From visually expanding cramped spaces to brightening dark rooms, rooflights allow natural light to pour in throughout the day – much more than traditional windows. There are plenty of rooflight and skylight options in regard to style, function, budget, and personal preference. From varied, quality rooflight ranges to bespoke skylight creations, it’s easy to find the perfect rooflight for your home.
Below, our experts will guide you through picking the right rooflight for your home. We consider the pitch of your roof, the location of the room, desired aesthetics, and bespoke features to customise your rooflight exactly as you would like.
The size of your skylight is an important consideration to make. Not only will it affect the budget of your project, but it will also dictate the amount of natural light in your home. If you are planning on an extension rooflight, you may want to consider large areas of glazing to counteract any dark spaces.
If your desired room already receives a fair amount of sun, either from its south-facing orientation or from a good amount of traditional windows, you may want a smaller-sized rooflight.
A large section of glazed roofing in sunnier spaces could lead to overheating, even with solar glass. Personal preferences and the style of your property are also important factors to consider. Period buildings and homes in conservation areas usually require smaller rooflights while new modern builds often opt for sleek expanses of glazing.
Your chosen rooflight should match the building’s existing architecture as well as your own preferred aesthetic. You may want to choose a rooflight that integrates seamlessly with your space, such as our Neo® Rooflight range. The Neo® Rooflight has a frameless and elegant style, designed to blend effortlessly into your roof. This type of rooflight often suits modern builds and provides a completely unobtrusive enhancement, with clean lines to flood in as much light as possible.
Other rooflight styles will instead add a unique character to your home and stand out as a distinctive feature piece. From pyramid rooflights to roof lanterns, these charming skylights provide a notable architectural detail to your home and can be appreciated from the outside as well as indoors. Our roof lantern and pyramid rooflight ranges can suit either a traditional Victorian home or provide a classical to a contemporary building.
Depending on the location of your home, and if there are any building regulations you must adhere to, a bespoke rooflight can be made to any size, style, and shape you would like.
If you live in a conservation area or are working on a listed property, you should carefully consider any building regulations set by conservation officers or English Heritage and National Trust requirements.
Our Conservation Rooflight range guarantees that the character of your original building is protected and preserved and that your rooflight will not interfere with the aesthetic of the building’s exterior or surrounding area. Conservation rooflights can be fitted into either flat or traditionally pitched heritage roofs and can suit a number of styles.
Rooflights and skylights can be added to almost any type of building, but it is important to take into account your roofline as not every skylight will be compatible with your roof. Skylights are often divided into two types determined by the slope of your roof, pitched and flat.
Pitched rooflights are good options for spaces such as lofts or sloped extensions. They are a great way to brighten up these rooms and add a touch of luxury. Remember to consider the positioning of a skylight for a pitched roof. They may be angled in a way so that your neighbours can see in. If that’s the case, consider adding obscured or privacy glazing.
If privacy is of major concern in your home, rooflights for flat roofs are an immediate fix for adding dimension, defined zones, and natural light while maintaining complete privacy. If your flat roof contains a terrace or an accessible flat roof area, the Neo Advance Skywalk® provides a stunning and completely safe walk-on feature.
The most cost-effective rooflight available is a fixed flat rooflight. These are non-opening, fixed shut to your roof, and also tend to be the lowest maintenance option. Non-opening rooflights are often less expensive since they don’t any of the costly electric mechanisms of an automatic opening rooflight.
Opening rooflights are an incredibly valuable feature in rooms such as kitchens and bathrooms, where the extra ventilation can make all of the difference. If you’re working with a tight budget but would still like an opening rooflight, manually opening rooflights may be the perfect compromise. These are generally less expensive than electric opening rooflight and can be opened even when out of reach with a pole winder.
If you require something truly unique for your home, our passionate team of designers and rooflight professionals can craft the perfect bespoke solution. With bespoke rooflights, you are able to completely customise the shape, size, features, and glazing.
Some specialised bespoke options include:
Below, our rooflight experts weigh in on their favourite rooflight solutions for each room of the house:
The Rooflight Co says:
“We would suggest the Neo Advance flat frameless rooflight for your kitchen skylight. It is a perfect addition for a single-story flat roof rear extension that includes a kitchen. We would recommend a motorised opening to allow for ventilation for any moisture and heat generated when cooking.”
The Rooflight Co says:
“We would recommend the Conservation Rooflight with a winder. This will allow variable levels of ventilation depending on the level of moisture within the bathroom.”
See the Conservation Rooflight in action in our case study of this beautiful period property, Double Red Duke.
The Rooflight Co says:
“We would recommend the neo pitched rooflight for a perfect bedroom skylight. With the motorised opening feature and remote control, you can adjust the positioning of the rooflight from your bed! The neo advance pitched rooflight allows warm, humid air to escape at night for a more comfortable night’s sleep. Look up at the starry night sky or watch the sunrise from bed with a pitched rooflight, and make use of blackout blinds to keep the bright morning sunlight out in the summer months.”
The Rooflight Co says:
“We would recommend the Conservation Rooflight – a product that is suitable for pitches up to 65° and allows the greatest flexibility for loft conversions. Versatile product that can be used whatever the purpose of the loft room, whether bedroom, study or games room. Offers various winder options that are perfect for creating ventilation.”
Learn more in our case study from a stunning rooflight project completed at a residential property, Cavendish House.
The Rooflight Co says:
“Our modern pitched rooflights create a feature window ideal for stairs and hallways. The motorised opening is perfect for out-of-reach locations, along with a temperature and rain sensor to give flexibility whatever the weather. The neo frameless pitched rooflights also feature a self-cleaning coating as standard to help keep the rooflight clean.”
The Rooflight Co says:
“We would recommend a Pyramid rooflight or a Lantern rooflight. These statement flat rooflights offer a feel of an orangery, lightening a room and offering more height with a touch of modernity, avoiding the look and feel of a conservatory.”
If you’re unsure of the best route to take, don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team. Explore our entire collection of rooflights and skylights.
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