For a "couple of days a year" get a pedestal fan straight on everyone and leave the features in the ceiling. Seriously...I have 12 ceiling fans in my house and two wall mounted fans...the wall mounted fans are so much more effective then ceiling (and I don't know where you live, but did you know fans have a "summer" and "winter" setting??). Most people don't. Tip: turn the fan off before changing the setting.

Hi new to all this but thought I'd pass on some fan tips; Be very selective of the shape of the fan blades. They all look stylish but in my experience the flatter the blade the less air they move. We have now gone back to the original metal fans with the blades that bend at the edge, http://regencyfan.com/industrial, our fans are more stylish than the one shown (the blade shape is nice and clear in this example). Our weather in no where near as warm as yours I'd hate for you to make the same mistake we made, twice, before we learnt. Look at the fans motor size, some of the expensive and lots of the cheap ones have small motors that don't last long, unfortunately price does not dictate quality in this case so don't get caught out. My husband is a mechanic and this is one of his "things" when every we shop for electrical items (drills, fans, pumps etc.) always make sure the motor is quality and large enough to do the job and last. How may speeds. We have 8 fans in our home, one is in our extension and was purchased at a different time; It's low speed is realllllllly slow the next one is so fast it's like a cyclone and I'm not game to try the third one in case it dismounts from the ceiling. Be careful not to mount fans too close to down lights or you get a flickering effect caused by the blade passing over the light. Try not to mount the fan directly over the dining table as it will cause food to go cold. I'm with mydesignobsession when it comes to style/look I prefer visitors see my wonderful eclectic decoration then my ceiling fans! Good luck

what about white for the low ceilings and black for the high ceilings where the contrast will stand out against the gorgeous timber beams OR what about white for the low ceilings and timber for the high ceilings to blend and not detract from the beams OR why not please my husband and try his choice of silver!

If you wanted the fan to stand out as a feature you could go with a bold colour like black otherwise blend in to the ceiling you would go white. But I would say, personal choice.