Getting rid of my ceiling fans. What replaces them?
August 10, 2016 1:53 AM Subscribe
I'm planning on building loft beds for my kids. They have ceiling fans smack in the middle of their ceilings. For obvious reasons, kid hijinks in a loft bed and a ceiling fan spinning at dangerous speeds just inches from their faces is a bad combination. And I hate the ceiling fans anyway.
So...I'm trying to crowdsource ideas on what to put in place of the ceiling fans. I can't really just remove them and put one of those flat plates over it, since the ceiling fans are also the main light for the room. I need to replace them with something. I'm looking for style ideas for:
1. A light source
2. That can be installed in the center of the ceiling
3. That doesn't hang down too far.
Any ideas?
I think the term you might want is flush mount.
Though I also personally think accent lights and lamps help with the harsh feel of overhead lighting; there's tons of options out there for flush mount style lighting.
posted by Crystalinne at 2:27 AM on August 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
Though I also personally think accent lights and lamps help with the harsh feel of overhead lighting; there's tons of options out there for flush mount style lighting.
posted by Crystalinne at 2:27 AM on August 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
At the big-box home improvement warehouse, the ceiling light fixtures are typically in the aisle next to the fans. They install about the same way, to the same ceiling box.
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:29 AM on August 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by Huffy Puffy at 5:29 AM on August 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Yeah, you just want a regular dome light or similar. There's loads of options. Typically you can put them on the same mount as the ceiling fan, with zero or minimal modification necessary.
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:44 AM on August 10, 2016
posted by Anticipation Of A New Lover's Arrival, The at 6:44 AM on August 10, 2016
The most common solution is the boob light, but there are lots of flush mount lights out there.
posted by mchorn at 7:10 AM on August 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by mchorn at 7:10 AM on August 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
Lots of good answers above about the lighting. But do you care much about the cooling/heating effects that the fan provided?
posted by wenestvedt at 8:23 AM on August 10, 2016
posted by wenestvedt at 8:23 AM on August 10, 2016
I replaced a large ceiling fan in my husband's movie theatre room with a nice VERY low profile/flush mount LED fixture. I think THIS was it. Super easy to install, pretty inexpensive. Works great. Plus, no worrying about replacing bulbs or anything.
Re. boob lights, oh my god I hate them so hard. Yes, they are cheap but they LOOK cheap and ridiculous. And dated. And horrible. I don't want giant titties hanging off my ceiling for god's sake. I have been systematically replacing all the boob lights with less boob-y fixtures in our new house because seriously... I hate them...
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 10:19 AM on August 10, 2016
Re. boob lights, oh my god I hate them so hard. Yes, they are cheap but they LOOK cheap and ridiculous. And dated. And horrible. I don't want giant titties hanging off my ceiling for god's sake. I have been systematically replacing all the boob lights with less boob-y fixtures in our new house because seriously... I hate them...
posted by PuppetMcSockerson at 10:19 AM on August 10, 2016
we installed low profile dome LED lights for our upstairs office, and then we put them in the rest of our upstairs rooms, because they're great! These. They're really nice, and very bright, and they don't get hot and are super low profile, which would be good for kids on top bunks.
posted by euphoria066 at 1:44 PM on August 10, 2016
posted by euphoria066 at 1:44 PM on August 10, 2016
Best answer: You might think of not putting any lights on the ceiling but some on the wall next to the top bunks so that each kid also has their own light source in easy reach, once in bed. Maybe plug in a lamp next to the door so they can turn the light on when they come in.
Alternatively to the lamp, you could put in some recessed lights so that you have some full-room lighting that isn't so harsh. I only use full-room lighting when I'm trying to find something/clean, which is definitely something you'll be doing with kids.
I personally dislike harsh overhead lights in the middle of the ceiling. They're ugly. In that space, you could put in something classy like a little medallion that matches your molding, or you could put in something fun, like a disco ball or other novelty thing your kids might like to look at.
posted by emjaybee at 9:07 AM on August 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Alternatively to the lamp, you could put in some recessed lights so that you have some full-room lighting that isn't so harsh. I only use full-room lighting when I'm trying to find something/clean, which is definitely something you'll be doing with kids.
I personally dislike harsh overhead lights in the middle of the ceiling. They're ugly. In that space, you could put in something classy like a little medallion that matches your molding, or you could put in something fun, like a disco ball or other novelty thing your kids might like to look at.
posted by emjaybee at 9:07 AM on August 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh sorry, I see you specified center of the ceiling. But lights by the beds are still a good idea.
posted by emjaybee at 9:08 AM on August 11, 2016
posted by emjaybee at 9:08 AM on August 11, 2016
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posted by the agents of KAOS at 2:12 AM on August 10, 2016 [1 favorite]