How a Roof Lantern Brought Light and Life to a Historic Home Extension
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When a growing family needed more space—and more light—they turned to Rooflights & Skylights for expert advice. The result? A stunning 6-panel roof lantern that transformed a deep extension into a bright, welcoming living space.
Project: Set in the heart of a quiet Northamptonshire village, this charming semi-detached home has a unique past. Originally built in 1820 as a schoolhouse, the property carries a rich sense of character and history. When Jason and his partner purchased it in 2018, they saw the potential to create something really special. With its distinctive L-shaped footprint and three-bedroom layout, the home offered both space and charm – but as their family plans grew, so did their need for more room. That’s when the idea for a modern extension began to take shape.
Brief: With their first child on the way, Jason and his partner knew they needed more space to grow as a family. Their vision was to add a single-storey extension to the home, creating a larger, more comfortable living area where they could relax and spend time together. The extension would sit off the back of the property with a flat roof design – ideal for blending with the existing structure. However, because the new space was quite deep, they quickly realised that relying on standard vertical windows might not bring in enough natural light, especially towards the middle of the room. That’s when they started exploring rooflight options to brighten up the space.
Solution: To bring natural light into the new extension and create a standout architectural feature, Jason reached out to Scott Couldrey at Rooflights & Skylights for advice on the best product for the space. Given the depth of the extension and the property’s traditional character, the rooflight wouldn’t just serve a functional role – it would become a visible feature from all areas of the garden, so style was just as important as performance.
Working closely with his builder, Jason specified the need for a rooflight to fit an overall kerb of 3000mm x 2000mm. After reviewing options that balanced style, performance, availability, and budget, Scott recommended a 6-panel roof lantern from Brett Martin as the ideal solution.
The roof lantern is built with a sleek aluminium frame, finished in RAL 9010 White internally and RAL 7016 Anthracite Grey externally – ensuring a clean look inside while blending beautifully with the exterior of the home. It features six self-cleaning, double-glazed panels with a blue tint, helping to soften natural light and reduce glare in the living space.
While Brett Martin also offers a 4-panel version in the same size, the 6-panel design was chosen for two key reasons: the smaller glass panels made handling and installation easier for the builder, and the multi-panel layout gave the lantern a more ornate, decorative appearance – enhancing its visual impact from both inside and out.
Ease of delivery was also a consideration. The property sits at the end of a narrow village lane that had previously caused issues for larger commercial vehicles. Taking this into account, Scott arranged for the lantern to be delivered on a suitably sized truck, ensuring smooth access and a stress-free delivery to site.
Conclusion
“Buying a rooflight or lantern is not an everyday purchase, and it’s certainly not one you can afford to get wrong,” said Jason. “However, I felt supported at every step. Scott’s detailed questioning about the project and what I was aiming to achieve reassured me about purchasing a roof lantern from Rooflights & Skylights. This became even more clear when issues about access to the property were highlighted and the lengths he went to ensure the chosen roof lantern was shipped on a suitable vehicle. I can’t recommend Rooflights & Skylights highly enough.”
For Jason and his family, the roof lantern hasn’t just transformed the extension with natural light – it’s added a stylish architectural focal point to the home, delivered with care, expertise, and a truly personal approach.
Click for more info: https://www.rooflights-skylights.co.uk/products/brett-martin-classic-6-panel-roof-lantern
