HOUSE AND GARDEN 
January 
i 9 i i . 
1 
ISIS 
w&Sm 
A simple and attractive one-light 
bracket finished in greenish bronze 
Based on the Colonial whale- 
oil lamp of our forefathers 
The French brackets are 
signed as a rule and cost 
to $300 
The ideal fixture is one which 
combines character with me¬ 
chanical convenience. In striv¬ 
ing for the artistic we are 
sometimes apt to neglect the 
practical purpose of evenly dif¬ 
fusing the light so that the eye 
shall be pleased as well as sup¬ 
plied with the proper amount 
of illumination of the most 
economical kind. A room too 
brightly lighted is perhaps 
worse than one too dim. In 
the one some of the lights may 
be turned off, but the effect is 
apt to be scrappy and shad¬ 
owy; while the darkness of the 
room too dimly lighted may 
be remedied by 
a portable lamp. 
In selecting 
the fixtures, one 
should be care¬ 
ful to purchase 
from a reliable 
concern, whose 
designers make 
a study of archi¬ 
tecture and dec¬ 
oration as well 
as of the light¬ 
ing problem; 
and to beware 
of those which 
bear too close a 
relationship to 
the “commer¬ 
cial.” Although 
An English type which is worth about $45 in 
natural or smoked brass, or green bronze 
a great many of 
the fixtures 
which we often 
see in public buildings and in stores are attractive in 
themselves, they are unsuited to house decoration. 
Many of the commercial fixtures and the cheaper and 
more old-fashioned grade of house fixtures bear a 
strong resemblance to the ugly gas fixtures of the 
last decade. 
The day of the center low hanging chandelier is 
passing, except in the case of very large rooms, in 
which a great deal of light is desired. It is a cause 
for thankfulness, as far as the dining-room and 
living-room are concerned, for with a low-hanging 
light one is constrained to have the table always in 
the same position; and it is impossible to utilize the 
rooms for dancing, or other evening entertainment, 
without first reckoning with the hanging light or 
being apt to suffer 
from it. If central 
lights are needed or 
desired, they are now 
fixed close to the ceil¬ 
ing, the distance 
therefrom being regu- 
j lated by the height of 
well de- the room and length 
from $7 of fixture. The ideal 
lighting for dining¬ 
room consists of double side 
brackets placed so that the light 
is evenly diffused over the en¬ 
tire room; and as candles are used 
on the table there is no need for 
other center illumination. 
Ceilings of to-day are usually 
from nine to eleven feet high. 
In placing side brackets it is well 
to remember that they should be 
from 5ft. 6 ins. to 5 ft. 8 ins. 
above the floor if they are to dif¬ 
fuse the light, and at least 7 ft. 
high if they direct the light toward 
the floor, else there will be dis¬ 
agreeable shadows. 
Side brackets are also a very desirable and attractive addition 
to the living-room ; the center light being supplied by a large port¬ 
able table lamp. In a long living-room which needs considerable 
illumination, a ceiling group light or rosette, is very satisfactory. 
In wiring it is well 
to plan for suffi¬ 
cient bracket out¬ 
lets, so that ade¬ 
quate light may be 
secured, no matter 
what the coloring 
of walls and hang¬ 
ings. Dark wood¬ 
work and paper 
“eat up” the light, 
while white and 
light colors serve to 
reflect. 
A type of fixture 
which covers an 
extremely wide 
field of usefulness 
has a suggestion of 
the early Fiench in- ^ good English bracket for a library, 
fluence in the deco- cylinders are of mica 
A porch lantern, the sides of 
which are made up of thick 
puddled glass 
The 
