IMPROVING THE QUALITY OF NATURAL LIGHT IN YOUR HOME Underutilized Space Can Become A Playroom, Home Office Or Extra Bedroom

Attics and bonus rooms lurk in the darkness in many homes. But with the additional natural light and fresh air skylights provide, underutilized, gloomy space easily becomes a playroom or an inviting, productive work area.
“Whether as a playroom, home office, or extra bedroom, finishing your bonus room with skylights may be the highest value, yet lowest cost per square foot option you can choose,” says Joe Patrick, senior product manager for VELUX America.

Patrick says that converting upstairs areas and adding balanced lighting with energy-efficient skylights makes expensive dormers unnecessary. “Labor and material costs can be reduced,” he says, “and finished attics and bonus rooms typically appraise at 100 percent of the value of other living space while basements typically do not.”

Denver-based Architect Doug Walter, AIA, observes that many property owners dismiss the idea of a conversion on the grounds that the space available seems too small. “In their search for suitable areas, particularly for children,” Walter says, “they should reconsider. Children don’t require large areas with soaring ceilings. On the contrary, the sloping ceilings of small attics and the little hideaways they make are particularly appealing to youngsters.”

Walter says that a light, bright area is a must for a child’s room. “Skylights bring the sun into an attic space under the sloping roof without it losing its appealing tent-like shape,” he says, “and many a childish dream can come true under the sloping roof without the need for large amounts of space and without too great an outlay.”

Patrick points out that another reason to consider skylights is that they admit 30 percent more light than vertical windows in dormers, and provide the drama of a sky view that can’t be achieved with vertical windows. “And skylights, which can be fitted with interior blinds and shades or exterior awnings, offer much more privacy than vertical windows,” he says. There are also skylights available with electrochromic glass that can be tinted electronically by remote control to control light and heat gain while still providing the view to the sky, Patrick points out.

And now is a particularly good time to consider upgrading existing skylights or adding new units to qualify for a tax credit of up to $200 under the Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005.

For more information on the benefits of natural light and skylight selection call
1-800-283-2831 or visit www.veluxusa.com. For government information on window and skylight energy efficiency visit www.energystar.gov, and for independent agency information visit www.nfrc.org or www.efficientwindows.org.

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Image caption – You can easily bring additional natural light and ventilation into an attic bonus room with skylights and roof windows.


VELUX America Information Series No. 2/06 – Attic Bonus Room – Apx. 440 Words – 2nd Qt. - 2006

Media contact:
Keith Hobbs - Business Services Associates, Inc. - 9413 Greenfield Drive -
Raleigh, NC 27615-2306 - Phone – 919.844.0064 - E-mail – khobbs@nc.rr.com

For quick access to natural light feature material and background information, news releases, press kits and high-resolution images visit www.veluxusa.com and go to the News Media Home section under “Professionals.”