First off...no question is amateurish !!! Second of all...why is your budget for a nice light/chandelier over you nice dining room table $100 less than that for a ceiling fan? Doesn't seem quite fair! I would want to know what is the diameter of the arms on the chandelier vs. the size of your dining space/dining table. I looked for a long time for a chandelier type pendant light fixture over my kitchen sink in my redo. Had an outdated braass fixture there, but wanted a candle chandelier type that coordinated the best I could with what I had over my kitchen table. Long story short, found the perfect fixture, it has a ten inch diameter for the arms...it's perfect for the space and what I was looking for. Looking at the picture of your possible dining room table, I think you would need something at least having a ten inch diameter...I like the style you picked alot :)

Thank you, cindy. So I think what you're saying is that the number of bulbs doesn't really make a difference, just the size? I'm not sure how long the arms are, but it's 20" in diameter. The table is 36" by 54". And the budget is less for the chandelier because he's stubborn! He wants me to cave to the fan idea. So, get a nice ceiling fan or a cheap chandelier- those are my options.

The number of bulbs is not as important as the overall diameter of the fixture.

The one pictured uses large diameter glass, and looks to have a decent spread.

I think it would be fine. I do love my ceiling fans though our dining room and living rooms are the only ones that don't have one. That is because our living room ceiling is configured for the big eyebrow window, so it would have been off too far to the side.... We have ceiling fans on either side of the dr in our open plan or would have put one back in there (the p.o.s had one in the dr). We use our a/c sparingly and are usually very comfortable with the fans moving the air and the windows open, except on the worst days of summer. If your dh is arguing for function's sake, then I'd strongly consider it and use my veto for something else.

Yes, the diameter is more important than the number of bulbs to be in proper proportion for your space/table. From what you described, I think that light fixture would work great. Honestly,I've never seen a ceiling fan over a dining table, nor would I myself want one. Why would I want that air blowing down on me as I ate?..haha..just my opinion though! Chandeliers are far more attractive ! Might I suggest having it connected to a dimmer switch, it adds alot more options to the ambiance of the room...I love my dimmer switches :) Good luck!

>Honestly,I've never seen a ceiling fan over a dining table, nor would I myself want one. Why would I want that air blowing down on me as I ate?

That's what I have now (house came that way), and it means I'm just wasting a fan. I only ever use the light fixture and that's way too bright for dining. Can't wait to get rid of it, although I generally like having ceiling fans in other rooms.

Go with the chandy.

We have a ceiling fan over our kitchen table and we either turn it off or down low when eating. In the warm weather when eating a sandwich, salad or cereal, we leave it on. One eats at a table for only a fraction of the day. The rest of the time, the fan could be on and keeping you more comfortable. We also turn it low if someone is doing homework. The back wall of our house is all windows and the kitchen and den ceiling fans help it circulate. We love the fresh air and a breeze rather than refrigerated air. It works for us but YMMV ;)

Good points dianalo... just thinking a kitchen table is less formal than a dining table area that the original poster was talking about...plus they had a ceilling fan in the adjacent living area...there are so many options out there to work for everyone..to each their own to find what works for them :)

They have all been good points, and thank you all for your input.

Our prior configuration was a ceiling fan over the dining room table. When we extended we added a ceiling fan to the adjacent den and nearby kitchen. With the whole house fan on and those working next to the windows, we have a lot of air circulation. We even have 2 in the screened in porch on the back of our house. Each bedroom has its own ceiling fan too. We added many more windows to the living spaces and 2 more skylights that open.

If there had been any need, I'd definitely have put one in the dr again. You can get a very pretty one with a nice light set. Until we extended and added 2 more fans, we never would have considered taking the fan out in our dr. It was by a large sliding door and helped move the air a lot. I'd choose function over form but also think that many functional pieces can be pretty these days.

I adore wearing high heels when dressing up, but can't be bothered with shoes that hurt any more. I make sure to wear pretty ones that also feel good. It is like that. Good design will give you both.

We have a similar (although inverted) fixture over our breakfast nook table, and it is plenty of light. We could put 3 60W bulbs (for a total of 180W) in it, but we usually mix 40W and 60W so it isn't as bright. For comparison, in our dining room we have a 5-light chandelier with little 40W chandelier bulbs (for a total of 200W). We have to use the dimmer because that's entirely too bright. Here is our fixture:

BTW, my parents had a ceiling fan over the dining table they used every day. When eating, they either put it on low or reversed the direction so the air could circulate better. It was great!