Shira Kantor, Contributing Writer

That plush burgundy sofa looked so luxurious in the store -- but in your home, it looks dull.

Perhaps it's time to re-evaluate your home lighting techniques.

The familiar yellowish-hued incandescent bulb has typically dominated home lighting, along with the truer to natural light, but harder to handle halogen bulbs.

Now, with the introduction and increased availability of some new types of bulbs, designers and lighting consultants say that scenario is poised to change.

Susan Livingston, a consultant with Cartier Lighting in Minneapolis said people are becoming much more conscious not only of how much, but also of the type of light they use in their homes.

"There is a new appreciation for fluorescents," Livingston said.

Updated fluorescent lights are made with electronic ballasts, as opposed to flashy magnetic ballasts, Livingston said, so they don't flicker or make noise. And the whiter light fluorescents provide "lifts colors" and looks more natural.

The New Bulbs

The standard amber-toned incandescent is somewhat arcane, as far as bulbs go. Xelogen bulbs -- a combination of xenon and halogen -- are growing in popularity for their efficiency and their more accurate lighting.

Halogen lights usually last a couple thousand hours, crushing the incandescent, which only lasts a few hundred. Xelogen bulbs, however, last up to 10 times the halogen, and unlike halogen bulbs, can be touched with bare hands without affecting the bulb's performance or lifetime.

"Xelogen gives you the crispness of halogen, and it doesn't degrade as rapidly as incandescent," Livingston said.

Neodymium bulbs, too, create a closer to sunlight effect, by filtering out red- or amber-toned light.

Incandescent bulbs enhanced with the earth element neodymium, adding a lavender tone, last almost twice as long as a regular incandescent light bulb. But the neodymiums also produce less light per watt, and cost about two to three times as much as a standard incandescent bulb.

Because the light bulb filters out reds and yellows, colors appear sharper under neodymium light. It even increases the contrast between print and paper, so reading is made easier.

Light-emitting diodes, or LEDs, are also beginning to surface in home lighting. They're the lights commonly used in exit signs, and because of their low voltage, longer life span, and color-control option, LEDs are gaining popularity -- albeit slowly.

"It's been in the works for quite a while," said Kim Kuerbs, a representative at Citilights in Minneapolis, Minn. "But it's just starting to catch on."

LEDs light up in "pretty much the whole spectrum," Kuerbs said, and all within one bulb.

They last about 10 times the length of a regular incandescent bulb.

Mixing Light Sources

Blending different types of lights is a growing in popularity.

"Contemporary lighting is picking up quite a bit," Livingston said. And it's showing up with older fixtures, like European colored glass.

"High-tech lighting blended with dark colored lights or colored glass is in," Livingston said. "Blending old things and new things."

Another trend in home lighting is to mix several light sources within a room. Sconces -- single lamps often found on the wall or floor -- are being matched with recessed fluorescent lights hidden in the ceiling.

"Layers of lighting are popular," Livingston said. "People will have some low key lights and also a real high-pump type of light."

Indirect and direct layered lighting also helps bring about a more natural sunlight effect.

"Typically, in winter, you want to have several sources of light," Livingston said.

And because of the warmer feeling amber-toned lights give, both Livingston and Kuerbs agree that incandescent bulbs -- though "old" -- are welcome during winter.

"It's good for when you want to cuddle up," Livingston said.

Show Your True Colors

The overall message, though, is that right now, colors reign.

Whether it's the fun and funky color that LEDs and even fiber optic lights -- although far less common residentially -- can bring to a home, or the accentuation of "real color" with neodymium or fluorescent bulbs, color is at the forefront of current lighting trends.