I’m refining a beach resort lobby where we swapped a hard stone backdrop for tadelakt and tucked felt baffles behind cane screens, targeting 35–40 dBA at peak check‑in without losing that barefoot, breezy vibe… Has anyone cleanly hidden real acoustic absorption within sculptural pendants or ceiling fans so it reads as design, not dampening?
I’ve hidden absorption inside oversized cane drum pendants by adding a microperforated inner sleeve and a 12–25 mm PET felt liner — the weave stays airy while the “microperfs + PET” handle the noise. What ceiling height are you working with and how big are the pendants? If you use fans, don’t pack the blades; float a slim PET-felt ring above the canopy to avoid airflow noise, and spec salt‑air safe, flame‑rated materials; BuzziJet is a good reference: https://www.buzzispace.com/products/buzzijet.
I’ve had good luck turning the ceiling fan canopy into an acoustic halo: a 30–40 mm open‑cell melamine ring wrapped in cane/linen scrim and spaced about 15 mm off the canopy so it reads sculptural while absorbing. Just keep it clear of motor vents and stick to cool-running LEDs; for a kit-of-parts reference, peek at LightArt’s acoustic pendants (https://lightart.com/acoustic) and adapt the build. Would that suit your “hide in plain sight” goal, or are your fan housings too tight for a halo?