I think the second house on Mabprachan Lake with the private pool was only the second place I rented in Thailand that had ceiling fans. They were in pretty much every room and also in the outdoor patio area. I have looked back through the pictures of us staying there, and I cannot see any of them moving, which chimes with my hazy memories of June 2017–May 2018: I don't recall ever using them.
On ThaiDhupp's build thread, I read with interest people's contributions as to the merits of ceiling fans. And I fell down on the side of: i) they don't blow as hard and therefore are not as cool as floor fans; ii) they can wobble and thus require professional installation [remember where we are!]; iii) if they are being used in lieu of air-conditioning, they will just blow hot air down from the ceiling; iv) if not used regularly, they are going to gather dust [I remember climbing onto ladders to wipe some of them down]; v) in the end, they just become another item you have to pay for / replace; vi) air-con works fine on its own.
Not that I am against ceiling fans. I like the old, 1950s style of former tropical British embassies and Ian Fleming's GoldenEye in Jamaica.
But is it, again, just form over function?
Take another look inside the arched verandas there – they are dark! Despite having large, wall-to-wall windows in both of those front rooms, those rooms were always dark. The lights needed to be on the whole time. Another thing I remember from living there, is a slight damp odour. That patio space did not smell fresh. Did it need a bit of direct solar radiation to kill off the fungus or bacteria living there? Remember this is where the termites decided to call home, too.
Those arches and the space underneath look great; very beautiful, very inviting; classy Mediterranean look. But looking back, was it practical? Aesthetics over utility? Form over function? Or am I just being really pernickety?