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So, I still have not ordered a new light for over our dining table because...Ben and I cannot agree! My husband, who hardly EVER voices an opinion when it comes to interior design, really wants to keep a ceiling fan there. I timed this project very poorly, as it was 107 degrees last week. So yeah, I have to admit, we've had the fans going nonstop and they have been nice practically speaking. But duuuude, the dining room is the best opportunity for a beautiful pendant or chandelier! I'm not even one of these people who is against ceiling fans on principle. I know they're nice for moving air around and keeping energy bills down, and there are a lot of options nowadays that look good. I'm totally cool with fans in other rooms...but I'm just not a fan of them over the dining table! Ahaha. Puns aside, after a couple heated arguments, I decided to look for inspiration photos to see if I could get onboard with this idea. I definitely hate the fan we have right now. But if we got a prettier, sleeker, more modern fan, could it look okay? I had a hard time finding examples of this, but I did round up a feeewww visuals that aren't bad. What do you think? Are ceiling fans a huge no-no in the dining room? Will they fling dust all over our food and cool dinner down way too fast? Would it be a travesty to waste that space where we could have put an amazing light? Or should I give in to my husband for the sake of marital peace, since he is kind enough to let me decorate however I want for the most part? Do any of you have a fan in the dining room?
via Rejuvenation
via Beacon Lighting
via Elle Decor
via Monte Carlo
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very interesting thought!
We have one in ours... but we barely use it.
don't you have AC? and if yes, is a fan actually necessary? If you don't, you need that fan ;)
I have never even noticed that in your house! Funny. I guess I only get bothered by things in my own house, and I'm not as critical of other people's homes...which is a good thing! :) We do have AC, but we've been trying not to turn it on til late afternoon, just enough to cool off the upstairs before we go to bed. We're saving a lot that way, and with the tall ceilings and the fans it actually stays pretty comfortable on the first floor all day long.
It's so interesting- I just bought a house and my dining room has one, too! I just chalked it up to Texas, but maybe that was just a thing at one point. My dining room ceilings are normal 8', so a ceiling fan in there makes it feel very crowded. A couple of people have hit their head, so mine has to go, but I also had it on during dinner one time, and it definitely cooled the food off more quickly, too. I'm thinking I'll replace it with a group of pendant lights to make it feel like a chandelier, but be a bit more casual. It could work if your ceilings were tall enough, and you didn't turn it on during dinner. It's so sweet that Ben cares enough about y'all's home to be involved.
Much grace,
Seana
Congrats on the new house! Yeah if people are hitting their head, that fan obviously has to go...that could be dangerous! A group of pendants sounds like a cool solution. And I do actually like when Ben speaks up and gets involved, even if he doesn't agree with me. Hope you're doing well! xo
well those pictures make a fan look cool (punny, huh?). If it doesn't look at sharp as the images in your post, I'd say TOO BAD HONEY! And get a floor fan.
Haha thanks for your support! :) I think we're gonna wait til fall and decide then. I brought up the point that while nice in summer months, a fan probably won't give off as much light as a chandelier. Which could be a problem once the sun starts setting earlier! PRACTICAL, right?!
I came across this discussion searching for answers of my own about putting a ceiling fan up over my large dining table. Thank you all for posting your thoughts, it has definitely helped me make my decision. I'm going with a fan over the table. It's all about not hiding or competing with a gorgeous view where my table is located. Now the challenge is going to be finding a stylish fan with good lighting.
Glad this post helped you with your decision! Lucky you to have a beautiful view from your dining table...I definitely understand not wanting to compete with that. I hope you find just the right fan for your space!
Tipton makes ceiling fans with chandeliers and the blades of the fan retract automatically when not in use. You can have both. Search Tipton on Amazon
Ooh very cool! Thanks for the tip, that's a great win-win.
Our dining table is in an area with an open floor plan and the table is somewhat multi-purpose, so I vote for the fan. i can turn off the fan blades and just use the attached LED light if need be. I would not use the fan with candles, either. The dining table itself is in one segment of a large room, and the vendors recommend two smaller fans rather than one larger “fan that blew away Baltimore”. Thinking of different user scenarios is key. BTW, consider a fan with a Dc motor. They are noiseless and use very little energy. You may be able to use less AC.
I'm so glad you posted this! We are currently having the same debate. I totally get his point but, dude. Plus, we will soon be giving up our eat-in kitchen for more cabinet space so the dining room will be our only option. In an older home without an open floor plan, that could get stuffy right off the hot kitchen! But I digress! Can't wait to see what you decide!
We like to play cards or dominoes after dinner and here at the beach the 9 light chandelier is very hot after a while, especially if I have been using the oven. Have a tower fan I drag out but crowded, uneven and blows in your face.
So a nice slow fan overhead would b great.
I hate to invest in $$ LED bulbs and then resort to a fan anyway.
But hard to find an appropriate light kit that doesn't scream Fan! But...tired of getting the third degreea
So I'm super late on this but I'm debating the same thing. I think it's all about finding the right fan. I live in a small old house with 8' ceilings which makes any fan or Chandler need to be flush mount or shorter even when hanging over a table otherwise it just makes a room feel so small. Our dining area is connected to the kitchen and completely surrounded by a peninsula of bay windows that look out at our backyard. I read the comment about someone not wanting to obstruct the view and decided I'm going with a fan as I'm sure I can find a flush mount one that won't get in the way and I've worked really hard on our garden. I want a sputnick Chandler so bad but the reality is that we need a fan because the room gets so hot in the Texas summers (currently 110). Someday we hope to get new windows as ours are low quality and 20 years old I'm sure this will help with the heat. I almost wish I could do a Chandler fall-spring and a fan in the summer but I know that's crazy haha.
I'm curious what you ended up with I would love to see pictures I'll stalk your site to see if there is a post about it.
Ok - this made me laugh out loud. This is EXACTLY what is happening in our house right now. As we transition to fall I'm hoping to convince him a chandelier is the wiser choice ;). Buuuuut, for now, I'll continue to search for a 'prettier, sleeker, more modern' replacement for our current (icky) fan. Who knows; maybe I'll find it. Thanks for the inspo!
We are having this same argument! Except we already have a ceiling fan there... and I hate it. Still working on him to agree that switching it out would look so much better!
We are dealing with this issue right now in hot, deserty SW Utah. Have an old ceiling fan over the dining room table which we use all the time in summer but it gives out minimal light. Looking at new fans gives me the impression they don't do much better at all (have looked at hundreds!). It doesn't help that you have to put that meager light 7-8 ft from the floor unlike a chandelier which can be hung lower.
Am thinking of investing in four small can lights in our 9-10 ft slopped ceilings for winter use to augment the fan light. We have several in the adjoining (open plan) living room so it would be consistent. Cost would be high for installation so the fallback plan is two small 100 watt lamps on the long horizontal buffet next to the table. May just get two cheap (used even) identical lamps to try first and if not OK then make the budget plunge for a big electrical rewire.
For me its a great confusion point. Have a flat on 18th floor with 9' roof. Hot indian summer temperature calls for a fan while eating but pendant lights would make it the area look perfect. no outside views from this place. we have an AC but blowing an ac everytime is costly indeed. not sure how to go abt it.
Help. I don’t know how high above dining table to hang fan with light. Can you help,me?
We don't have a fan in our dining room. Our old house had one in the kitchen and I'd turn it off to cook on the gas stovetop because of the blowing. So when it came time to replace the dining light here we went with no fan.... And here I am, on this post so you can guess how it's going. It's been several years, I love the light I chose but I fully regret not having a fan and am deciding on getting a free standing fan or back to ceiling fan.
Here I am late to the party but currently debating this same question. I have a fan in the dining room that has a light in it and as there is no other lighting in the room it’s a bit it dark (not great for doing homework or playing games). I am planning on adding down lights to the area finally after 8 years in the house so the question is; replace the fan with a big pendant/s or a much nicer fan while the electrician is in?
We don’t use an a/c as we rarely need one and prefer not too as they’re expensive to run land while we get some really hot days during the peak of the Australian summer the house stays reasonably comfortable and we have awnings that we use help keep intense sun off the living room windows. This means our ceiling fan in dining area rarely gets turned on except for a few really intense days when we need some added relief while using the room (dust isn’t an issue if you remember to treat it like any other appliance and regularly clean it). The room has a raked ceiling and is open to the kitchen with doors on both internal walls and a large floor to ceiling window on the other - which one day will be converted to a bifold or sliding door.
Here is my pro and con list:
Pro (reasons to keep fan)
- fans when placed in centre of ceiling never make your table look out of place when you decide to move it whereas a pendant or set of pendant lights lock you into placing the dining table in one spot. (Okay, I confessed I am a serial room re-arranger as I like to change it up sometimes 😇.) This also means that if you change the dining table size or shape in the future you may need to move or change lights.
- similar to above but a bit more technical- fans can be used to create a line of site which helps anchor the room in relation to its surroundings whereas pendant lights anchor the table which is useful in a large space where the table seems to float without purpose (which isn’t my situation).
- if I get rid of the fan then I have to find pendant/s that compliment the pendants over the kitchen island.
- like your situation Aileen, the males in my family like the fan for the rare times we need the relief in summer and rarely voice their opinion with such conviction so it’s worth listening to!
- My decorating vibe leans towards British colonial style so a fan suits both the house and decor.
- I really quite like the fan in the first photo above.
- a fan won’t block the view of whatever I add to the end wall (tossing up between large mirrors or a giant quirky art piece).
- a fan is enough to cool this space after a really hot day as I don’t use the oven when it’s over 40 degrees Celsius as that would be insane!
Cons (reasons to change to light fixture/s)
- Pendants can really dress the table.
- pendants are versatile as can offer direct lighting and can be dimmed to create a more intimate setting(I use smart lights so no extra wiring needed).
-If I put mirrors on end wall the light would reflect nicely.
I think the decision really comes down to cooling requirements, the style of the home and whether you want a formal or casual look that fits your decorating style.
After writing this pro and con list down (and getting it out of my overcrowded brain finally) I’d say I am leaning towards a fan for my home as it fits the feel I want for the space, will pull in the British colonial style which will stop the combined kitchen dining area from skewing too far towards country/industrial.
Jo xx
I love the fan over the table. I’m going to do it.
I love this thread! In frustration, I googled whether or not to put a fan over the DR table. We installed a fan 28 years ago, and now that we're taking down the old, ugly ceiling tiles we have the same dilemma about whether to put one back. The post from Jo on August 2021 really convinced me to return the fan, and your photos are showing me that we can find a much more attractive one. Also, our electrician pointed out that when you want to create a nice dinner ambiance, four dimmable flush-mount ceiling lights in each corner of the room can be dimmed and still provide nice lighting and the fan can be turned off. Now the question is whether or not to get a fan with a light. I really like the last photo "via Monte Carlo" fan-light. In VT we don't use AC much (more than we used to though:( ) so the fan really helps mitigate the heat in summer. Thanks so much for keeping this thread open!
The dining room is more than just a place to eat; it is a space where memories are made and connections are strengthened. To create a dining room that is both functional and inviting, start with a dining table that fits your space and meets your needs, paired with comfortable chairs that encourage long, leisurely meals. Lighting plays a crucial role, so consider a statement chandelier or pendant lights to set the mood. Personalize the space with elements like a centerpiece, decorative table settings, and wall art that reflects your style. Adding a stylish rug and incorporating natural elements like plants can enhance the room’s ambiance. A thoughtfully designed dining room becomes a gathering place where family and friends can share meals, celebrate special occasions, and enjoy meaningful conversations.