In 2011, Plumen created a CFL light bulb that was both daring in design and easy on the energy bill. The Plumen 001 is a large inter-looping florescent piece that managed to be both an aesthetically pleasing MOMA addition and a boundary-breaker that got attention from the general public for the ostentatious design and it’s ability to “shock and cause a stir.” It’s pretty cool looking.

However, the thing is brighter than an SUV behind a coupe at night. Almost offensively blinding. There’s a time and a place for that, and it’s not in the living room or a bedside table. For the moment, old school incandescent bulbs reign supreme in the mood-lighting category, and that’s the problem all new-tech bulbs face. Sure, their energy efficient, but you can’t seem to live with the things.

Plumen has attempted to solve that issue with their Plumen 002, a bulb that offers softer light in a shape more familiar to buyers. Granted, it has a hole in the middle, but that somehow makes it cooler. The bulb is made of blown glass and diffuses light in a similar way to older bulbs, so you don’t need an extra dimmer or the like, you just screw it in and go. It goes a long way towards filling the gap between energy-efficient and aesthetically pleasing.

What Sparks Our Fire: An energy efficient, but not super odd-looking lightbulb.

Would you replace your old standard bulbs with one of these if they became commercially available?