The easiest way we have found to reduce the brightness is with similar-color paint.
- Acrylic takes down the brightness 50%
- Enamel takes down the brightness 10-20%.
- A piece of shrink tube on the bulb can cut down side-light. Shrink tube can be applied directly to the bulb since the bulbs never get hot.
Experiment with the amount of paint since you can always remove it and try again.