Home automation requires a lot of stuff. There's just no way around it. You need all sorts of little doodads, such a controllers, remotes, modules, and so on. Smarthome has just introduced a new product that, in a way, reduces the amount of HA-related clutter. It's a lightbulb with a built-in control module. Just replace your current bulbs and you can control this one using INSTEON. It's an LED, and has a two year warranty, so it's not a bad deal overall. Read about it here.
It only started shipping today, so I haven't tried it, but do keep in mind that you'll still have to leave a lamp switched on in order to control the light. If the switch is off, there will be no talking to the smart bulb.