When deciding to buy a skylight, it is important that you choose the right skylight for the right room. Modern skylights, like the ones offered by VELUX, have many features and accessories that can complement a room better than others. For example, a fixed skylight with shades would pair better in your kitchen rather than your bathroom. Likewise, a tubular skylight would pair better in your bathroom than in your kitchen. Here are some ideal skylight options for each room of your house:

Kitchen: Solar-Powered Venting Skylight

A solar-powered venting skylight, like the VELUX Solar Powered Fresh Air Skylight, is a great option for your kitchen as it can make your crowded kitchen feel bigger with the natural light it brings in and can vent any cooking odors and humidity.

Be sure to include skylight shades to block out the intense glare and heat for the summer months. It is recommended to install light-diffusing shades rather than blackout shades in your kitchen to more evenly distribute the natural light.

A tubular skylight, like the VELUX Sun Tunnel^® Skylight, is also a great option for illuminating a small part of your kitchen such as your sink or cutting board area.

Bathroom: Venting Skylight or Sun Tunnel Skylight

One of the main benefits of a skylight is the fresh air and daylight that it brings while maintaining privacy. With a venting skylight, you can naturally release steam and hot air to prevent moisture and unwanted odors from accumulating while keeping that essential privacy in your bathroom.

Venting skylights can be solar-powered, but they can also be electric or manually operated as well. For a bathroom, we’d recommend solar-powered skylights that can be automated with smartphone compatibility controls like VELUX ACTIVE. If your bathroom skylight can be installed within reach though, a manual venting skylight with a crank handle might be more your speed.

A Sun Tunnel skylight fits the aesthetic of a bathroom too because it is a smaller, less invasive way of bringing in natural light. Think of one right above your sink to illuminate your bathroom without the use of electricity. You can even pair them with a solar-powered Night Light for a soft, moonlike glow automatically when the sun goes down.

Bedroom: Venting Skylight with Blackout Shades

Being able to wake up with the sun and stargaze at night is any homeowners dream for an ideal bedroom. Venting skylights allow you to enjoy the beauty of the sky from your bed without compromising on privacy, and their venting capabilities can help create the ideal indoor climate for sleep. Regular exposure to natural light in the morning – and all throughout the day – can also help regulate your circadian rhythm so you fall asleep more easily and wake up feeling refreshed.

In a bedroom, blackout skylight shades are great for those wanting a deep sleep during the day as they block out 98% of incoming light.

Hallway or Stairway: Sun Tunnel Skylights

Sun Tunnel skylights are easy to install and designed for smaller spaces. They funnel daylight through a reflective tube, bringing natural light to areas that are often dark like hallways and staircases.

Living Room: Large Venting Skylight

You want your living room to be an open and inviting space which is exactly what skylights do for your home. Skylights provide the openness for an inviting space. The influx of natural light they bring in compliments the accents and furniture of any living room.

As opposed to a bathroom or hallway, the living room gives you the option to be playful with the type and location of your skylight – you can even install multiple skylights in one space! You can also add accessories such as skylight shades for the hot summer months.

How to Measure for a Skylight

Skylights are designed to bring in natural light, but with that comes heat and cold. Skylights that are too big can make a room hotter than it needs to be while skylights that are too small can do a poor job of naturally heating your home in the winter months. Here is how to properly measure for a skylight in your home.

Measure the width of the room by its length to get you the total square footage of the room.

If the room has many windows, multiply the square footage of the room by .05 and if the room does not have many windows multiply the square footage by .15. The final number is the approximate square footage your skylight should be.

A certified skylight installer or VELUX Daylight Design Advisor can also help you determine the ideal size and number of skylights to get the most out of your space.