As we look for new ways to elevate our quality of living and make the best of our homes, skylights and roof lanterns continue to grow in popularity.

Here we’ll run through the top benefits, and why a simple lighting enhancement can make a massive difference to your home!

Roof Lanterns vs Skylights

First up, let’s clarify what we mean when we talk about roof lanterns and skylights – since you might come across a lot of different terminologies that, essentially, mean the same thing.

– Roof lanterns sit on top of the construction of your roof, installed horizontally with a bespoke finish according to your design aesthetic.

– Skylights are windows installed in the roof of your property, set flush into the construction.

Both options allow your home to be flooded with natural light, with the primary difference being that a skylight is fitted in line with the roof. In contrast, a roof lantern sits above the roofline, increasing the design options and light capture.

Other options and descriptions include:

• Sun tubes (also referred to as light tubes, solar tubes and tubular daylighting devices) – these fit into recessed light fixtures, and provide a route for sunlight to reach darker areas of your property.
• Glass block windows – both a decorative statement and a way to improve lighting, a block window is built into an interior or exterior wall, with any combination of colours to create a dramatic impact.
• Roof lights or ceiling windows – refer to skylights.
• Lantern windows – like a roof lantern, but installed on any aspect of your home.

Now we’ve cleared that up, let’s consider why they are so popular, and why ceiling windows might be the fastest and most cost-effective way to revamp your living space!

Benefits of Overhead Natural Light

Daylight is essential; it improves our sense of well-being, helps us cope with those short winter days, and provides a warm, pleasant ambience to make our homes feel more welcoming.

Some of the powerful benefits available from installing overhead glazing include:

1. Natural Light: Dramatically increase natural light, ideal for enclosed spaces, smaller homes, or darker areas of your property.
2. Low-Maintenance: Improve the brightness and energy of your house without power costs or maintenance.
3. Improve Space: Add height to lower ceilings, making cramped rooms feel more spacious and airy.
4. Design Versatility: Creates a design statement, with no end of glass colourways, design structures, materials or innovative constructions that add value and style to your property.
5. Fast & Efficient: Provides a watertight, quick installation for the feel of a significant renovation in a fraction of the time.
6. Transformative: Transforms a bland, dull or dark space into an inviting and attractive area – thereby increasing the uses and functionality of rooms.
7. Flexible Finishes: Offer flexibility in terms of size, shape, structure and finish.
8. Energy Conscious: Are energy-efficient, both retaining warmth in winter and filtering heat in the summer, with toughened glass strong enough to withstand the wildest elements.

Roof Lighting Design Options and Ideas

Flexibility is one of the key things we love about overhead glass. While functional, self-cleaning glazing is at the height of innovative building materials, there are multiple ways to make your skylights stand apart as a unique room feature.

Some of our favourite design statements include:

• Slim, modern profile roof lanterns creating volume and height with minimalistic styling.
• Adding electric opening functions, for the ultimate feeling of bringing the outside indoors.
• Using lighting and spotlights to create drama, with coloured glass being a fantastic way to draw together your room colourways and design.
• Making your roof light the centrepiece for your space, and using symmetry around it to elevate the sense of balance.
• Creating a sizeable contemporary roof lantern to cover the width of a room, with a geometric pyramid construction for a modern feel.

One of the top questions we get asked about overhead glazing concerns types of roofs – and whether you can choose any window or light feature, and what restrictions there are around how original you can make your design. We are delighted to confirm that these flexible options work in almost any scenario – and we are always on hand to take a look at your roofing and recommend the best solutions for your property!

Skylight design options:

• Can be fitted into either flat or pitched roofs.
• Are available as non-opening flat lights, or as an opening roof window.
• Can be hung on a centre pivot, or be top-hung.

Roof lantern design options:

• Typically fitted to a flat roof, or as an elevated feature above a ceiling.
• Usually in a pyramid shape, although the design can be tailored.
• Most often non-opening, with optional ventilation.

Practical Applications for Roof Lanterns

Roof lights work in any room, space or hallway, and are ideal in tall rooms to add interest and draw the eye upwards. They also work perfectly in dark, gloomy areas providing an instant injection of brightness!

Some of the most popular locations for roof features included in Pinnacle Works building projects include:

Extensions and Conversions

Construction projects are an ideal time to add style, flair and energy to your home, with a seamless skylight installation slotting in perfectly around other renovation works. Flat roof extensions are ideally suited to a modern roof lantern, spanning across kitchen extensions, living room conversions and home offices and playroom areas.

Kitchens and Bathrooms

Bathroom lighting is typically quite dim, with textured glass to aid privacy yet blocking out daylight. A skylight is an ideal addition, bringing freshness and light to a dull space, without opening any views into your bathroom, and helping to reduce moisture and condensation build-up.

Overhead lighting is also an excellent way to amplify visibility in kitchens, making cooking and entertaining comfortable and better ventilated.

Attic & Loft Renovations

Most attic renovations find a dark, dusty area that needs a jolt of professional renovation to bring them into use as a functional, and enjoyable room. A skylight is ideally suited to increasing overhead space, providing emergency escape points, and adding fresh air and ventilation to make your loft add value to your home.

We hope this has helped to explain the types of roof light available, and how they can transform your living spaces into bright, airy, and beautiful rooms!

For more information about the best-suited skylights for your property, design inspiration to help with crafting your own bespoke roof lantern design, or to uncover the possibilities yet to discover throughout your home renovation projects, give the Pinnacle Works team a call, or drop us an enquiry!