Here are 5 ways to beam light and feel-good factor into every part of the house.
From replacing the roof of a farmhouse with a glass and steel structure to supplanting internal structural brick walls with transparency, there are many creative ways to bring light in.
Overhead light
Pic: Photo Luc Roymans, Creative Homes Belgium, Gestalten 2025
How do you make small rooms feel more expansive than they actually are?
You remove the internal wall between them, replacing it with a glazed design that allows the light from the front window to illuminate the room to the rear, as seen in the lead shot.
It and this image above form some of the inspiring ideas in Creative Homes: Interiors and Design in Belgium. Featuring 21 homes portrayed through the crisp lens of Luc Roymans and published by Gestalten, it features illuminating ideas for walls, windows, and the roof above. It costs €40, ex delivery.
A practical solution in Dublin 4
A double-height extension, cuboid in shape, to a house on Havelock Square in Dublin 4 didn’t really deliver the additional space its owners required. It left gaps of about 1.2 metres to either side, explains Declan Scullion, principal at Scullion Architects.
He knocked the side walls to push the property out at the garden level to create a decent-sized room.
By adding flush rooflights to either extremity, he drew light into the middle of the single aspect space.
A right angle of light to the depth of the room
This kitchen, featuring classic cabinetry by UK company Olive and Barr that contrasts with the sleek waterfall design of its island, shows a space that feels bright but never exposed.
This is due to the clever seam of flush rooflights running the depth of the room and mirrored by the floor-to-ceiling glass that creates a right angle of light and sightlines from front to back.
High above eye level
In residential architecture, clerestory windows are set high on a wall, near the ceiling, above eye level, and are designed to bring natural light and ventilation into a space while maintaining privacy and wall space for furnishings and art.
It’s a decorative trope used in ancient Egypt and became famous in Gothic cathedrals such as France’s masterpiece in Chartres.
The leaded glass designs inthe period property Seamount House in Malahide, for sale seeking €6 million through agents Sherry FitzGerald, work really well on its stairwell.
A scullery with sky visible overhead
Some scullery kitchens can feel both physically and visually cramped.
In this space featuring a Sinarp oak veneer kitchen by Ikea, the roof has been raised to accommodate rooflights, washing the space in additional light and giving those cooking and preparing food more headroom within the small space.
