How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 11

Well, folks -- it has been almost a year since the "How to Decorate Like it's 1956" series began. We have just one section remaining, which makes this the final post of the series. The section is titled, "Prescriptions for good lighting," and introduces itself thusly:

"Scientific research has proved that following a few simple prescriptions for the placement of lamps and fixtures will give you better light, protect your eyes from strain.

"As with furniture arrangement, the 'rule' for placing lamps is comfort. The effort of figuring out a few simple measurements before you buy your lamps or place them will pay off in years of relaxation."

According to Better Homes, the exact distance and placement of your task light depends upon the task and type of lamp. And they've made it incredibly easy for us by mapping it all out.

So get out your tape measure, if you feel so inclined. Or just play I Spy, if that better suits you. I spy two mid-century kitties. And you?

If you use a swing-arm or regular floor lamp
"The height to the lower edge of the shade should be between 47 and 49 inches. Measure 15 inches to one side from the center of your reading material, 26 inches straight back to rear. Place the lamp so shade center is above this point."

If you use a table lamp
"Table plus lamp base should total 39 to 42 inches. Measure 20 inches to one side from the center of your reading material. From here, measure 16 inches toward rear of chair. Place the lamp so that center of the shade is just above this point, with base in a direct line with shoulder. Shade should be at least 20 inches deep, 8 1/2 inches at the top, 20 at base."

If you use a wall lamp
"Hang the lamp so that the lower edge of the shade is 48 inches above the floor. Measure 26 inches out from the center of the lamp shade--usually about 7 inches from the wall--then 15 inches to one side at right angle. Now, place your chair by lamp so that the center of your reading material is at this exact point."

If you need sewing light
"For a right-handed person, measure 15 inches to the left from the center of your sewing. From this point, measure at a right angle toward the rear of the chair--12 inches for floor lamps, 6 inches for table lamps. Place the lamp so center of shade is above this point. If the material is a dark color, add a spot or a flood lamp."

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

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How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 10

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

Drama, drama, drama. Better Homes suggests spotlighting your centerpiece to create drama. But—pssst—keep your voices down! Majorly secretive advice about to be divulged here! We suggest making your light fixture the centerpiece. If that isn't dramatic, well then we don't know what is.

Spotlight for drama

"Dramatize your decorating with bright accents of light. This one sets directly into the ceiling, but there are exposed models of a bullet shape which can be painted to match the ceiling.

Consider using pin-up spots, or photographers' clamps with a spotlight bulb. For example, at a dinner party, hide a pin-point spot and focus it on the centerpiece while the rest of the table glows by candlelight. Or use a clamp light shining on an accessory."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

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How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 9

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

Celebrate spring by drawing the shades and parking yourself in front of your flatscreen! Well, perhaps that's not the best way to usher in the beautiful weather. The next time you do find yourself in front of the tube, however, take note of your home entertainment system's lighting conditions. Because, you know, eyes are helpful when looking at things, so the less you tax them, the better.

Balance lighting for television

"Television comfort requires balanced, all-around lighting as shown here. There is light coming from the tube almost ten times as bright as the reflected light on a movie screen, so your eyes need compensating light from other sources--but without a glare.

Good additions to the light from the screen are cove lighting or torcheres reflecting against a light-colored ceiling, or a lamp with a translucent shade. The latter is better for your eyes if it is not placed directly on the set."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

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How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 8

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

Raise your hand if your phonograph is properly lit. Anyone? No? Well that's a shame. How ever else will you listen to music if you can't set the needle correctly? Read on and learn how to fix this very modern-day problem. No? Well, read on anyway.

Built-in light is convenient

"Brighten up your storage shelves with built-in lighting, and add both beauty and convenience. Inside the phonograph you could add a light which turns on when you raise the lid. Or install such a light in the box where you store winter blankets and clothes.

If you're annoyed by a tangle of appliance cords around the night stand, 'build' light into stand so only one cord runs to the wall outlet. Use a 'table tap' like an extension cord with a flattened double outlet."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

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How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 7

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

This week's pearl is dedicated to all of you gamers out there (and we're not talking Xbox-ers), wherever you may be. Yes, even at play, lighting can make or break the experience. Here we're informed that one strong light source is not ideal, "for your eyes glance about." Oh, and I feel obligated to point out: the ladies are winning. How perfectly marvelous!

Light for play and work

"For easier seeing at cards, sewing, and reading, you need at least a 150-watt bulb. But you will need other lights in the room, for your eyes glance about. The stronger one light is, the greater is the danger of too much contrast.

The chandelier pictured is a pulley type that draws down so that beams fall on the cards but never directly on the eyes. Another good lamp for card playing is the swing-arm bridge type, used with a glass reflecting bowl."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 6

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

Aaand we're back in the New Year with another pair of primo, prodigious, possibly pedantic paragraphs. Plus an illuminating illustration, of course. This week we learn the effects of dark- and light-walled rooms, and how they should inform your lighting decisions.

Adjust light brilliance to color

"Shiny and light-toned surfaces throw back the light, while dark surfaces soak it up. If you choose dark walls, plan to use more lamps and bigger, brighter bulbs. Keep the ceiling color light, so light will reflect. Average-size rooms need at least five lamps distributed around them, assuming there are pale walls and ceilings in the rooms.

Some ways to add light to a dark-walled room are by the use of mirrors, translucent shades or groupings of spot-lights, as shown in drawing here."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

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How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 5

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

In keeping with the Thanksgiving holiday spirit, today's post features our favorite illustrated friends gathering around their table. Also on exhibition (besides their enviable place settings) are at least three different light sources. Happy Thanksgiving! 

Supplement lighting

"Balanced lighting isn't necessarily brilliant lighting. Sometimes, supplementary lights can be placed inside a china cabinet or hidden in its top. Torcheres for indirect or reflected light come in both floor and table styles. But whatever sources you choose, try to have an equal balance of light throughout the room.

If you do use supplementary fluorescent lighting, remember that the tubes come in several shades. It's important to select the lamp color first, then choose your wall covering, drapery, and the rug under the same shade of lighting."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 4

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

Wiring is the subject of the day; specifically, the benefits of a well-planned outlet system. Confession: our lovely model below at first looked to us a bit more bird-like than was probably intended. It's more likely she is simply thrilled at her splendid new floor outlet than she is growing a beak in manner of Kafka... right?

Locate outlets for use

"Acquiring adequate wiring is the first step to decorating with light. Figure out all the appliances you want serviced, and all the light fixtures and lamps you will need. Then call in professional help to do the actual wiring job.

Conveniently placed outlets are next in importance. Temporary remedies are devices approved by Underwriters' Laboratories for carrying a cord along a baseboard. Metal strips with outlets at 1-foot intervals can be placed along baseboards or tops of work counters. Install floor outlets for 'island' groupings."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 3

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

The latest installation in our (gripping) series dissects the psychological--and physiological--effects of good lighting. Because upon returning home from a night on the town (as our couple in the rocking illustration presumably are), one does not want to be greeted with poor lighting.

Light Rooms Evenly

"You're happier on a sunny day. And scientists say a cheerfully lighted room gives the same emotional lift. Best for your spirits and your eyes, too, is fairly even lighting throughout a room, with extra lamps at special work areas. It's the spotty, uneven contrast of dark, shadowy corners and glaring illumination that overexercises eyes.

Your eye has a built-in exposure meter and automatic lens control that widens and narrows the lens opening to compensate for less or more light. Cooperate with the control by lighting evenly to avoid eyestrain."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 2

[This is a recurring post dedicated to highlighting snippets of "Chapter 7: Lighting" from Fire Farm's copy of the Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. To see all posts from this series, click here.]

This week's advice extols the virtues of valance lighting, complete with an illustration that is simply the cat's pajamas. Neato canito!

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Round-the-clock lighting

"Adequate lighting is especially important in decorating--you've spent hours in matching colors, so give those colors enough light to enjoy them. At night, let some of the principal lights come from about the same direction as the light did during the day.

Cove or valance illumination retains the luminous daytime look of window fabric and blinds. If you're in an older home, you probably need more circuits for laborsaving machines, so plan for eyesaving lighting, too. Talk it over with an expert--for safety's sake, wiring should be done by a professional."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]

How to Decorate Like it's 1956, part 1

Tucked away in Fire Farm's library is Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book, published in 1956. While the book covers all areas of home decorating, our favorite chapter is (can you guess?) Chapter 7: Lighting.

Because we found it so delightful (and sometimes insightful), we've decided to post excerpts from it periodically here on our blog. This week's nugget of mid-century widsom is found in the chapter introduction: "Balance your lighting so that every part of the room has the same cheerful glow--and arrange contrasts for drama."

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Chapter 7: Lighting

Wake up your home with lighting
"Good lighting is decorating's third dimension. It's easy to plan lighting to make the most of color and furniture arrangement. Here are 26 pages of illustrations, ideas, and suggestions."

See better . . . see beauty
Light for better vision
"The most important concept of good lighting is that it should help you see better. Place lamps, fixtures so that there is no glare to disturb, no dark areas to strain. At every chair should be a lamp that is high enough to cast a glow over reading material held in the lap. Survey your family's hobbies and habits. Plan specific lighting for children's study and play, for card playing, reading in bed, shaving and make-up, work, and sewing.

Enjoy your decorating
You've spent hours in matching colors, in planning arrangements, in making your home more beautiful. Plan your lighting so that you can enjoy this beauty day or night. Balance your lighting so that every part of the room has the same cheerful glow--and arrange contrasts for drama. If your walls are dark, compensate with more and bigger lamps, brighter bulbs. Spotlight important accessories and wall decorations to make the most of them. Select materials under the same lighting by which they will be seen in the home."

[Better Homes and Gardens Decorating Book. Des Moines, IA: Meredith Publishing Company, 1956. Print.]