Design Challenge: Style vs. Practicality

I am working on Priorities right now, and in the interest of blog content, that includes design priorities. For instance, when choosing my next "to build" project, do I build a console table for one of the many unadorned walls in my home (especially the one right at the top of the stairs!) or should I begin building my modern farmhouse table to replace the out-of-the-box light oak kitchen table and chair set my dad has set up in the dining room? If I build the farm house table I can use it as a workbench for a while to realistically distress it with some amateur carpentry wear and tear. But, then again, I only have so much time before school starts back up again and there are so very many empty walls around here!

I am also trying to prioritize the many home-improvement projects I want to tackle. From building and designing closet organizers, to changing the light switch plates, heating grates, cabinet drawer pulls, kitchen and bathroom faucets and maybe sinks, and hopefully designing and building/installing new bathroom vanities, sewing curtains, refinishing the wood floors in the dining room and den, and my current obsession: new light fixtures both in and out of the house.

They ALL have to go. I have never seen so many awful, ill designed and obviously picked out by an utterly clueless man light fixtures. For reason's unknown to me, the guy who "updated" this house by adding the rooms upstairs, and adding on to the first story, as well as building the awesomely ginormous "8-car garage" also thought it would be a great idea to put in skylights in all the BEDROOMS. This is also the man who installed 6 electrical outlets in the upstairs hallway and only 2 in each bedroom. But anyways, these skylights aren't the topic of this post, except to explain my confusion in his installing the luxury of seven windows in the ceilings, but NOT putting in central air. Instead he came up with the prefect solution for any comfort-seeking/ oblivious-to-style homeowner: the combination ceiling fan/light fixture. Again, in ALL the bedrooms, along with the kitchen, and one on each side of the living area. And they are ugly. And they don't even match. Even the two that are in the same room aren't the same.

And I am not ashamed to say I love them.

I love turning them on in the living room while I vacum: the breeze cools me off and the light helps me clean better. And in the kitchen when I sautee eggplant for parmesean...and let me tell you, it is positively luxuriating to sleep in a bed under a ceiling fan, especially when your room has been baked by the sun from the two skylights above all day AND you have a clingy sweaty two year old snuggled up against you all night long. Ah, bliss.

They are ugly as sin, but ceiling fans might be the only way to go around here for now. What other choice do I have? It's still early in the season, but I know from previously living in a house sans air conditioning for the last few years that it can be so miserable you start to contemplate sleeping in the bathtub, or outside on a lawn chair with the mosquitos, or spending an entire weeks worth of grocery money on one night in a nice cool hotel room.

Caden and I both have window AC units, so I suppose we can install those in two of the rooms, but they are expensive to run and again, not the most attractive option, especially from outside. My dad brought along the AC unit from his little cottage, but I have no idea if or how it could be installed and made to cool off this notably bigger abode. Then there is the giant attic fan, which I suspect we will explore out of desperation, but I cringe just thinking of all the old attic dust it will spread around.

So I suspect the ceiling fans will stay. At least in some of the rooms, at least for the summer. And that brings me to the question in the title of this post. When do you sacrifice style for function?

I mean, let's face it. Even the higher end ceiling fans are not all that drool worthy when it comes to fresh original design. I am not exactly sure what is "in" or "out" by way of ceiling fan design right now- 3 blades? 5? long blades with tapered ends or rounded stumpy ones? dark stained wood, or light? Or black or white? And what kind of lights? But even though I don't know what the freshest look for ceiling fans is right now, I do know what we have isn't it.

I've seen a few blogs where they take the ceiling fan down and spray paint it and fit up like new and they are pretty impressive, and I might try it on one or two of these, but I'm not overly geeked about the idea. I'm not even sure what look I'm going for!

And hence, I hope to compromise. My idea is to leave the ceiling fans up for summer- possibly revamping or replacing one or two of them if I find something I like- and then changing them for traditional (or not so traditional) light fixtures in the fall. I'm thinking chandeliers or semi-flush mounts in the bedrooms and living areas and I'm not sure what in the kitchen. Possibly just another pot light to go with the several already up there, as I already have a cute chandelier over my table in there. What do you think? Is this do-able? How much of a chore is it to uninstall and reinstall light fixtures and ceiling fans?