Bare Bulb Pendant Lights: The Bare Necessities

They used to be mainly seen in hip restaurants and urban loft designs: bare light bulbs, rid of their lamp shades and shown in all their bare glory. But even though lamp shades are still popular, the average home owner seems to have learned to love the basic concept of exposed bulb pendant lights. Luckily, many designers have also picked up on the trend and have created many variations that will convince any sceptic about the worthiness of bare light bulbs in home interiors. Let us show you some of the bare necessities: bulb ideas that inspire and awe with their simplicity.

The Base: An exposed bulb pendant light is all about basics. Some designers have enhanced this concept by using specific materials for bare bulb light fixtures that have a very elemental feeling to them. For example, Nordic Tales have designed a smooth wooden pendant light that has an authentic, sleek look that goes well with vintage or classic interiors. Other materials include rough wood, concrete and wool. Using any of these materials will make your bare light bulbs just that bit more interesting.

The Cord: The cord of a light bulb has been a part of pendant design that has long been ignored. With exposed bulb pendant lights, this has switched around. As part of the basic design, they can play a very important part. A brightly coloured cord for example can help emphasize colour accents in an interior, or liven up an otherwise dull corner of the room. Another idea we love is threading beads onto the cord, creating a wonderfully playful effect. You can choose any colour, pattern or material you like, making it easy to adjust it to your current design. And finally, encasing the cord within a different material is also a great way of enlivening your bare bulb light fixtures. Whether it's manilla rope or knitted wool, it's guaranteed to make your simple cord into an interesting design feature.

The Bulb: Light bulbs have also taken on a wide variety of interesting designs, making it worthy of  exposing itself without the need for a lamp shade. We've already featured some wonderful Edison style filament bulbs, which don't really need an explanation as to why they should be fully visible. An equally interesting, but perhaps less known bulb is the crystal bulb, which creates beautiful reflections by means of small crystals placed in the bulb itself. Another bulb worth mentioning is the plumen bulb, which is the world's first designer energy saving light bulb. With its interesting shape, it looks different from every angle and is therefore best used as an exposed bulb pendant light.

Formations: Perhaps the best thing about bare light bulbs is that they can be hung up in many different ways, as they don't have a lamp shade that impairs experimental formations. A much beloved organisation of bulbs is bundling them all up into a clutter. This creates a strong source of light but also gives a sense of informal style. The same goes for the cords, by the way. If you have multiple exposed bulb pendant lights you can drape, knot and bundle their cords any way you like to create a playful, charming effect. Other formations are line-ups or circles, leaving you the choice of hanging the bulbs at the same or at different heights.

Are you a fan of bare light bulbs? Let us know in the comments how you've done your bare bulb light fixtures!

(image 1 via Yellowtrace , image 2 via Bright Sprout, Image 3 via Remodelista, image 4 via 33bridges, image 5 via designloversblog)