I would love to see a REVERSE crown bulb -- with the bottom silvered.

Let me explain myself: I can't count the number of times I've been laying in bed reading, only to blind myself by accidentally looking in the direction of the bedside lamp. And since virtually every shade only shades the sides and not the bottom of the bulb... well, I'm just surprised no one else who reads or does crossword puzzles or SITS DOWN has come up with such a thing sooner.

The lampshade should still diffuse the light enough that you could read near it, but there wouldn't be that blinding, night-vision-killing hotspot anymore.

I should start writing out my patent application right now!

Brian W,

I couldn't agree more! Very often lampshades are not nearly long enough to block the light bulb when sitting on a standard couch/chair.

i used a crown bulb as a solution for the problem of having too much light in my entry way/hall. the door to my all-white (no painting landlord) opens into the hallway that contains two closets and my bathroom. the ceilings are 10ft and have very old fixtures with decorative bases but no option for a globe, shade etc. i used the crown bulb to control the shock of the white walls in an outlet-less hallway.

thanks for the tip that made it all the way to ann arbor, mi!

Here is an entire lighting line almost based on this bulb: www.avramrusu.com

Very modern, and it's modular too. Love the flexibility.

where do you find these bulbs? a quick search only shows UK firms sellng them.

I found a version of crown bulbs, they are often called chrome bulbs in the US.

http://www.shop.com/op/~25_Watt_Half_Chrome_120_Volt_(G_16_1_2)_25_Pack_of_Lightbulbs_712312-prod-37019392-49471662?sourceid=298

I think they are also called Silver Bowl Bulbs and I found them here:

http://www.1000bulbs.com/search.php?search_data=silver bowl&cat=

I would like to use them for a pendant that is shallow and hanging overhead in the office with too much glare. My hope is for it to diffuse the light more.

They sell them at Arties on 14th Street (btwn 6th & 7th).

Here's a nice pic in NYMag of a round amber dipped bulb~

'The Cooler Metallic' :

http://nymag.com/shopping/bestbets/30305/

the article states you can get the silver-dipped variety ($5.95 to $11 at Just Bulbs, 5 E. 16th St., nr. Fifth Ave.; 212-228-7820).

I am getting a "no longer available at shop.com and I can find no web page for "Just Bulbs". so I am off to check on 1000bulbs!

But for you lucky ones living in NY~ (according to NYMag) the E.U. on East 4th Street and Blue Ribbon Downing Street Bar in the West Village are using the amber-dipped bulbs~ so check em out!

The Crown Bulb immediately brought this to mind:

http://www.100watt.net/cgi-bin/lighting/specifications?mv_session_id=SbZuFCae&manufacturer=Resolute&fixture_type=Ceiling&fixture_name=Ben%20Ceiling

something I've been looking at for a while ..

Thanks for the sources for these bulbs! I have a 1960s-era white metal mushroom-shaped lamp that had one of these on top when I bought it. After it burned out (about 25 years ago), I was unable to find the same kind of bulb and have been using a plain ol' bulb on top. Now I can crown it with the bulb intended for it!

someone should make a compact florescent version of this.

what is this thing you call "too much light"?

I believe I still see these at any decent hardware store, such as Home Depot, even recently and never knew they were ever not manufactured. Virtually all of them are clear with the silver cap and as has already been said, I've seen them used with the basic ceramic socket for a stylish, yet cheap way to add light to a room.

also, they were used often in old metal concentric ring pendant fixtures, often found in churches, libraries and schools to keep from blinding people while yet providing light.

A bulb I'd like to see come back are the extra large globes, I mean over 12" or so in size, great for similar ceramic socket applications, it was, btw, I think a very 70's thing. The smaller globes are still available, the biggest is what, 6" and come in soft white or clear. I once used a larger sized soft white one in an old ceiling fixture in my old studio years ago to provide light in there and yet be stylish. Was great.

I use these in my bathroom lighting, but I only have the last 3 left. IKEA Canada used to carry them but they stopped and I cannot find them anywhere else anymore :(

I made the mistake of putting them in recessed fixtures, where they prompted radiated all their heat back up into the fixtures and melted them. Probably most people have more sense in their heads than me, but just a warning anyhow.

Essential for overhead lighting...I just replaced one and they have them at that lighting store on East 16th. I think it was about $5.

Wait, aren't these incandescent light bulbs? This is still Apartment Therapy I'm reading, right? Where are the fluorescents?

Jeez you people! Out here in Los Angeles, Brian Murphy has been using these bulbs in his interior design since the 1980's.

I agree with Vagary. They're cute, but still look blinding, and I'm not about to jack my electric costs up for a dressed-up light bulb.

Brian W, if you don't really go ahead and do something about your idea, then I don't know what. It's a true Eureka! proposition.

Somewhat along the same vein, we have Moooi's "fun rabbit lamp," a masterwork that could be a prize with the Darwin Awards, if the winners were around to collect prizes. With a Brian Bulb, a rabbit lamp owner could peer up under the shade to observe the ears. . . .

http://www.style-files.com/2007/10/15/rabbit-lamp-by-moooi/

Couldn't you spray paint a CFL with heat-resistant silver paint?

You can get them at Grainger. You need an account. They're expensive, but have a white, instead of a metallic bottom.

We used them with the Ottavia fixture from Luce Plan, but to get more light we switched to Phillips 100 w bulbs.

The Phillips bulbs are called Marathon.

sorry, brian--looks like someone's already created the reverse silver bulb:

http://www.lightbulbdepot.com/product.asp?prod=00476D