Looking to upgrade your office overhead lighting? By replacing fluorescent bulbs with LEDs, you're assured 50,000 lifetime hours of light—no need to change a bulb for five years—and you'll save on energy bills in the long run.
As an alternative to harsh—and often flickering—old-school standbys, here are 10 bar-shaped LED pendants, all well suited for (but not limited to) the office:
Above: The Plank Suspension Light by Norwegian Northern Lighting is an LED pendant made of poplar and steel. The lamp hangs from a brown silk wire; $998.72 at Nest.
Above: The 2x4 Pendant Light is made of whitewashed 2x4 pine and suspended from a red cord and a monofilament that makes the pendant appear to be floating. An LED strip is hidden behind a frosted glass lens; $460 from Alex Allen Studio.
Above: The Truncheon Suspended Light by Zoe Coombes and David Boira—the duo behind NY design studio Commonwealth—contrasts cool LED light with a custom-milled wooden enclosure available in maple or black walnut and six different cord colors; $2,750 at Matter.
Above: The Woody Endless pendant by Jason Miller is a modular LED lighting system featuring half‐cylinder sections made of aluminum, acrylic, and wood. The cylinders can be joined back to back or end to end, allowing for linear as well as three‐dimensional installations. The aluminum hardware comes in bronze, black, polished aluminum, and brushed brass finishes. Prices start at $4,800 for three units and $8,000 for five units at The Future Perfect.
Above: Named after the hand-rolled Cuban cigar that it's shaped like, the Cohiba Pendant Lamp by Benjamin Hopf for Formagenda is made of aluminum and leather (available in brown, black, and white); €643 ($844) at Connox. Contact the retailer directly for color availability.
Above: The Large Branch Pendant made by Rich Brilliant Willing features perforated metal sheets placed on top of diffuser lenses. The pendant is available in gold (brass) and natural aluminum finishes with an LED board; $1,525 at Horne.
Above: Designed by TAF for Swedish lighting company Zero, the Poster pendant resembles a cardboard poster tube. It's made of extruded aluminium (available in black, white, and cardboard-colored) with an LED strip that lasts up to 50,000 hours. Contact Zero for purchasing details.
Above: The Pipeline Large is the work of Caine Heintzman, cofounder of Vancouver's AndLight studio. It's made of copper and aluminum, available in three finish combinations, and is suspended from an aircraft cable. Contact AndLight for pricing.
Above: Kiessler of Berlin's Numerouno Pendant Lamp is made of cardboard. Choose between the Basic Version, €89 ($117) which uses a low-energy tube, and the Numeround LED, which comes in blue, red, mint, and gray, and also has a low-energy consumption; €159 ($209) from Kiessler.
Above: The Virga Pendant Lamp is by Cerna, a California industrial design and manufacturing company specializing in LED lighting. Made in the US, it comes in black (shown) or brushed aluminum; $490 at Horne.
Upgrading your work space? Have a look at our Office Posts for more ideas. And for inspiration, browse the 567 photos of Well-Designed Offices in our Photo Gallery. Did you know that plants enhance productivity? See Gardenista 10 Tips for Office Plants from The Sill.
N.B.: This post is an update; the original story ran on May 13, 2014 as part of our Working It issue.
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