SUNSHINE IN THE HOME.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21101, 8 February 1932, Page 3

SUNSHINE IN THE HOME.

WALLPAPERS AND COLOUR. IMPORTANCE OF LIGHTING. It is an odd fact when spring heralds many months of perfect daylight, we rash to repaper our walls and whitewash our ceilings and generally make the home light and attractive—and then proceed to spend as many hours as possible out of doors. Yet it is with the approach of winter, when one-third of the day has to be spent under artificial light, that the home should have our most careful attention, states a London writer. Bright, cheerful rooms in which it is a real pleasure to spend your evenings are a sound investment in the dark months—and they are so easy and inexpensive to have! Distemper is cheap and simple for an enterprising housewife to use, and good lighting costs even less than before the war. Elaborate fittings have been ousted by simple, well-designed styles that are at once decorative and notably inexpensive. A real transformation in comfort can be brought about in a dull room if you remember that the proportions of light reflected by walls, ceilings, and furnishings have a very important bearing on both the natural and artificial lighting—and so on the general cheerfulness of the house and of the whole familv. The wise woman will rid herself at* once of anything in the way of dark wallpapers, (jarpets anc ] furnishings. They absorb the light to such an extent that it" a room is not to appear gloomy it must be lit in a way that in these days of economy is really extravagant. First choice of wall colours, whether of paper or distemper, should be made from the following pleasant- hues against which are set the percentage of light they reflect:—lvory white, 77; pearl grey, 73; ivory, 75; primrose, 70; satin green, 63; buff. 60: shell pink, 51. Definitely bad colours, to bs avoided because they are poor reflectors of light, are, with the much lower percentage of light they reflect: —Medium and dark preys, 42-20; bright sage, 38: sky blue, 36; tan, 28; olive green, 21; cardinal red. 16; brown, 16. With colours of the latter type, whether plain or predominating on walls or in the design of carpets, curtains, or coverings, satisfactory lighting of a room will be obtained only with double or treble the candlepower—and hence expense—necessary with the first group of colours. If you choose walls of primrose or daffodil and a white ceiling (which reflects 84 per cent, of light and is the main reflector for ajl artificial lighting) sunshine in your home this winter will be more than half achieved, provided, of course, you do not cover up the walls with massive furniture. Once the walls are right, many striking effects can be achieved with gas and electric lighting if yon get rid of the oldfashioned notion that a single pendant in the middle of the room or two wall lights are adequate illumination. In these days they are not. It is actually cheaper and more satisfactory in the long run, especially if you have electric light, to instal lamps at several points and use only those which suit your convenience at the moment. A careful blending of lighting and economical light.-reflecting colour schemes will, for very little outlay, reduce your lighting bill, give you more comfort at nizhts, and create jolly, fresh-looking sun-shine-in winter rooms which you will be proud to ask any guest to enter.