A project to keep me busy, suggested by my wife. Probably used too many polygons and kept having to redo materials and lighting to get a satisfactory effect. Standard materials for the fan blades, raytrace materials for the metal work and glass fixtures. Tried to set up some very dramatic shadows with standard lights, but current understanding and the harshness they produced was not acceptable, so I just hit a spot at the bottom of the fan with a mental ray plug-in activated for a very softened feel.
In the end I'm satisfied with how it turned out and will take what I learned on to the next project.