If you are building a new home or trying to get more natural light into your home, a roof lantern or skylight may be the ideal solution.
Choosing between a roof lantern and a skylight can be challenging. Both options offer a host of advantages and have the potential to transform your home. However, not all forms of ceiling glazing and rooflights are universally suitable for every house style, and some may not align with your budget constraints, practical requirements or planning limitations.
In this series, we compare skylights and roof lanterns and highlight some of the benefits and downsides of each.
Making the choice
Home builds and improvements are enough to give even the most seasoned interior designer or builder decision fatigue. Having looked at countless swatches or colour patches, compared different wood types or tiles, the question of skylight or roof lantern may be a decision too far. However, your lighting choices will impact everything and will be harder to change down the line than the wall colour, your tiles or even your flooring.
What are skylights?
Skylights, or rooflights, are the most common way of adding natural light to slanted roofs or flat roofs. They are particularly useful with attic conversions and dormer bungalows and the most common brand of skylight is, of course, Velux. You can choose from skylights that provide light only, so can’t be opened, or you can have manual or electric opening skylights, which provide ventilation when required. At the top end of the scale, electric skylights can come complete with weather sensors so that they close when they sense inclement conditions. Frames can come in a range of styles and, thanks to their popularity, it is possible to get fitted blinds in a host of colours.
What are roof lanterns?
Whereas skylights sit flush to a pitched roof, roof lanterns protrude from a flat roof. Roof lanterns can come in a range of styles and shapes which can be as elaborate as Louvre-style pyramids and polygons, or simple cubes and cuboids.
Which is easiest to fit?
The question of whether a skylight or roof lantern is easier to fit will depend on the model that you choose. Fitting a skylight is fairly straightforward and can usually be done by a carpenter, roofer, handyman or builder. Provided you don’t need to cut any rafters, you can also choose to fit a skylight yourself. The ease with which you can install a roof lantern depends on how elaborate your chosen style is, and who you buy it from. Some roof lantern manufacturers sell their lanterns in pre-cut kit form, and claim to be installed in minutes.
Before you choose a lantern or light, check with the person doing the fitting, such as your builder or a local handyman to ensure that the style you want is practical.
If you are undecided on what to choose, follow us on Facebook or X and keep an eye out for next week’s content, when we will look at the pros and cons of each.