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Have you ever thought about just how much time you spend indoors? Last week, I attended a breakfast hosted by Velux, where we were challenged to think about this fact in depth. The event was held to create awareness about an exciting new launch, Vario by Velux, the brand’s first made-to-order rooflight solution for flat roofs.

Breakfast with Velux, the new roof light on show above a stunning tablescape.

Having lived with Velux windows in our loft extension for over thirteen years, Velux is a company I truly rate and trust. I was so intrigued to know more about this new product. We sat under one of the new rooflights, which was impressively suspended above a botanical themed installation, complete with faux fluffy clouds.

The new Vario range is completely bespoke, it offers a variety of shapes and sizes to fit any flat roof. Opening up a whole new world of possibilities for a space that has all too often been ignored, the ceiling.

The new rooflights can be customised in a range of shapes, sizes and colours.

The Interiors world is buzzing with new ways to utilise the ceilings in our homes, it’s been dubbed ‘the fifth wall’. No longer are we just painting these vast spaces white and forgetting about them. They are being painted a whole spectrum of colours, people are adding wallpaper and finding new ways to encourage us to ‘look up’… Something that is at the heart of so many discussions in this new cyber age of constantly looking down at the new range of technologies now packed into a handheld screen.

It makes such sense to me now, having a window in a flat roof is a must (if you can).

On average people spend up to 90 percent of their time indoors. I find this fact quite shocking as I’m sure you will, it’s no wonder there’s a huge trend in ‘bringing the outside in’ to our interior spaces. Bi-fold doors, the use of plants and natural materials are now found in many of our homes and feature heavily on the pages of Interior and Home Magazines.

Bringing the outside into our interiors has become a massive trend.

At the event, Interior Stylist & Writer Lisa Dawson gave a talk about our growing need to bring light into the home. “As we are spending more time indoors than ever before, it is important that our homes are designed to promote health, happiness, productivity and wellbeing. I have been passionate about incorporating daylight and fresh air into the interior design process and the launch of Vario opens a whole new dimension to how we can design our spaces. In 2019 I believe the biggest design trend won’t be colour or a piece of furniture, but rather the use of daylight and fresh air to elevate a space”.

Left: Me, Sally aka @gettingstuffdoneinheels and Interiors Expert Lisa Dawson catch up after breakfast. Right: A detail of the stunning table styling at the Velux event.

It was a great talk and discussion, I wasn’t aware that room simulations have shown that daylight through the roof provides twice as much light as vertical windows. But, I’m sure we all realise that a good amount of daylight during the day can lead to a better 24-hour body clock rhythm, thus enabling a good sleep routine. Which is so important on so many levels.

Daylight has been associated with improved mood, enhanced morale, less fatigue, and reduced eyestrain. It has been said that dark rooms can make you 1.6 times more likely to get ill. We want to feel a sense of positivity when we walk into a room, a space we can utilise whilst feeling at our happiest.

People are choosing the option of ‘Don’t Move, Improve’.

With British homes now now being 32% smaller than they were in the 1970s, home extensions are on the up. A huge trend being described as ‘Don’t Move, Improve’ has hit the UK by storm. With a large number of extensions having flat roofs, it has been approximated only a third of these have been built with roof lights. Adding one into an existing flat roof a few years ago would have seemed so daunting, where would you even start? But, thanks to Vario by Velux, it’s just become a whole lot easier.

This new range allows design-conscious homeowners to become much more involved in the design process, rather than buying a roof light ‘off the shelf’. Their website features a build your own section which gives you a great starting point. You can choose shapes and design features such as round, rectangular, square and also unlimited square-edged roof lights grouped together in one unit. There’s a walk-on style available, a customised colour feature and the choice to have them opening mechanically if you wish.

Whether you’re planning an extension or have an existing one, don’t be afraid of carving out the sky and bringing the outdoors in.

The options are there to create a truly unique design feature. One that can fit all our lifestyle needs, bring more light and fresh air into our homes and give endless possibilities for home improvement. I’m really excited about this new range and can’t wait to see these new roof lights filtering into homes far and wide.

Until next time,

Amy

For more information please visit www.vario.velux.com

Written by Amy Davies Pereira. Photography is a mix of my own (of the event) and press shots from Vario by Velux.
*This is a paid collaboration with Vario by Velux, but all views and opinions are my own, I only work with brands I truly love and rate.