7 Dining Room Ceiling Fan Ideas for Every Style - Ultimate Guide

Many people wonder if it is ok to have a ceiling fan over a dining room table and our answer is yes! A dining room ceiling fan has the advantage of not only providing a cooling breeze but becoming a staple decor item in traditional dining rooms, open concept dining spaces or wherever friends and family gather for a meal. 

This is thanks to the dozens of styles to choose from! From traditional ceiling fans to fandeliers that mimic traditional pendant lighting - you are bound to find a dining room ceiling fan that you’ll love!

In this guide we cover:

• Dining room ceiling fans

• Dining room fan chandeliers (fandeliers)

• How to choose the right dining room ceiling fan

Dining Room Ceiling Fans

The best dining room ceiling fans provide a comfortable cooling breeze, overhead lighting and are an interesting decor element! Here are some of our favorite fan models.

Hunter Bennett 52” Ceiling Fan

The Hunter Bennet incorporates a classic design with modern glass lighting that is perfect for traditional dining spaces.

Read our Hunter Bennet review

The Bennet is one of Hunter’s best selling ceiling fans and it’s easy to see why. Its traditional ceiling fan design, striking light kit and affordable price makes the Bennet a great indoor ceiling fan for any space.

As a dining room ceiling fan, the Bennett’s glass light kit design does a great job at providing attractive ornamentation often seen with chandeliers. The lights themselves provide an ambient and warm light that is perfect for intimate dining spaces.

A 52-inch blade span makes the Hunter Bennett perfect for most average sized dining rooms and its WhisperWind motor allows for a quiet breeze when the dining room is in use! Each Bennet includes a handheld remote control for easy operation.

• 52-inch blade span

• 3-speed reversible motor

• Includes remote control

• Great for traditional and contemporary dining rooms

• Limited Lifetime Motor Warranty

Minka Aire Light Wave 52” Ceiling Fan

The Minka Aire Light Wave will add a modern touch to any dining space thanks to its light and airy design. Complement dining tables and flooring with its various finish options!

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Read our Minka Aire Light Wave review

The Minka Aire Light Wave makes a great dining room ceiling fan thanks to its dramatic design that is sure to bring some visual interested above dining room tables. The twisting blades, simple forms and etched acrylic light shade gives this ceiling fan a life of its own! The Light Wave is also available in various finishes to match your dining room decor.

Minka Aire is known for their cutting edge ceiling fans and the Light Wave is no exception. The fan features a 3-speed reversible motor, a dimmable LED light kit and can be controlled by handheld remote. The quality and performance is quiet yet powerful.

Installation is also made easy thanks to the included 6” downrod that is sloped ceiling adaptable. Do you have low or high ceilings in your dining room? No problem! Additional downrods are available from 3.5” all the way to 60” in length!

• 52” Blade Span

• Includes handheld remote control

• Available in multiple finishes

• Lifetime Motor Warranty

Hunter Ronan 52” Ceiling Fan

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The Hunter Ronan is a ceiling fan that is as striking as traditional pendants and chandeliers thanks to its modern fan design and dramatic caged light kit.

Read our Hunter Ronan review

The Hunter Ronan proves that installing a ceiling fan over a dining table doesn’t have to be boring. The large wire-form cage light kit offers amazing visual excitement to the space on par with traditional chandeliers and pendant lighting. The warm metal of the light kit also adds an interesting contrast to the fan’s black or white finish.

One feature that we love about the light kit is Hunter’s inclusion of a 1.5 watt LED bulb with each fan. This bulb emits a warm, ambient light that is also dimmable for the perfect mood right above dining tables or in dining areas.

Hunter also does a great job offering the latest features to make using the Ronan a breeze (no pin intended!) The Ronan features Hunter’s very own WhisperWind motor which offers 3 speed settings with near-silent performance.

• 52” blade span

• Handheld remote control included

• Available in black or white finishes

• Limited Lifetime Motor Warranty

Dining Room Fan Chandeliers

A fandelier is the fusion of a ceiling fan and chandelier. The best fandeliers hide the fans inside thanks to their stylish enclosures that allow the fans to mimic traditional chandeliers and pendant lighting. If you would like the benefit of a dining room ceiling fan but don’t love the look - then a fandalier is exactly what you need.

Savoy House Etesian Air-Ironizing Fan D’lier

Savoy House combines the elegant grace of a chandelier and the cooling comfort of a ceiling fan with their one-of-a-kind Etesian Fan D’lier.

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Read our Savoy House Etesian review

Savoy House is one of the few brands offering formal dining room ceiling fans thanks to their Air-Ironizing collection of fandeliers. If you like the idea of having a ceiling fan over a dining table but prefer the traditional look of a chandelier then these fandeliers are the perfect solution.

The Savoy House Etesian is one our favorite fandelier models thanks to its classic chandelier silhouette and beautiful high end finish. The Etesian features 8 elegant candle cups that each hold dimmable LED bulbs. To mimic the look of real candles, each cup is made out of an outer cylinder of clear glass and an inner cylinder of white glass for a soft and graceful glow.

In additional to the elegant design, the Etesian is also availabel in both a satin nickel or burnished russett finish to match your dining room decor!

It’s worth noting that the fan inside the Savoy House Etesian is not your average ceiling fan. The fan is air-ionizing which means that the fan purifies the air by electrically charging air molecules. Not only does this fan provide a cooling breeze but it can also remove particles and odors from the air!

• 8-light chandelier design

• Hidden ionizing fan cleans air while providing a cooling breeze

• Handheld remote included

Quoizel Shire Fandelier

The Quoizel Shire is the perfect union between form and function thanks to its integrated fan and elegant mood lighting all wrapped inside a stylish industrial rustic design.

Read our Quoizel Shire review

The Quoizel Shire has all the hallmarks of a stylish and inspiring dining room chandelier. It boasts a unique rustic design and provides warm lighting that’s perfect for above the dinner table. Where this fandelier really shines is with its interior fan that is nestled away in the center. 

The blade span of the fan is 12-inches which is the perfect size for installing above a dining table. And the fan motor has three speed settings so you can dial in the perfect breeze. Both the lights and fan can be controlled with the included handheld remote.

For those looking for an outdoor dining ceiling fan, you’ll be pleased to know that the Quoizel Shire is damp rated for outdoor installation. This means you can install the Shire on porches, sunrooms, gazebos or other covered outdoor spaces. Installation is also a breeze thanks to the included 4” and 12” downrods that are sloped ceiling compatible.

Fanimation Vintere Fandelier

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Specially designed to install above dining tables, the Fanimation Vintere is a best selling dining room ceiling fan with light that is sure to add an interesting touch to the spaces you gather.

Read our Fanimation Vintere review

The Fanimation Vintere is not only a best seller but one of our favorite enclosed ceiling fans thanks to its versatile design and great performance. Unlike other ceiling fans, the Fanimation Vintere was made especially with dining areas in mind. The cage design hides the fan’s 13-inch blades to give you more of a traditional chandelier look. Each Vintere is also equipped with 4 LED lights that are located on the outer perimeter of the fan.

As a dining room fan the Fanimation Vintere does a lot things right. The 13-inch blade span is just the right size for installing over dining room tables and the 3-speed reversible motor is perfect for year round use. The fan and lights can be controlled with the included handheld remote or with the Fanimation fanSync app. That’s right! You can control this ceiling fan with your smart phone!

The Fanimation Vintere includes a one-inch downrod for installation. You can also purchase Close to Ceiling and Sloped Ceiling installation kits separately.

Qouizel Dury Fandelier

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Posh and pretty, the Qouizel Dury Fandelier is an eloquent addition to any dining area thanks to its gorgeous pendant design and hidden fan nestled on the inside.

Read our Quoizel Dury review

Quoizel offers many stylish dining room ceiling fans with lights with their newest collection of fandeliers. Their Dury model is one of our favorites thanks to its rustic yet posh design that is perfect for installing over dining tables. 

As a chandelier, the Dury features five dimmable candelabra bulbs for intimate and moody overhead lighting. Nestled in between the lights is a 3-speed ceiling fan for a discrete solution to keeping your dining area comfortable and breezy.

The Qouizel Dury Fandelier is damp rated which means it can be installed indoors or in covered outdoor spaces. Installation is also incredibly versatile! Qouizel includes both 4” and 12” downrods to accommodate different ceiling heights. The installation kit is also sloped ceiling compatible.

How to choose the best Dining Room ceiling fan

Choosing the best dining room fan is as easy as following our helpful guide.

Find the right ceiling fan size for your dining space

Choosing the right sized dining room ceiling fan is as easy as measuring your dining space. This is done by determining the square footage of your dining area to determine which size blade span is most appropriate for the space. 

Your dining room’s square footage is determined by measuring the length and width of the room and then multiplying those two numbers together. This number is your square footage.

Due to the popularity of open floor plans, many dining areas do not have walls to measure. Instead what you will do is take a rough measurement of the dining space. Instead of measuring the walls, you will want to measure around the dining table and make your square footage determination that way.

Once you have determined the square footage of your dining room, you can now choose the appropriate ceiling fan size.

• Dining Room under 144 ft² = Ceiling fan under 44”

• 114-225 ft² Dining Room = Ceiling fan between 44-50”

• 225-400 ft² Dining Room = Ceiling fan 50” or larger

Ceiling Fan vs Fandelier

Choosing between a classic ceiling fan or a fandelier (ceiling fan/chandelier combo) depends on a few factors: dining room size, formality and aesthetics.

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One average, ceiling fans have much larger blade spans, better airflow coverage and more advanced tech features than fandeliers. If you have a larger dining room and want to avoid installing multiple smaller fans, then going with one much larger ceiling fan is the right choice.

The larger blades also mean a more powerful breeze. Dining areas that don’t have access to many windows may benefit from the air circulation a large ceiling fan can provide. Unfortunately, the blades on most fandeliers are a fraction of the size and won’t be able to push as much air as a traditional ceiling fan.

Lastly, ceiling fans are more likely able to keep up with the latest tech. This means super-silent DC motors, energy efficient designs and smartphone and voice control as found on many wifi ceiling fans. Although you may find some of this technology in a fandelier, your choices are much more limited.

However, there is an area where a fandelier really shines and that’s with overall aesthetic. Fandeliers mimic traditional chandeliers and pendant lighting for a more formal dining room look. Fandeliers also do an excellent job at providing mood lighting over dining tables and intimate spaces thanks to their chandelier-inspired lighting. If design is more important than raw performance than going with a fandelier over a dining room ceiling fan is a great choice. This is especially true for smaller dining spaces that will benefit from the smaller fan sizes found in fandeliers.

Is it proper to have a ceiling fan in the dining room?

Let’s face it, formal dining room ceiling fans are not common. A ceiling fan over a dining room table is always going to be a bit more informal than a traditional chandelier. But this doesn’t mean it can’t be done. At the end of the day you have to choose whether the cooling functionality of a ceiling fan is worth the more casual atmosphere.

There are many beautiful ceiling fans that would compliment dining room decor with the right match. And with the advent of fandeliers, you can hide the fan inside a beautiful chandelier or pendant lighting design so well that many people won’t notice that there is a fan nestled on the inside. If you are worried about the informality of a ceiling fan we highly recommend you go with one of the fandelier options we recommend on this page.

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