Dining-room 
/^\F all the problems of 
furnishing a house the 
question of lighting is, perhaps, 
the most difficult. To be 
practical, to be beautiful, to 
be original, and still not to 
be bizarre. The fixture is 
intended primarily for light, 
but for the greater part of the time 
it is not in use, and it must then 
be considered apart from its chief 
charm of light itself. 
The accent of shape is often changed 
entirely by the introduction of light, 
and the fixture that is one thing by 
daylight is an entirely different ob¬ 
ject when seen illumined by its own 
light. It has a dual existence 
and consequently is difficult to 
design. 
Not only is there this difficulty 
of change of shape, but the lamp 
colors that appear crude by daylight have 
sometimes all the perfection of ripe and 
luscious fruit when seen illumined from 
within, and vice versa. 
Stuffs that by absorption appear 
one color in daylight ap¬ 
pear an entirely differ¬ 
ent shade when seen 
under artificial light, 
and this night shade 
itself varies materially as 
the illuminating source is 
candle, oil, gas, or one 
of the various 
forms of 
electricity, just what these ef¬ 
fects are would form an article 
by itself, but this sketch deals 
entirely with the various devices 
in Dreamwold Hall for con¬ 
cealing the ugliness and glare 
of the incandescent electric 
Kg 1 *- 
For rooms of some height it is gen¬ 
erally agreed that the invisible source 
iJlaCKc I /-» i • i • | < /—j - ' -I • 
of light is the best. 1 his means 
a continuous line of concealed lights, 
high above the eye, that reflect upon 
the ceiling, and then, in a soft, 
diffused light, down over the 
whole room. The trouble is that 
for most domestic 
Writing Desk Light 
rooms are not used, and this form of 
lighting is impossible. It becomes, then, a 
question of an artistic fixture, and the even 
more difficult problem of the bulb (the source 
of light) and the shade. 
It is obvious that the fixture best adapted 
to a particular place can be most satisfac¬ 
torily obtained by a special design. Ready¬ 
made designs, like ready-made clothing, can, 
at best, only fit approximately. Moreover, 
the financial success of such work depends 
upon duplication, and duplication is the foe of 
originality, as well as an obstacle in the way 
of individual excellence. It is more essential 
to the factory fixture that it can be reproduced 
cheaply than that each piece should be pro¬ 
duced perfectly. 
It follows that excellency in fixtures means 
special designs by skilled designers, means 
craftsmen, not laborers, means artistic super¬ 
vision, not the hurried orders of a foreman. 
ON THE FARM OF 
THOMAS W. LAWSON, ESQ. 
AT 
DREAMWOLD HALL 
SCITUATE, MASS. 
THE LIGHTING 
OF 
203 
