Design Me a House

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This with That: Residential Lighting with Evelyn Audet: Season 2 Episode 13

Katie Hutchison

Katie and Dawn speak with Evelyn Audet about lighting your home.

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Evelyn (photo courtesy of Evelyn Audet)

Evelyn Audet established her lighting design business, Evelyn Audet Lighting Design in 1995. With her previous experience as an interior designer and a lighting designer for two local showrooms she has been in the lighting and construction industry for over 35 years. Evelyn has unique and creative insights with extensive lighting knowledge. She lights spaces through proper product specification and placement. She specializes in custom residential but has numerous commercial installations and landscape lighting projects, as well, throughout Rhode Island and up and down the eastern seaboard. Evelyn lives in East Providence with her husband, dog and cat.

Katie and Dawn ask Evelyn to share some fundamental lighting terms to get the podcast started. Evelyn has transcribed them below:

  • LAYERS OF LIGHT - using multiple types of light in a space creates layers of light and these techniques are used to design a space with light:

  • GENERAL/AMBIENT LIGHTING - the lighting that is used to generally light a space. We consider this lighting at eye level, fill light and the light that is the base layer in a good lighting design.

  • TASK LIGHTING - this lighting is usually directed at a work surface for whatever the task is in a particular space: cooking, folding, working, reading, needle work, drawing, etc. We should not forget cleaning, packing, make-up, shaving, picking and plucking, etc.

  • ACCENT LIGHTING - the light that accentuates the architectural features of a space, the decorating details, art, sculpture and collectables. This layer of light is what makes a space interesting.

A kitchen demonstrating task and accent lighting, along with decorative fixtures over the island. (photo courtesy of Evelyn Audet Lighting Design)

An example from a KHS project that includes a cable low-voltage lighting system to provide task lighting when there are no overhead cabinets and the ceiling isn’t flat. The large pendant light cropped at the top of the image is providing general lighting and is also a decorative fixture. (photo by Katie Hutchison)

An example of a monorail installed in a cathedral ceiling providing some accent lighting. (Photo courtesy of Evelyn Audet Lighting Design)

  • LUMENS - the measure of the output of a light source; the higher the lumen measurement means the brighter the light will be

  • WATTS - technically watts is the rate of power flow. For the consumer, we think of it as the measure of the amount of electricity used; what we pay the electric company!

  • COLOR TEMPERATURE - Color temperature is a numerical system for measuring color on a warm-to-cool spectrum. The higher the number the cooler the color of the light (more blue), the lower the number, the warmer the light (more yellow). Think of it as opposite of the Fahrenheit scale.

graphic courtesy of Evelyn Audet Lighting Design

  • COLOR RENDERING INDEX - Color Rendering Index (CRI) measures the ability of a light source to accurately reproduce the colors of the object it illuminates. The closer the CRI is to 100, the more accurately the colors will be rendered when lit with the light source. A CRI of 70 is not a good CRI measurement and will disappoint the viewer.

This example from a KHS project includes indirect lighting in the form of the up-light sconces to the left, general lighting via a large pendent over the sitting area, and accent lighting in the built-in book case top shelf. Those are Oliveira Textiles patterns on the window seat (the window shades are a defense against direct sunlight — and its fabulous CRI — fading the textiles.) (photo by Katie Hutchison)

Learn more about Evelyn Audet Lighting Design on her website.