’s go ahead and get two. We can use the white in our bedroom for now (our current one is squeaky and drives me crazy) and then when we renovate we can either A) realize we love it and buy a third or B) move ours and roomie’s into the new bedrooms and get a new fan for our room.
