"Did someone forget to turn off the lights?"
"No. It's just our new skylight."
More and more people are choosing to add a completely new dimension to their homes via a skylight. They are often surprised to find how much additional light actually comes in, even on a cloudy day or when the moon wanes.
Builders, architects, and interior designers report one of the hottest trends in the home today is the use of skylights, greenhouse windows, solariums, two-story window treatments, glass-roofed bay windows and entries, light shafts, and other devices to create personal sky views.
"The shapes of houses today lend themselves to an open-air feeling," says Jay Shackford, vice president for public affairs of the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, D.C. "The geometry of the main living areas has really changed. They come in all shapes and sizes now. There are big, open foyers, enormous master bedroom and bathroom suites, and a general opening up of the interior of the homes. One room flows into another for a feeling of openness and light. The popularity of skylights and big areas of glass has increased along with these changes."
About two-thirds of new homes are tailored to the trade-up market, Shackford observes. "As these owners move up the ladder, they want more space and a great deal more detail, like skylights and a variety of window treatments in their homes," he says.
Skylights
How homeowners add a patch of blue to their abode is a matter of choice. Skylights are the most obvious means. Considered quite daring only a few years ago, they now appear on roofs almost as regularly as dandelions dot suburban lawns.
Thirty-two percent of single family homes built in 1987 had at least one skylight, according to Gopal Ahluwalia, director of research for the National Association of Home Builders. Six percent of these homes had three or more skylights.
An association survey in 1988 asked consumers what options they wanted in a home. Skylights placed very high. Of the eighteen hundred persons who responded, 71 percent said they would like a skylight in the kitchen; and 60 percent of the respondents said they'd like one in the master bath.
"Our skylight sales have probably doubled in the past five years," says D. Edward Hunt, president of Windowland, Inc., a northern Virginia firm that specializes in windows and doors. "People want a skylight for one reason--to get more light in their room."
John Morris, marketing manager of the Cassidy Design Centers, sees more and more skylights being used in new construction. "People almost begin to expect them in houses of a certain price range," he says.
Skylight can take almost any size and shape. They come in flat and bubble style and can be square, rectangular, circular, or octagonal. Whether used
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