We Got A Fandelier For The Bedroom! (Here’s My Honest Review)
A couple of weeks ago, I said that I was considering a fandelier for our bedroom and I asked for input from all of you who had experience with fandeliers. Since we live in central Texas, it’s not an option to go without a ceiling fan in our bedroom. I’ve kept ceiling fans out of every other room in our home, but we like to sleep in what amounts to a cold wind tunnel, so a ceiling fan in here is essential. And we’re used to a big, powerful fan, so I had my doubts that a fandelier would be sufficient.
And honesty, after reading all of your comments (which were very divided), I decided that it was probably best if we just stuck with our regular ceiling fan. I’m willing to compromise on some things, but my quality of sleep isn’t one of them. So after reading all of your comments, I had decided that I was going to keep the ceiling fan we had and probably paint the silver parts gold and then flip the blades so that the lighter wood color on the other side of the blades shows instead of this really dark brown color.
I had not only read all of your comments and input, but at that point, I had also ready at least 200 customer reviews on the fandeliers that I thought might look good in our bedroom. Those customer reviews were also mixed, so they didn’t help persuade me that a fandelier would work for us. But then someone posted a link to this Katia fandelier from Ballard Designs (affiliate link). And of course, I immediately wanted it. This was the prettiest fandelier I had seen.
I loved everything about this, from the shape to the beaded design. And while it doesn’t have many reviews, all of the reviews it does have are five-star reviews. Obviously, that caught my attention. But it also has a pretty heft price tag to go along with it. While most of the fandeliers I had looked at were in the $150-$300 range, this one was just over $1500.
As much as I loved it, I think y’all know me well enough to know that there’s no way I’d spend over $1500 for a light or ceiling fan for our bedroom. But I took note of the design to see why this one might be rated so high with all five-star reviews while others seemed to have mixed reviews. And I think the reasons are (1) the overall size at 20″ wide, and (2) the fan is located at the bottom of the design which allows for more airflow than the designs where the fan is placed higher inside the shade with the lights below the fan.
So I set out to look for something similar — beaded, 20″ wide, and the fan located at the bottom with the lights above. And that search led me to this 20″ beaded fandelier from Wayfair (affiliate link). It isn’t as pretty as the one from Ballard Designs, but it’s a fraction of the price at $152. And it has a 4.9 rating out of 20 reviews. So we decided to give it a try.
When I unboxed it, I was so excited because it was beautiful! But then upon closer inspection, I thought it was broken because two of the wires that held the beads were loose. I thought they had broken, so I was prepared to send it back and get another one. But first, I decided to take the metal cover off and see if it was actually broken or if the wires had simply come loose. As it turns out, the little metal pieces that hold the wires in place had just come loose (or they weren’t tightened enough in the first place) and had slid off, but they were still there. So I just put those back on, tightened them, hooked them into the metal piece, and then put the cover back on. It was a very easy fix.
The installation was pretty straightforward. I had to move the mattress out of the way so that I could get the ladder in place inside the bed base. That was the hardest part of the whole process. So I took down the ceiling fan and installed the fandelier while Matt was on his exercise bike. The whole process went very smoothly. And once it was up, I loved the way it looked.
But of course, I was very curious about the fan. The fan looks so tiny, so I had my doubts that it would put out enough air flow for our liking. But let me tell you, I was wrong to doubt! The fan has six speeds, and even at the lowest speed, it puts out a lot of air flow!
This fan might be tiny, but it is mighty! And because the fan is located at the bottom of the fixture, we don’t have to be right under it to feel it. I can feel it just fine when I’m sitting in bed leaning against the headboard. I can even feel it when I’m sitting in my recliner.
I’m actually so shocked at how well this little fan works. Like I said, we like to sleep in a cold wind tunnel at night, but it’s even too much for us when the fan is on high. It has six speeds, and we’ve been sleeping with it on four. This little fan on four (out of six speeds) feels like the equivalent of our big fan on medium (out of three speeds), which is the setting we always used on our big fan during the night. So I can’t imagine that we’ll ever even needs to use the two highest settings on this one.
I am so impressed with this fandelier. We haven’t had it very long, but so far, this gets a solid five-star rating from me. I’m also very impressed with how quiet the fan is, even on the highest setting.
I wasn’t able to get pictures of it from further away because just as I finished up the installation, Matt was finished with his exercise bike and wanted to go back to bed and watch TV. I was hoping he’d sit in his recliner for a while so that I could get some good full-view pictures, but he wasn’t feeling up to that. So for now, I’ll just share this one picture from a distance where you can see a glimpse of it in the background.
I love this little fandelier so much that I’m considering getting the same one for the living room. So consider me a convert. I am now a big fan of fandeliers. But I do think the design makes all the difference. And if I buy more in the future, I will always look for the ones that have the lights at the top of the fixture and the fan at the bottom of the fixture so that the shade doesn’t impede the air flow. I really think that’s the key to avoiding that wind tunnel effect that so many people complain about where you feel like you have to be right under the fandelier in order to feel the air flow.
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Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 fixer upper that my husband, Matt, and I bought in 2013. Matt has M.S. and is unable to do physical work, so I do the majority of the work on the house by myself. You can learn more about me here.
I actually like yours more than the designer fandelier. It’s perfect in your space. So glad it worked out for you.
OMGOSH!!! Fan blades at the BOTTOM – that’s the trick?! Now we gotta search for one too. Thanks for the helpful info 🙂 🙂 🙂
How neat! I love that the blades are clear. I’m wondering if you could warm up the tone of the beads to be more like the beaded trim of your wedding water color. Otherwise, what a lovely alternative to a ceiling fan!
It would actually be pretty easy to swap the beads out for new ones. And I’ve seen wood beads that size at the craft stores. That would be a fun way to get different looks from one light fixture.
Or even swap one row out for your beautiful glass beads….? Imagine the colorful possibilities!
You inspire me with your can-do attitude! Love to watch your progress with a daunting task that most of us would never attempt. Beautiful job.
I am so glad that this fandalier worked out for you and it looks so amazing and so you. It gives me hope that we can have an attractive light in our master suite without it being the ubiquitous ceiling fan. Awesome!
Cheers to you, Matt and the Fur Babies!
Very interesting, and it does look nice!
It looks beautiful! I do have one question though. When you have both the fan and the light on, is there any kind of strobe light effect due to the light source being above the blades of the fan?
Not at all! I was concerned about that, too. But there’s not even a hint of a strobe effect.
I was going to ask the same, good to know! This would be so perfect in our guest room.
I have a question for you as you use this fan and your readers if they already have a fandelier. Are you going to use the light or rely on the other lights in the room? If you use the lights and the fan at the same time do you get a flicker effect? As if the light is being chopped by the fan? I wonder if the lights above or below the fan helps mitigate this sensation.
The few times I’ve ben in a room with something like this I got a headache. Which I wonder is it because of the light and fan placement or is just a “me” thing”.
There’s no strobe or flicker effect with this one at all, probably because the fan blades are clear.
Thanks for this review. It is so helpful. You answered all my concerns about fandaliers. Now I know what to look for.
It looks great! I’ve been putting these in client’s homes for the past two years and love them. I too was pleasantly surprised at the power of the fans. Just and FYI on the light above the fan blades. Please make sure the fan blades are clear (as yours are) if they are in this position. If they are a solid color they can create a weird strobe effect with the light.
I’m so glad that this worked out for you!! I have a real love/hate for traditional Ceiling fans. OMG that one from Ballard is so beautiful but the price-ouch!
Oh, girl, there you’ve gone and done it again!
WOO HOO!
I have been looking for a replacement fan for my bedroom and this is stunning. I ordered it. Thanks for sharing!
I love it! Frankly, the Ballard Design one was way too similar to your hall light. This is perfect!
boy, oh, boy..that Ballard one is gorgeous (not at $1500) and I think you nailed it with the Wayfair dupe! I almost expected you to paint some random beads gold. I am going to look into it..I also prefer artic blasts while sleeping. Thanks for the info!
After all the negatives when you did the original post, I never thought there would be one that would work out for you. I’m amazed it makes that much breeze. We have a large fan over our bed and even the high doesn’t give us enough cool breeze…we use a large fan across the room for more air movement. I love the look of the one you found…I bet they will be selling a few more this week! Thank you for letting us know there IS a choice!
I love this fandeier! Would love to see it lit at night.
It IS pretty! My very first thought was that the beads are going to get dusty fast – does it have a clear liner on the inside of the fan, or can you add one?
It doesn’t have one, but I’m sure it could be added if you want one.
Kristi,
I looked at this on Wayfair. How did you know before ordering that fan blades were situated below lights? I don’t see it in description or pictures. I am interested in ordering this type of fixture for my house I am building.
Thank you,
Cyndi
There’s a picture in the product listing that says “Details Show” at the top. It includes four images of the fan. The last one shows the view from underneath the fixture. You can see that the blades are located below the lights. It’s the ninth picture in the listing.