Remodelista

Our house in Wellfleet, on Cape Cod, roars with the whirr of table fans all summer long; alas, most of ours are yellowed plastic Lasko fans from the local hardware store. Someday I hope to switch them out for tasteful chrome retro fans; here's a roundup of the best ones out there. (NB: Also consult Fan Guide, a blog devoted to fans from Lumens, and cnet's roundup of 10 Less Than Ordinary Fans to Keep Cool.)

RETRO INSPIRED TABLE FANS

Below: Allaire Desk Fan; available in two sizes and three finishes (brushed nickel, silver sage, or black); $78.99 for the 8-inch model or $110 for the 12-inch model at Restoration Hardware.

Below: Hunter Century Table Fan; $70 at Lumens.

Below: The nine-inch High-Velocity Massey fan is a reasonable $18.99 from Amazon.

Below: Retro Table Top Fan by Minka Air; made of solid steel and featuring three speeds; $50 at Lumens.

Below: The handmade Michelle Parede Wall Fan from Matthews Fan Company is a wall-mounted option; it's available in 10 finishes; $437.50 at Lumens.

Below: The Charcoal Vornado Vintage Fan is modeled after a jet engine; according to the company, "the Vornado creates a beam of air, similar to the funnel of a tornado, to force air up to 65 feet." The fan is available for $129.99 directly from Vornado in either charcoal or Vornado green (the same murky green used on the 1950s model).

Below: The Large Freud Table Fan, of steel and aluminum, is £235 at the Conran Shop in the UK (the small size is £110 and the medium is £185).

MOD TABLE FANS Below: Black + Brown's desktop Propello Fan has soft rubber blades for safety and style and is incredibly quiet; it's available in blue or gray for $139 at Lumens.

Below: Designed by Naoto Fukasaw, The Fan has a protective cage that wraps from front to back and is made of steel and polypropylene resin; it's available in white, light blue, or black for $219 at Generate Design.

Below: The Tykho Fan, by Marc Berthier for Lexon, is in the permanent collection at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris. Unfortunately, it's hard to source in the US. Overseas, the Coliseum Shop carries it for 45 Euros; available with green, turquoise, pink, or red blades.