Hunter collaborated with the Southern Living Idea House 2018 to bring new life to a Texas fixer upper in an ambitious Huntervention. Designer Meredith Ellis says, “What is nice about Hunter fans is that they have a variety of options that can fit a multitude of needs and have real aesthetic appeal.”
Kristy Alley, a Memphis mother of four, looked to Hunter Fan Company for the best outdoor ceiling fan. A pair of our newest rustic fan design, Coral Bay, worked wonderfully on her craftsman-style bungalow porch.My family spent most of last summer house hunting. As we searched, I thought a lot about the way we live in a home, and the rooms that would become our favorite spaces to enjoy family time. We made a list of must-haves, and right at the top were a formal dining room and a front porch. Sure enough, when we finally found “the one,” it had a big, open dining room, but the craftsman-style bungalow porch may have been what sealed the deal. Wide, deep, and shaded, inspired visions of lazy hours spent talking, reading, and sharing a cool drink with friend. We moved in just as July ended, hung the porch swing, and got ready to enjoy outdoor living.
Unfortunately, August in Memphis means the dog days of summer. This porch was fabulous, but it was missing something essential: ceiling fans. We would make our way to the porch in the evening, only to be driven back inside by mosquitoes and the lack of a breeze. We vowed that when spring came, we would have outdoor fans installed and turn the porch into the haven we knew it could be. We spent the winter dreaming, once again, of warm and lazy evenings on the porch. Since it goes across the entire width of the house, we decided to install two fans for balance and coverage. And as spring drew near, I started doing my research.
Having seen the drooping blades of indoor fans incorrectly installed on neighbors’ porches, I knew we needed an outdoor ceiling fan. It didn’t take much searching to figure out that the best damp-rated fan meant a Hunter outdoor ceiling fan. After browsing their selection of gorgeous outdoor fans, we decided on the Coral Bay. The vintage look of dark bronze paired with a seeded glass, lantern-style light with Edison LED bulbs was perfect for our historic home, and the reversible barnwood/drifted oak blades gave us options for the overall look of the fan. The remote control with preinstalled receiver was icing on the cake.
Just as we expected, having fans on the porch has made a huge difference. Weekend mornings, my husband and I settle in with our coffee and a book or the Sunday paper. Our late-sleeping teens drift out gradually, insisting we make room for them on the swing or the daybed. We wake up slowly, talking over plans for the day or recapping who did what the night before. Evenings we head out to the porch after dinner, winding down as we chat and laugh together. Our outdoor ceiling fans create a breeze when there isn’t one and keep the mosquitoes at bay. They keep us sitting and talking just a little longer, enjoying our time together as a family.
Now, remember that big, open dining room I mentioned? It’s situated in the very center of the downstairs living spaces in our craftsman-style bungalow, and it also functions as the center of a lot of family time. Because of our preference for historic homes, we have never had great eat-in kitchens, but we’ve always had great dining rooms. That means we eat most meals at the dining room table. Early in our marriage, I surprised my husband with a solid oak Mission-style dining table for Father’s Day, and we envisioned all the meals our growing family would enjoy sitting around it together.
That vision has certainly come to pass. Sitting down to meals with four children is a decidedly informal affair, and our “formal” dining rooms have always become an informal setting for all those breakfasts and dinners together. Food and comfort go together in our dining room, and we wanted a ceiling fan that would fit the way we use the space as well as our aesthetic. I also needed to solve a problem: the existing light fixture hung low in the center of the square room, but we prefer to have the table offset to the side for better flow between rooms. That meant that anyone passing from the living room through the dining room on the way to the kitchen was likely to have a run-in with that light.
Once again, I turned to Hunter to find the best low profile ceiling fan to fit our needs. Since both the house and our dining room furniture are craftsman style, I looked for an updated take on a traditional look. The room itself is light and airy, so I wanted a fan that would complement that feeling. We chose the Bennett low profile fan with LED light, and it couldn’t be more perfect. The fact that it mounts close to the ceiling means no more bumped heads, and the WhisperWind® motor gives us the air movement we want without a sound, so we hear each other and not the fan. On low, the fan keeps us cool and comfortable at the table, and I love the way its higher speeds improve air circulation through all the main living areas no matter what room we’re in. I can worry less about the oven heating up the house in summer and focus more on enjoying cooking and eating together as a family.
Hunter Industrial Designer, Claire McRoberts, had the opportunity to lead our latest Huntervention™ in Charlotte, NC, which also happens to be her hometown. Read along as she shares her heartwarming Huntervention experience with the Sanchez family.
Being from the Charlotte area, it was fun to be able to come back home for such an exciting reason: a hometown Huntervention!
I had the opportunity to meet Gabriel and his parents last November when they came for a tour of our corporate office. Hunter ceiling fans are Gabriel’s most favorite thing in the world, and his parents wanted to do something big for his 16th birthday. They drove all the way from Charlotte to Memphis and we gave them a tour of the design studio.
During the tour, Gabriel’s mom, Bethany, shared that he’s been staring at ceiling fans since he was a toddler. When he played with Legos, he’d make ceiling fans; and whenever they need a new fan they know to go to their son for recommendations.
A year later, we were pleasantly surprised when the front porch we chose to redesign for our latest Huntervention™ happened to be for Gabriel’s family’s home.
Bethany loves modern traditional décor, so we wanted to give the family porch an updated farmhouse look. I chose the Mill Valley farmhouse ceiling fan because it’s a revitalized vintage design; it’s a nostalgic look that’s reminiscent of old barn style lighting, but features current lines and technology.
It ended up being everything I’d hoped for in this space! The red on the fan really creates a statement; you notice it from the street and it sets the tone for the entire home’s curb appeal.
The other reason I chose the Mill Valley is because it’s an outdoor rated ceiling fan. That means it can withstand the North Carolina heat and humidity; it’s designed to not have blade droop or rusted finishes because of the elements.
A ceiling fan in a space is particularly important: You see a lot of things low to the ground, but to really round out a space – artistically speaking – you want to keep your eye moving around the room, which means you have to look up at some point.
To create balance and movement in this space, I added a handful of red accents. Everything else was neutral.
The grey gingham pillows and grey end tables complimented Bethany’s dark grey shutters and also captured that farmhouse feel without being too country. The striped rugs added a modern feel, grounding the space. I went with white rockers, a white swing and painted the front door white to brighten the space and create contrast off the brick.
The rocking chairs are another example – along with the Mill Valley – of modern farmhouse design. The spindle detailing is a traditional element while the lines on the back of the chair are clean and modernized.
To feel comfortable in an outdoor space, you want it to feel like an extension of your home, and it’s easy to do that with textiles. Because their porch is so long, I added the outdoor rugs to help define the seating areas. And there are three seating areas!
That was another great thing about this space: We gave Gabriel not one but four Mill Valley ceiling fans! When we revealed the space to Gabriel he kept saying how excited he was.
This experience was one of the most emotional moments of my life. As a ceiling fan designer, you don’t always consider that your designs will make a significant impact – other than helping make a home beautiful. My job takes on a lot more meaning knowing that when Hunter Fan Company releases new ceiling fan designs every year it gives Gabriel something to look forward to.
Watching this family fall back in love with their home and their front porch was absolutely heartwarming.
Watch Hunter transform a small kid’s room with a low profile ceiling fan.I was excited to take part in our Huntervention series and even more excited to learn we would be in Nashville, Tennessee. It was a great opportunity to give Jeremy Motz, whose house flooded in 2011, a room refresh for his daughter Keylee.
Jeremy is a busy electrician, working to help support his six-year-old daughter, Keylee. After their house flooded, Jeremy bought a new one only to find out he would have to replace all of the flooring on the first floor. With his budget depleted, Jeremy no longer had a way to give Keylee the room she deserved.
I knew that this would be a unique opportunity to refresh our first children’s room for the Huntervention tour and was totally up for the challenge.
For Keylee’s room I chose the mid-century inspired mint Cranbrook ceiling fan. I felt like the mint color was really fun for a kid’s room; it adds a pop of color, but not so much that it’s overwhelming. We used the low-profile version which tucks it up a little bit higher to the ceiling but still offers the same amount of air flow.
Before we did the Huntervention, Keylee had storage along the one side of her room where she kept all of her toys and dress-up clothes. As I went through the process of designing her room, I wanted to make sure this refresh was something she could grow up with; so we tried to give her the same amount of space but in a more elevated way.
It was a really great feeling to see Jeremy and Keylee’s reaction when they first saw the space – Jeremy was so taken aback and Keylee literally fell onto the floor in excitement.I was just thrilled with how it all came together. It’s exactly like what I envisioned. Jeremy put it well when he first saw it: It’s kind of retro but still pretty modern. It worked really well for a kid’s room. All the little details that I felt strongly about and wanted to come through were all there. I was really happy with how the mini table and chairs matched the fan so perfectly; I think it makes for a good balance in the room.
Simple updates like paint, pillows and a new ceiling fan can make a room look brand new, and Hunter Fan Company’s team of designers showed how it’s done during the 2017 Hunterventions tour. Our designers helped five families with a room makeover to show how small updates can make a big difference.
We began in Virginia Beach where a family of five (plus two dogs) needed help updating their living room, a project they just hadn’t been able to get to in the five years that they’ve lived there.
Design Director Patrick O’Connell brightened up the living room by painting the walls a light color as well as painting the fireplace white. To give the room an updated rustic, coastal look, we used wood surfaces with rustic finishes, blue décor accents and topped it all off with the Hepburn modern ceiling fan in matte black. This chandelier inspired ceiling fan is unmistakenably a modern, updated version of traditional design, and O’Connell especially loves the pendant inspired globe light.
The Charlotte Huntervention was a special one for us: 16-year-old Gabriel has loved ceiling fans since he was a little kid. Designer Claire McRoberts was excited to give their wraparound porch a fresh farmhouse feel.
The covered porch was a big space so she used rugs to define smaller spaces among the big space. To give it a modern farmhouse design, McRoberts used elements like white rocking chairs with traditional spindle detailing with clean lines on the back and added four red Mill Valley farmhouse ceiling fans. The Mill Valley is inspired by vintage pendant lighting with a hooded light with an Edison LED light bulb.
In Nashville, Designer Alex Haggar refreshed a kid’s bedroom for Jeremy’s daughter, Keylee. Their home was flooded in 2011, and the money Jeremy wanted to spend on Keylee’s room went to replacing the first floor’s flooring instead.
Alex updated the storage Keylee keeps her toys and dress closes in to be more elevated, modern and something she could grow up with through the years. He chose the Cranbrook mid-century modern ceiling fan in mint to add a subtle pop of color; the low profile ceiling fan tucks higher into the ceiling to optimize space while still providing quality and efficient airflow.
O’Connell met newlyweds Hayley and Hensley in Atlanta to update the master bedroom in their first home together. He wanted to blend their eclectic style with modern décor, so he decided on a bohemian-modern design, utilizing light woods, natural woven textiles and plenty of plants.
Hayley and Hensley live in an older home with small rooms. O’Connell selected the Aker, a small ceiling fan with mid-century design that would made their bedroom look bigger but still grand.
Our final Huntervention of 2017 took place in Dallas where McRoberts gave the Larmer family’s outdated living room an updated, modern look. Painting the brick fireplace and adding new décor gave the room a modern look. McRoberts also arranged the furniture to take advantage of the large space and be conscientious of the highly trafficked room.
Susan Larmer loves modern glam style while her husband Rick Larmer loves technology, so McRoberts chose the Symphony smart home ceiling fan in one of the new finishes. The modern design complemented the look of the room while the technology allows the family to control the ceiling fan with either the pre-installed remote, their cell phone or with Amazon Alexa.
The living room is the hub of our homes. It should feel warm, cozy and inviting. Memories and traditions are often made in this room, and after a long day, there’s nothing better than kicking up your feet in a comfortable space.
Patios are all about entertaining. They should feel fun, inviting, and above all, festive. But not all of them do. In our latest Huntervention™, we were joined once again by Ashley Toney – interior designer and owner of First Fruit Collection – who helped us transform a drab outdoor space with a quick and simple makeover.
Most of us have that one space in our home that needs a little more love. The trick is to liven it up without spending a lot of time or money. That’s where a Huntervention™ comes in.
Most of us have that one space in our home that needs a little more love. The trick is to liven it up without spending a lot of time or money. That’s where a Huntervention™ comes in.
Eric Laird isn’t an ordinary 12 year old boy. When he was just 2 ½ years old, Eric was diagnosed with autism. As a baby, he loved watching ceiling fans spin.
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