Solatubes Bring in the Light

Traditionally, rowhouse feature cut-outs along the side of the house to let light in. But one of our current whole house remodels was a commercial space in a previous life, so the building takes up 100% of the lot. This makes it a challenge to get light into the inner bedrooms. We installed our first solatube 15 years ago, and there have been many since. In these photos you can see the tube snake its way past the fireplace from the roof, down to one of the bedrooms. Inside the tube is a highly reflective surface that light bounces off of as it makes its way inside. We will also be installing interior transom window above the closets. Even though a transom doesn’t bring in as much light as the solatube, we find that when the two are paired together, it “feels” like the natural light is coming from a window, not a diffuser in the ceiling. People expect natural light to come from windows.