New design trends mean new opportunities to make over and upgrade your home. This year, we are seeing lots of exciting trends that are providing fresh inspiration and ideas for an improved, more livable space. Popular in 2019 are everything from matte black appliances in the kitchen, to removable wallpaper in the living room and bedrooms, and smart home technology everywhere.
One major trend is ceilings becoming more dramatic as open-concept spaces are transformed with additions that draw the eye upward, like added bulkheads for a rustic, outdoors-y feel and skylights that bring more natural light into the areas below. If you’re planning a renovation, why not tap into this trend with a skylight or roof window?
There are many advantages of having a skylight in your home besides adding a visually striking architecture feature. Here are just a few of them:
Brain boost. Natural light has a huge impact on the human brain, causing it to produce serotonin, a hormone responsible for improving mood, alleviating pain and increasing energy levels. Adding a skylight to one of the central spaces in your home, like the kitchen or living room, can help everyone in your family reap the brain benefits of more natural light, as they provide 200% more daylight than a vertical window. The extra light is even more important during our long Canadian winters when we are often starved of sunlight. In fact, increased exposure to natural light reduces the risk of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.), which is experienced by 2 to 3% of Canadians and reduces the risk of the winter blues, which is experienced by 15% of us. Plus, increased exposure to natural light increases short-term memory and productivity at work or home.
Connection and convenience. Now your home can proactively monitor temperature, humidity and carbon dioxide levels and open or close your skylights and blinds accordingly to create a healthier indoor climate. Just think – a skylight with rain sensors that will automatically close your skylight when it senses app for your skylight that airs out a room when it’s too humid, proactively opens and closes blinds according to the local weather forecast, and automatically reduces CO2 levels while you're entertaining family and friends. Simply add VELUX solar powered or electric skylights and the VELUX ACTIVE with NETATMO indoor climate control starter kit to make your indoor climate healthier and more comfortable.
As technology advances, homes are becoming increasingly connected and making or daily lives easier and more efficient with AI — whether it’s a fridge that lets you know when you’re low on milk or a stove you can preheat from the office. And skylights are getting into the smart home game, too.
Healthier indoor climate. Up to 90% of our time is spent indoors, so maintaining good indoor air quality is more important than ever. One of the main advantages of a venting skylight is that it makes it easier for you to get a healthier indoor climate, which creates good sleeping conditions and allows you to enjoy comfortable indoor temperatures, fresh air and appropriate humidity levels. The way it all works is that a vertical or wall window brings in fresh air — but hot, stale air, odours and toxins rise to the top of the home, creating what’s known as the stack or chimney effect. When opening your skylight, these gases can escape through the roof, improving comfort with cooler indoor temperatures achieved through little or no air conditioning. That means you can naturally ventilate your home to reap the benefits of fresh air, which include improved energy levels and an increased connection to the outdoors for a calming influence.
Learn more about all the ways a skylight can improve your home and how to incorporate one into your next renovation project by subscribing to our blog.
Featured Products: VELUX Solar Powered Venting Skylight, VELUX Electric Venting Skylight, VELUX Blinds, VELUX ACTIVE with NETATMO