MINKA-AIRE F702-BCW Volterra 52 Inch Ceiling Fan with Integrated Uplight and Downlight in Belcaro Walnut Finish

I bought the Minka Aire ceiling fan to replace an existing ceiling fan in the den of a new home my wife and I purchased. The day I began installing it, I removed all the parts from the box and neatly laid everything out where I could find it. I started reading the installation instructions and began with the first step - installing what I will call Part A into Part B. It didn't fit together. The directions were no help since they simply said install Part A into Part B. At least there was a picture. I thought to myself, this was not an auspicious beginning. So, I sat down on the floor and played with the pieces until I figured out how they went together - actually not such a long time. I was installing the fan by myself, so I took precaution to read each step in the process several times to make sure I knew exactly what I needed to do every time I climbed on the ladder. The next several steps went fairly easily until it was time to install the transmitter in the housing. There were so many wires and so little room, I had to re-arrange all the wires to make room for the transmitter. I painstakingly followed the directions and connected all the wires after shortening them to a more useable length. The manufacturer gives you about 8 feet of extra wire for cathedral ceiling installations. When I finally finished attaching the wires, to my dismay, I had one red wire from the ceiling left over with no place to attach it. The instructions were silent as well. No information about any extra wires or what to do with them. So, I simply placed a wire connector on the extra wire and called it a day after several hours. In the interim, I had prepared the fan blades for installation to use my time most effectively. I ended up calling an electrician to ask about the extra red wire. Fortunately, he told me I had done the right thing to cap it off the way I did. He checked all my connections and struggled to fit all the wires, connectors and transmitter into the shroud. I hated to see him struggle, but it made me glad to see that even he was having difficulty with the install. He then started working on installing the receiver in the wall switch receptacle while I tried to install the fans blades. They were not an easy install either. You have to insert the blade into a hole in the housing and rotate the blade around to another hole in the housing where you put in two screws. You need a third hand to hold a flashlight or a head lamp to be able to see up in there to line up the screw holes. A word to the wise. It is extremely difficult to get the screws started if you don't "prime" the holes in the blade by starting the screw first while on terra firma. When I finally got the last blade installed, the electrician had the receiver installed and we tried it out. Alas, the manufacturer did not supply bulbs for the down light, so we couldn't try it until I went to Home Depot and bought two pricey 50 watt halogen bulbs. You would think if you spent $400 on a ceiling fan, the manufacturer could kick in the two extra bulbs to save you another trip out of the house, but I was ready for a change of scenery anyway. Having obtained the halogen bulbs, I carefully screwed them in and installed the glass globe. Viola, instant (well, maybe not instant) gratification for a long job finally accomplished. The fan and lights work wonderfully well; however, I must admit I wondered several times if I should have just bought a Hunter that was easier to install.Bottom line: If you aren't handy and don't have a lot of patience, don't buy this fan because it is a real challenge to install yourself. However, if you are up for the challenge, or have the extra money after buying the fan to hire an electrician, go for it. The installed fan is a beauty. Let's hope it lasts a long time because I don't ever want to have to replace it.

Top lights bulbs are very visible and hard on the eyes. They should have hidden the bulbs much better!!!

This fan is beautiful, perfect for its setting in the living room. Of note, the fan weighs less than 25 lbs, which is a very important consideration when installing in an old building. Above 28-30 lbs would have required ceiling work, which would have ultimately cost me around $4,000 due to coop regulations requiring rewiring and soundproofing - thus not an option. The uplight/downlight combination is stellar, and makes for lots of lighting options for different room uses. This was about the only quality fan I could find that had the uplight/downlight combo while staying under the weight limit. For TV watching I just use the uplight. The downlight is muted due to the amber glass, but bright enough that I often don't need any other lights in the 12x16 room. The amber makes for much warmer light than the white glass would, so the tradeoff in brightness is well worth it. I would have much preferred a fan with LED lights and frankly wasn't excited about buying a fixture with halogen, but both the uplight and downlight bulbs have LED equivalents and I plan to buy those when it comes time to replace them.The actual fan function is, as per usual for Minka Aires, excellent. It's plenty powerful and moves air around the entire apartment. No wobbling or noise even on high speed. I don't mind the manual switch to change direction, although it would have been nice to have an electronic reversal switch (like the Zen model does) if it didn't add too much to the weight.

Item color base was not as pictured. The leave on the base of the light are gold and gawdy. Not my taste. Someone with this taste would love it.

We've owned two of these in our former residence. The latest one I purchased on Amazon for our new house had a defective motor. The Minka-aire tech guy was thorough and helpful. Amazon customer service was fantastic, as usual and promptly replaced our Volterra.UPDATE:

I've been looking for an elegant fan for my living room with both up lights and down. This meets all my expectations and more, I highly recommend this product.

This fan does the job. It looks fabulous and the options make it a real workhorse, from uplighting, downlighting, and great movement.

After 2 years bulbs gone, halogen small bulbs are work at very high temperature, curious to know why don't use the regular or led bulbs.Transmitter stop working and one from Minka to replace is $45 , compare with a $28 transmitter and remote control to Lowe'sDisappointed and I do not recomand to anyone for that expensive fan