No_2_April_and_May__1939 — Page 15

Hong Kong Builder

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(Left) A splendid example of modern bedroom lighting with special attention paid to bed lighting.

(Below) The interior of a built- in wardrobe efficiently lighted by

a

60-watt lamp automatically switched by the opening and closing of the door.

glass panel type are very attractive and the task of clean- ing them has now been reduced to a minimum by making each panel removable from the metal frame. Another point in their favour is that in most instances the glass panels can be tinted with a colour which will tone in with the general scheme of the room. In addition to fittings employing glass, there are many parchment and non- inflammable shades of synthetic material on the market. In a way, these latter are more suitable for bedrooms as they are not as severe in line as the glass fittings and give a greater feeling of comfort. Wall Brackets

Wall brackets can be made the entire means of light- ing a bedroom as they adapt themselves when switched separately to each of the various requirements. The mistake of using lamps of too low a wattage should be avoided in this case, otherwise a multitude of inadequate fittings will lead to bad seeing conditions in every part of the room.

The Dressing Table

To avoid annoying shadows across the face, the dressing table should always be provided with separate lighting. It is in fact absolutely essential if the mirror is effectively to fulfil its purpose. There are various methods of doing this; one is by two small fittings, one on each side of the mirror; secondly, a luminous band around the mirror, and, thirdly, by means of an architectural lamp above or on each side of the mirror and in some cases where the mirror is curved it may be outlined with one or two architectural lamps. The most convenient method of wiring is to have a long lead to a wall plug so that the furniture can be moved without any difficulty should rearrangement of the room be desired. The wat- tage for mirror lighting can be varied from 40-100 watts. Bed

Bedhead lighting offers unlimited scope for ingenuity. It may be built-in as a canopy above the bed, or, alterna- tively, provided by a special fitting which can be attached to the bedhead or the wall, or use can be made of an ordinary table standard at the side of the bed. In every case there should be two-way switching from the bed and from the door so that both the general lighting and the bedhead lighting can be operated from either position.

Wardrobe

Where the wardrobe takes the form of a cupboard in the wall or a separate piece of furniture, a 40 or 60-watt lamp installed inside enable one to find im- mediately the particular article required. Convenient switches which enable light to be controlled by the opening and closing of the door are especially applicable here. It is worth remembering that a 40-watt lamp will burn 25 hours for the cost of one unit of electricity, and there- fore lighting of this type from the point of view of cost is vastly outweighed on the side of convenience.

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