The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1891-03-11

ELECTRICITY m THE HOUSE GIVES
MANY OPPORTUNITIES.

suggestions for Decorative and Uasfd,
Deveiopmsnt--with Klsctrio Eiuad Z,
Ee End OF Ingenious Considerations d
Our greater Comfort.
How far can the new ifluminant eiec
trtcity, MD MS In our hours Of work and con
duce to the comfort and peace OF our hours
Of rest and recreationi The engineers have
supplied the current to the house, and II
becomes necessary to consider how to ar
range, clothe and decorate the lamps &c
that the light may be O source Of pleasure
and not of irritation.
1 So far the artists have not kept pace with
the engineers, and most of the pendants
mud electroliers found at present are want
ing singularly in imagination and grace
They are far too heavy and clumsy for the
light lamps that they support. The lines
and curves are conventional and ungrace
full, and the lamps are often SO placed that
they shed their light directly in our eyes
instead Of rejecting It from the objects that
should be illuminated by them.
Theshape of the lamps themselves should
be considered and worked into the design
so that the whole may be harmonious, d
quality in which the present models are de
flcient, electric lamps generally appearing
us il they had been struck or hung ON US an
afterthought.
ART IN DRsIaNa.
| So far designers Of electric light fittings
are too much the slaves of precedent, de
rived from their experiences with gas,
candles, oil, torches and other relics of the
past, forgetting that the shapes Of the hold
iers of all these lights are determined by
the necessity Of leaving clear space above
them for the escape of hot and foul air,
and also by the condition that they must
be within reach of the taper or match used
for lighting them. Not till they realize
fully their freedom from these two limita-
tions will designers begin to appreciate the
artistic possibilities OF the new illuminate,
and give us original designs of flying fig
ures, birds and carved Cupids, delicate
chain work, family tinted glass and china
powdered with flowers.
Bright center lights foreshorten dis
tances and enhance the feeling of narrow
ness which cleverly arranged lamps, placed
so as to brighten the sides and corners,
should help to dissipate. Modern heavy
brass models of dragons, grifiins and dol
lphins are to be especially recommended as
electric lamp holders, as good and mex
pensive designs are to be bought. but they
should always be fixed with the lights
hanging downward, not crawling up the
wall like poor overladen insects carrying
luminous eggs. Very highly ornsmented
fittings will often have common appear
ance. Grace, simplicity and beauty OF
form aud color should be sought before
everything. Each of the decorative lights
should have a separate switch, to be used
when required. -...
Outside the drawing room door ia a beau
tiful place for n decorative light. The yes
tibnle light need not always be kept burn
ing. 1t should be turned on by the servant
who answers the door, or connected after
dark with the front door bell, so that when
the bell is rung the light would be switch
ed on.
MANY USEFUL ARRANGEMENTS.
An electric cigar lighter should hang
near the front door, which will save the
daily hunt for matches, and consequent ir-
lritation of the master of the house and
his friends. Electricity may also afford
rs protection Mt night, as an ingenious
burglar alarm has been devised by which.
from a controlling switch in the masters
bedroom, the whole passage, hall and
stairs can be illuminated, 80 that when tbs
gentle burglar comes a-burgling' light
may be thrown on his nefarious practices.
We owe to electricity the Punishment of
that faint and sickly odor of paraffine that
haunts our staircases after the daily pro-
cession Of the Humps to the drawing room.
In the sitting room in which we live
there should be two kinds of light, a faint
shaded light to read, talk or think by,
and n brighter light to ''play by" with a
bright light meditation will not be fertile,
and with dim light play will not be Wig
orous.
1t is difficult to decide beforehand ex.
actly where we wish to have the standards
and reading lamps placed. II real luxury
and comfort are desired pair of electric
wires should be placed along the skirting
board around each of the sitting rooms,
and sockets should be fixed upon them Mt
intervals, SO that any standard can be
moved to any part Of the room, and to IA
cilitatc this all the pings and sockets in the
house should be interchangeable.
1t is impossible to overestimate ,he daily
comfort gained by having electric lamps
fixed In all the principal cupboards, linen
and housemaids' closets, wine and coal eel
lars, bathrooms, etc The working cost Of
these is not worth considering, owing to
the short total Of hours that each burns In
the year.
DRAWING ROOM IDEA.
1t is very easy to econornizc when first
the installation is put in, but it is great
mistake TO do so. rs the initial expense is
small in comparison to the daily comfort
of well arranged and well distributed
lights, and eventually economy in the
quantity of electricity used-which, 1t
must be remembered, is paid for by meter
will result, from thus being able to light
the particular corner of the room in which
we wish to sit, instead of illuminating the
whole room from the center or walls on [
every occasion.
In the drawing room, / believe that what
ever the illuminant used, the light OF the
future will be a reflected light. The room
should be flooded with warm, soft rndi-
ance, and we should be unconscious Of the (
source from which it proceeds.
This can only be obtained by the use OF
light, but when it is remembered
that powerful electric lamps can be placed =
within a few inches of the most beautiful |,
y decorated ceilings without risk of injury i
% them, and their direct rays intercepted |
BY silk, or any other seEli-opaqae sub b
stance it will be seen at once what omar. |