Have a bedroom that is hard to keep cool in the summer? Consider installing a ceiling fan! We moved a ceiling fan from one room in our house into our bedroom to help cool things down. Hands down one of the best home improvement decisions we made!
It’s full-on summertime here in Richmond VA! The nighttime temps have been in the 80’s and it is H-O-T and we’ve been feeling it. Our master bedroom is above the garage, which means that we are almost completely surrounded by exterior walls, making our room the most difficult room to keep cool in the summer. (Winter isn’t really a problem since heat rises and we like lots of blankets.) We switch out the bedding to a very thin blanket and leave the door open, but it still gets pretty hot. This weekend, while I was sick in bed, I guess Jesse decided he had enough and he fixed our problem by installing a ceiling fan.
Yep. We put a ceiling fan in our bedroom! I know people have mixed feelings about ceiling fans, but this one is way cuter than our old light fixture and it keeps us from having a heat stroke, plus it was free since we stole it from the guest room. For now our old light is in the guest room, but I’ve got plans for in there too!
Let’s talk about how we made this happen. It wasn’t an overly simple move because there wasn’t a support bracket in the master bedroom ceiling. But nothing a trip to Lowe’s can’t fix! We got one of these brackets for around $20 and it only took Jesse an hour to install it.
And here it is installed in the attic. (Excuse the picture, Jesse took it on his phone)
The bracket screws into the beams in the attic, and the round piece fits in the hole from the old granny light fixture.
Then you attach a small round plate around the hole.
There is a small hook type piece that the fan hangs from the fan plate, so you can use both hands to do the wiring and you don’t need someone to hold it up for you. I was in bed under the covers when I took a lot of these pictures. Did I mention it was like 9pm when Jesse decided to do this?
I’m absolutely in love with the way the fan works in with our bedroom decor. It really makes things look more put together, plus it feels glorious to have it going at night. It definitely classes things up a bit!
I love that this project was practically free and definitely made a difference in our bedroom. I’m really hoping to finish up painting the master bath this weekend and work on another project. We haven’t had the drywall replaced in the guest room yet, so things are a bit crazy on that half of the house right now.
Oh my gosh, our master bedroom is the same way! Right over the garage equals SO HOT! Nice fix! And I had no idea those bracket things even existed. Good to know… 🙂
It’s nice to have the big room, but the location is pretty inconvenient haha.
I’m in future “house shopping” planning mode right now but won’t be able to take anything on until we move into our next apartment. In college, my dad installed a ceiling fan in my bedroom for me and it made a huge difference in the comfort of the house. It actually helped us save even more on power because both my roommates already had ceiling fans and we were finally all okay not running the A.C.
We’ve turned our AC down (or is it up?) because of the fan too! It’s so much cooler and more comfortable!
I am all for fans in bedrooms. Maybe just because that’s what I grew up knowing. I always wonder why people on the house hunting shows freak out to see fans in the bedroom.
I don’t get the big deal either! Especially if it’s a nicer, updated fan like ours.
I agree with putting in a fan in the bedroom. Mine needs to be replaced and the air circulation with a fan cannot be beat. I hear you with drywall work too–it’s on my list as well!
I’m glad we’re not doing the drywall work ourselves! However, it’s taking these contractors forever to get to work! Don’t they know I have a craft closet to paint and organize?
I HAVE to be cool when I sleep. I annoy the crap out of my husband but the ceiling fan and a standing fan are always on in our bedroom!
I’m already wondering how I lived without it! It’s so nice to have it going.
I simply cannot sleep if it isn’t cool in the bedroom, so a ceiling fan is a “must have” for us.
As for “shopping the house,” thankfully I married a man who is just like me in that he likes change. Every 6-8 mos. I have to move the furniture and accessories around – even the pictures on the walls – to change things up. Sometimes I’ll even switch the bedroom endtables with the living room ones, use a chest of drawers as a sideboard in the dining room, etc. It’s fun!
I used to love moving furniture around, until I got married. My husband hates when I move stuff around a lot haha.
Great swap – I love having a ceiling fan in our bedroom. I’m not sure that we could survive the heat without it!
I seriously love it already!
We have a ceiling fan in our bedroom and it’s honestly been a lifesaver this summer. I’m a firm believer that “design” is supposed to be about how you live in a room too, not just how it looks!
I totally agree! Function comes first!
Ceiling fans in bedrooms are a must, in my opinion! It looks great!
Thanks Kim! 🙂
The humidity here has been gross, but we don’t have a ceiling fan in our bedroom so Rick bought the pregnant lady a window AC unit 😉 Yay for your FREE solution!
Haha! Way to go Rick! Good luck with the whole being pregnant during the summer thing 😉
We had a ceiling fan in our bedroom, but I decided I wanted a huge canopy bed so we took it down. I kind of miss it! They really are nice!
I have been trying to do more working with what I’ve got 😉 Thanks for the motivation!
Thanks Kelly! I’m glad I can help motivate someone else besides myself!
I love this series! I am in crazy budget mode right now so I like to be inspired with your inexpensive fixes! We have a ceiling fan in our bedroom and I’m pretty sure I would be dead from heat stroke already if we didn’t. Team ceiling fan! It looks great!
Woohoo for Team Ceiling Fan! 😉
whoohoo for your (almost) free solution to keep you cool at night! We have ceiling fans in almost every room. I think that’s probably why I’m itching to get rid of couple of them, but I have to admit they help so much!
probably one of those things you were like…why didnt we do this last summer? 🙂
i for one love ceiling fans. i know they arent gorgeous chandys but who cares when you are hot!!
Isn’t it great when you shop the house and find just what you’re looking for? I decorated our whole loft that way!
We used to have a ceiling fan in our bedroom, but I convinced my hubby to replace it with a chandelier. Sometimes I wish it was still there, but our summers aren’t usually that bad in terms of heat. But if I lived somewhere with long, hot, humid summers, I’d definitely have a ceiling fan in the bedroom!
Enjoy the cool breeze 🙂
Function is more important than form, for sure! We have a big ugly ceiling fan in our living room and we probably always will, because we use it. Love free changes that upgrade your life!
I have a love hate relationship with ceiling fans too. I would love to replace ours with a pretty chandy or shade but in reality I know I can’t sleep without a fan. It has to be going full blast while I snuggle under our down comforter. My husband says I should just lose the comforter but I love the weight of something laying on me. I have also found that I can’t sleep without fan because I have to have the white noise from it. It’s perfect for lulling you to sleep.
OMG, I think we have the exact same ceiling fan in our kitchen! We love it and think it looks great in y’alls bedroom! You did an amazing job installing it too – looks like a piece o’ cake! Come around here…we’ve got a few projects you could help with 😉
In fact…your door also looks like ours. Lol
We have a ceiling fan in just about every single room in our new house, and we love that.
Looks good, and probably feels even better! I actually miss my old ceiling fan! 🙂