Ever since our story about Vornado’s VFANs based on Richard Ten Eyck’s 1945 design, I’ve been pining for one. So when heat and humidity returned to Wisconsin for the summer, I casually mentioned my want to my husband. He is a self-heated furnace of a man year round, and instantly agreed it would be a good purchase. So I went on Amazon (affiliate link) to order one and discovered that Vornado now offers four sizes and four colors of this retro fabulous fan.
I initially wanted this fan to sit on our dresser and circulate air in our bedroom to help us sleep more comfortably, so I decided that the VFAN Jr. would be a good choice for this smallish room where we just wanted a little breeze to help us drift off to sleep.
Next I noticed that in addition to the Green, Red and Chrome color options that were initially offered by Vornado, they had also added a nice Vintage White color, which fit in best with the color scheme in our bedroom — VFAN Jr. in Vintage White it is!
The Vornado VFAN Jr. in Vintage White is super cute and is perfect perched on the edge of our Broyhill Brasilia dresser in our bedroom. It has two speed settings — low and high — and is almost silent on low yet generates that gentle breeze we were hoping for without any trouble at all. The fan itself feels very substantial, well made and is really a thing of beauty, especially for a midcentury loving girl like myself.
Before we set up the fan in our bedroom however, we decided to test it out in our large living/dining room space first. Our fan arrived just as the late afternoon sun was beating onto the large windows in this room on an oppressively humid day. With the fan set on high, we noticed an immediate cooler feeling — even this small VFAN Jr. was able to generate refreshing air movement in our large room. For how small this fan is, I was totally impressed by the amount of air it can move!
The following evening, which was equally warm and humid, when we settled down into our living room for the night, we were sadly missing the VFAN Jr. that had been moved to our bedroom. After a brief discussion, we decided to order yet another VFAN — this time the original size — to keep us comfortably cool in our main living space.
I decided to go for the red this time — quite an attractive paint job if I do say so myself.
We decided on the next size up so we could have the extra fan speed and since the VFAN Jr. did a pretty good job of cooling our living space on the high setting, we figured the next size up would work well on medium speed, which is still quite quiet and not disruptive while watching TV, though even the highest setting is not terribly loud.
I’ve had these fans for several weeks now and we use them every day and night. I’ve really noticed a difference in the comfort level of our home, especially during hot, humid days. Even when the AC is not on, the house feels much cooler and fresher because of the air circulation these two small fans provide. It is safe to say that I’m ‘a huge fan’ of these vintage Vornado VFANs.
- Shop Vornado VFANs on Amazon (affiliate link)
Cynthia says
Kate Thanks for the Vornado update! Yours look great. Colors are perfect. I bought 2 green ones in the regular size right after reading the RR original article about them. Simply super in every way. Now I’m thinking of a pedestal model! These would be great for condo dwellers with concrete ceilings without electrical boxes in place, where it’s are difficult or impossible to install regular ceiling fans.
PS I hope you also have central air conditioning.
Kate says
Yes, we do also have central air Cynthia. Too humid in Wisconsin to go without! The fans help us feel cooler without turning up the AC though, which is nice. 🙂
Retroski says
To echo Kate, yes, you almost need the central air with the central Midwest humidity. But air circulation with open windows/good fans makes a difference too!
To answer the “ceiling fan on a concrete celing without existing box, yes, it is possible! And so helpful. We installed a ceiling fan in our concrete condo ceiling. You need an exterior mount ceiling fan electrical box and a metal or plastic raceway to house the wiring, aka Wiremold. It’s paintable and simple to install. It’s sold at Home Depot and any reputable electrician can install it.
Our electrician said it was okay for our celing since they are hollow concrete panels. But of course, do your own research and consult with an elctrician first.
Andrea says
Are the exterior assemblies metal or plastic ?
Kate says
Metal. I think the fan blade is plastic, but the rest of the fan is metal.
Carolyn says
OK, if you can hold your laughter to a minimum, here’s a trick I used during the day – we didn’t have central air (probably wasn’t even available for residential use at the time).
The air in the basement is much cooler so I put a big box fan tipped to blow up the stairs and another small one at the top of the stairs to continue the flow into the house. An oscillating fan at the far end of the LR to move that volume of air around and a window fan on the East side drawing the hot air out.
All windows open at night with fans situated to promote convection currents. All shades/curtains drawn during the day to avoid passive solar.
Probably cost the same to run all the fans as our current c/a. I didn’t know about swamp coolers or I’d have incorporated that too. Vornados would have done a better job and with fewer fans going.
I couldn’t convince DH to turn off the furnace heater and just run the fan (would’ve been MUCH more efficient – and quieter!) because “basements smell…basement-y”.
pam kueber says
what is a swamp cooler?
Sally Dent says
A swamp cooler is what a lot of the mid century houses out here in the desert have instead of central air. The “proper” name is an evaporative cooling system. Like the name implies, it uses the cooling effect of evaporation to cool the house. It doesn’t work so well when there’s a lot of humidity though. It feels a bit swampy then.
Carolyn says
Two primitive swamp coolers were to hang damp sheets strategically to catch air currents (with or without fans), mostly done in desert/dry areas. A “lazy way” was to have a sheet suspended with the bottom in a container (tub) of water to keep wicking the moisture (capillary action).
Carol Wright Gifts and others would sell battery operated “personal” fans (6″ x 6″) that had a sponge you’d wet and the fan would blow through it, causing a cooling effect.
Allison says
We did exactly the same in our big old Victorian in Washington.
One box fan at the head of the basement stairs pulling cool air up and two more fans exhausting out of windows on the top floor.
Did a fair job at cooling a really huge house.
Vornados are not so much “breeze blowing in your face” fans as they are circulators; they move a huge amount of air up, down and around your room. Glad to hear they’ve maintained the quality they had years ago.
Nancy B says
I love these fans!! We have one in almost every room & they really help cool the room without having to turn the ac so high (bill saver)!
ineffablespace says
Now *this* is a classic design, and so much better looking than the typical fan produced now, except maybe Dyson bladeless. (which isn’t typical, so never mind)
Carolyn says
I like that they even incorporated their “old” logo onto it. Adds a lot to retro.
Lynne says
Clearly, your ceramic poodle is NOT impressed.
Kate says
hahaha, nope. I call him “the angry poodle” and I just love that silly look on his face!
Clarence says
Kate, the green chair in your bedroom is to DIE for!!
Kate says
Thanks Clarence! I have two of them. They were given to me by friends of my parents who bought them back in the 60s. I love them! 🙂
midmichigan says
“Fan”-tastic! Great pics of them with your classic stuff! I wish they made a design like the vintage floor fan, round ottoman. Those worked great too and were quiet.
Catalina says
Some Home Depots are carrying the vintage white instock this summer. I think it’s the original size. In my store it’s retailing for $99.99.