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