PLEASING ARRANGEMENT

For the dining-room and library table some form of drop light is essential.  There are arrangements that will transform the banquet or student lamp into an electric drop light, or the special outfits for this use may be had in some very artistic designs.  For general lighting, wall sconces, lanterns, or brackets are preferable.  Some of these are very beautiful, though there is a tendency to overelaboration.  Design, of course, should be in keeping with the general decoration and outfitting of the room.  Instead of four sixteen-candle-power lights in a center chandelier, eight of eight-candle power will “spread” the illumination better and add little to the expense, except for fixtures.  In beamed ceilings which are not too high, the effect of lights placed upon the beams is pleasing, though the effect upon the monthly bill may not have the same aspect.  Electric lamps at the sides should be at a fair height and throw their light downward, instead of wasting it upon the ceiling.

The pretty lanterns of antique design are expensive, the simplest sort costing $4 or $5 apiece.  There are numerous artistic brackets, however, that may be had for smaller amounts.  Bulbs are made in all sorts of shapes to fit recesses or for special purposes, and the designs in shades and candelabra are legion.

ADAPTABILITY

Electricity’s strong card is its adaptability.  It can go wherever a wire may be carried, and into many places where gas or oil lights would not be safe or practical.  The only thing lacking is to make it wireless, and perhaps invention sooner or later will be equal to that demand.  Early installations were rather carelessly made, but municipal and underwriters’ rules are now so strict that practically all danger of fire has been eliminated.  The householder in the country should make sure that the underwriters’ prescriptions are fully observed, as his insurance may be affected.  In the city, official inspection usually guarantees correct wiring.

Probably only in the hall, dining room, and living room will we be greatly concerned with the decorative phase of lighting.  Elsewhere the question is largely one of practical use, though considerations of taste are not to be neglected.  Careful study should be given to the adaptation of lighting to the future uses of the rooms.  This will perhaps avoid the use later of unsightly extension cord, though this avoidance can scarcely be made complete.

PROTECTION