10 Innovative Kitchen Expansions Featuring Skylights, Where These Sun-Brightening Panes become the Most Captivating Feature
Revised Article:
Kitchen skylights - they're more than just an aesthetic add-on, they can revolutionize your kitchen extension by adding natural light and a dash of style. Here's a lowdown on how to make the most of those overhead windows.
Who doesn't want a brighter, more inviting kitchen, right? But when it comes to terraced houses, relying only on light from the front or rear can leave your space dull. That's where skylights come into play, shining their spotlight on the matter.
Ester Corti, co-founder and director at London's Mitchell + Corti Architects, points out, "skylights are often the only option to improve levels of natural lighting in narrower homes, like terraced houses." And you can breathe a sigh of relief - thanks to advanced building technology, the days of leaky skylights are long gone!
So, beyond the functional aspect, skylights can become a design feature that elevates your kitchen extension's style game. Here are 10 projects showcasing creative kitchen extensions with skylights that'll leave you convinced they're a smart investment.
1. Embrace Bold Colors with Your Skylight
Bring a sunny vibe to your kitchen with a colorful skylight! Simon Graham, founder of YARD Architects, paints this yellow paradise in a Georgian townhouse renovation, dubbed 'Vivid House.' With a skylight bathed in bright yellow, even on gloomy days, the space is infused with a warm, radiating glow.
2. Blend Lighting and Skylights
Some might think having a kitchen extension with skylights limits lighting options, but for Kitty Lee, architect, it presented an opportunity for some magical design. Incorporating task lighting in an overhead skylight design required bespoke collaboration with Aussie lighting brand LAAL, but the end result is a heavenly feature that balances natural light with practical task lighting.
3. Stretch it Out with L-Shape Glazing
Andrew Griffiths, founder of A New Day Studio, loves marrying glazing and skylights to create that coveted indoor-outdoor sensation in a smaller scale. This design extends to the side return, bathing the kitchen sink and countertop in daylight, transforming your washing-up routine into a happy, sunny experience.
4. Wrap it Around with a Skylight
Tackling the challenge of large footprints, Iguana Architects went big on roof glazing in this modern extension, using a traditional skylight over the dining area and an L-shaped rooflight around the second story of a double-story extension to banish shadows from every nook.
5. Zoom in on the Essentials with the Skylight
Ahmed Shawky, Design Director of Nash Baker, strategically placed a skylight over the dining table in this kitchen extension, flooding the seating area with natural light andframing a stunning view – almost like a living work of art, ever-changing with the time of day and seasons!
6. Balancing Beauty and Function with Beams
Architect Adam Draper of Draper Studio Bengtwised tradition by keeping beams across an extension skylight in a design that diffuses light and creates privacy with oblique views.
7. Go Custom with the Shape
The key to character and style in your kitchen extension? Custom glazing! YARD Architects introduced a round porthole window in this kitchen extension to funnel light into the space, providing a flexible, focal point suited to the adaptable layout of the room.
8. Integrate into a Statement Ceiling
Instead of viewing skylights as a roadblock in your design, make them a part of your unique vision – like in this ROAR Architects extension, where the grid design of the ceiling was incorporated into the skylight design!
9. Create a Light Well
To maximize natural light in an open plan space, consider combining architectural design with a skylight, as Colleen Healey, architect of C. Healey Architecture, did in this DC home. By using principles of daylighting to improve the space, she created a double-height light well that illuminates the kitchen and benefits upstairs spaces too!
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Does a Roof Window Cost in 2025?
Skylights have become more affordable, with off-the-shelf solutions incorporating built-in blinds, electrical openings, rain sensors, and other features. Standard-sized windows typically cost less than custom, manually operated windows. Energy-efficient glazing can help reduce long-term heating and cooling costs. Velux's Single Classic Roof Window starts around £536.40, while bespoke glazing can start from £850 per square meter for flat roof lights, £1,200 per square meter for lanterns, and £1,500 per square meter for structural glass rooms (excluding installation and VAT.)
Suitable for Terraced Houses
- Rooflights and Skylights: Incorporating rooflights or skylights in terraced houses can create a sense of continuity with the outdoors, aiding natural light and airflow[3][4].
- Design Harmonization: Skylights can be customized to complement the existing architectural style of a house[5].
- Tailored Solutions: Skylights come in various sizes, allowing homeowners to choose the perfect fit for their specific kitchen extension needs and aesthetic preferences.
Skylights are no longer just a nice-to-have - they can transform your kitchen extension into a bright, airy, and functional space, enhancing the design and livability of terraced houses. Embrace the sunlight!
- The creative use of bold colors in skylights, as demonstrated by Simon Graham of YARD Architects in the 'Vibrant House' project, can bring a lively and inviting atmosphere to an interior design.
- Incorporating task lighting designs into skylights, as done by Kitty Lee, architect, and LAAL lighting brand, creates a harmonious blend of natural and practical lighting in a kitchen extension.
- To achieve an indoor-outdoor feeling in a smaller scale, Andrew Griffiths of A New Day Studio uses L-shape glazing and skylights, brightening up spaces like kitchen sinks and countertops.
- Iguana Architects, in a modern extension design, maximized daylight by using a traditional skylight over the dining area and an L-shaped rooflight around the second story of a double-story extension.
- Ahmed Shawky, Design Director of Nash Baker, strategically positioned a skylight over a dining table to illuminate the seating area and frame a captivating view, making it akin to a living work of art.
- Adam Draper of Draper Studio balance beauty and functionality by using beams across an extension skylight to diffuse light and provide privacy with oblique views.
- YARD Architects added a unique touch to a kitchen extension with a round porthole window, channeling light into the space and serving as a flexible, eye-catching focal point.
- ROAR Architects integrated the grid design of a ceiling into the skylight design, creating a cohesive and striking aesthetic in a kitchen extension.
- Colleen Healey of C. Healey Architecture combined architectural design with a skylight to create a double-height light well, increasing natural light and benefiting upper-level spaces in an open plan home.
In addition, a frequently asked question about skylights in 2025 is the cost of a roof window, with off-the-shelf solutions starting at £536.40 for a Single Classic Roof Window by Velux and custom glazing costs beginning from £850 per square meter for flat roof lights, £1,200 per square meter for lanterns, and £1,500 per square meter for structural glass rooms (excluding installation and VAT.) Skylights are especially suitable for terraced houses, offering numerous benefits such as continuity with the outdoors, design harmonization, and tailored solutions to meet specific needs and preferences.
