GLOOMY ROOMS.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXIX, Issue 91, 7 June 1911, Page 2

GLOOMY ROOMS.

TIMO SCI ENTIFiC CHOICE OK WALL BABER. - i’o ;;i;;k ■ uro’i-: r choice of V.’iilli ;■.![). !'s it is iieeessr, ry ti.» know exaet!iiD\v much light each colour throws 1-aek jiikl ii-ju much it swallows np and destroys. Everyone ha;; some inoro or lass vague notions on the j point. But dusaiisfaction often nr isos when the papm-h:-,ig,j>- h;>:- f ';i_ isiicci, bccaiiac He large s'ir! »eo given entirely rIi!F tmt ell cts J uin those anticipated viioa the clickc was made. Wo choose our papers most often front small patterns, and those are seen in a light of quite different quantity and intensity fioiii the let hi in the room to be decoratei in these days of sanitary enlightenment, when everybody knows that light not only speedily kills the germs of disease, hut .stimulates the nerves end keeps the spirits cheerful, there is little excuse for the choice of a dark paper. But if, for an extremeIv I .-right and sunny room, a dark paper 'is to he chosen, then the precise amount of darkening it will effect should be known. THE BRIGHTEST POSSIBLE PAPER. Xo paper reflects all the light which falls on it, hut the brightest of all papers would be white blotting paper, if that wore allowed on the walls. White blotting paper reflects fourfifths of the light. The remaining fifth it absorbs and renders useless. Ordinary foolscap is less bright, swallowing three-tenths and reflecting only seven-tenths. Taking these its the brightest possible papers' wo can sea how a room may be treated so as to be cheerfully luminous’or as gloomy as a prison. The range'is ‘so great that we can make the* walls; of one room darker than another, although - the same amount of light' enters both. The brightest \y allpaper is the white figured, while white and gold is almost as effective in throwing back the light falling on it. It may he taken as reflecting nearly seven-tenths. Next comes chrome yellow, and this is followed closely by orange paper, reflecting five-tenths of the light. DARK EFFECT OF LIGHT BLUE. Yellow wallpaper and a yellow painted wall give back only four*-tonths of the light; they swallow np more than they reflect; and light pink paper is just a trifle less bright. Light, blue paper is rather deceitful. Contrary to what one would expect, it, absorbs three-fourths of the light thrown upon it, and gives hack to the room only one-fourth (ditenths). Light brown and emerald green paper and a yellow painted wall when it is dirty reflect only two-tenths of the light. Dark brown, vermilion, blue-green, and cobalt blue absorb nearly ninctonths, and reflect only a trifle more than one-tepth of the light. Worst of all is deep chocolate paper, unless we think of using black clotii or black velvet. Chocolate paper reflects only ono-twenty-iifth of the light, black cloth only onc-eighty-fourth, and black velvet l-250th.