The light fantastic

Say goodbye (eventually) to ugly low-energy light bulbs as award-winning British designers reinvent them with dazzling originality

Plumen 001, £19.95, plumenshop.comLow-energy light bulbs are rarely associated with good design. They might be desirable in terms of their environmental impact but until now have been bulky and unattractive. But now the efforts of British designers Tom Dixon and Samuel Wilkinson have ensured that ecological light bulbs can come out from underneath their lampshades.

Plumen 001, plumen.comWinner of the Brit Insurance Designs of the Year in March, Samuel Wilkinson’s Plumen 001 light bulb combines practicality with modern, appealing design. The bulb was made for design company Hulger and is created from thin glass tubes, bent into elegant sculptural forms that use 80 per cent less energy and last eight times longer than the traditional bulb. A Plumen 001 costs £19.95.

BULB chandelier, from £1,220, tomdixon.netMeanwhile, at the Milan Design Week (11-17 April), Tom Dixon is about to launch its new BULB. Created in reaction to the phasing out of the traditional incandescent bulb and its unattractive low-energy replacements, BULB is an oversized design that can be used on its own or as part of three new Tom Dixon chandelier frames. A single BULB costs £60, chandeliers start from £1,220, and all can be used with most standard light fittings. plumenshop.com, tomdixon.net