June, 1919 
37 
of dim or subdued lights, therefore, will be in¬ 
finitely preferable to one or two powerful glar¬ 
ing lights. The diffused glow from the more 
numerous and mellower lights is vastly more 
comfortable to the eye and more kindly to the 
furnishings. In the next place, it is both un¬ 
reasonable and uncomfortable either to have 
one or two blazing illuminations in proximity 
to the ceiling or to have a number of less vig¬ 
orous luminaries lighting the upper part of the 
room and leaving the lower in gloom. 
Indirect Lighting 
Likewise, the various methods of indirect 
lighting, although purposely devised to elim¬ 
inate glare and to secure diffusion, which they 
often do admirably, nevertheless as a rule throw 
most of the light on the ceiling. This does very 
well for public places but is often objectionable 
in a house. It is not necessary, nor in many 
cases would it be desirable, to have the arti¬ 
ficial light fall from precisely the same quarter 
as the light by day, but it is highly desirable 
to have the light at night coming from approxi¬ 
mately the same level as the daylight, and to 
illuminate, not the ceiling, but the region of the 
room humanly inhabited. 
In the third place, the quality and intensity 
of the artificial light must also be taken into 
account. It should not be harsh nor sharp in 
effect nor of such intensity as to distort the 
relative values of illumination and shadow. 
A six-light electric 
chandelier, of dull 
silver,- Georgian 
design, is priced at 
$60. Silk shades 
are extra 
A six-light black 
and silver chande¬ 
lier with delicate 
crystal prisms is 
suitable for a hall. 
$110 
Crystal hang¬ 
ing chandelier 
used in a stair 
well 
And here be it noted with emphasis that the 
effect of shadows must be considered as well as 
the effect of light. It is illogical to think of 
one without the other. To revert again to the 
simile of light and shadow in a picture, a due 
relation must be observed between the two, else 
the eye is offended and wearied. Shadows 
softened and modulated are restful and add 
interest; shadows universally hard and sharp- 
cut, as though with a knife, repel and weary. 
Likewise, remember that the quality of the light 
has everything to do with the quality of the 
shadows. Above all, the color of the rays must 
not be of a character to falsify or kill the colors 
in the furnishing. Mellowness is the chiefest 
desideratum in domestic lighting, save in kitch¬ 
ens, bath and dressing-rooms, or in such ex¬ 
ceptional cases as ball rooms upon occasion of 
large and somewhat formal gatherings, when 
brilliancy is not only quite permissible but 
desirable. 
The illuminants to be considered upon 
grounds of decorative desirability or expedience 
are candles, oil, gas and electricity. The 
physical facts and the possible methods of em¬ 
ploying each are stated without special ad¬ 
vocacy; responsibility of selection rests with 
the reader. 
Of these four illuminants, the first most 
{Continued on page 72) 
Georgian dull 
silver, electric 
bracket. 
$15.50 each 
Antique silver 
and gold 
bracket of old 
design. $70 
