Window shapes
Roof lanterns look wonderful and cook the room
The roof lantern is the defining feature of the modern Kent kitchen extension, and it is also why so many of those kitchens are unusable at three in the afternoon in July.
Glass overhead takes far more solar energy than the same area of vertical glazing, and in winter it is where the heat leaves fastest.
Shaped pleated systems
Each pane of the lantern gets its own tensioned pleated blind, shaped to the trapezium or triangle of that pane. Fully retracted they sit as a slim stack against the ridge or the eaves bar, so the lantern still reads as glass.
Reflective backings bounce the solar gain back out rather than absorbing it. That is the difference between a blind that shades and a blind that cools.
Motorisation is not optional here
A lantern is out of reach by definition. Every roof lantern system we fit is motorised, usually on a remote or app with the option to run on a timer so it closes ahead of the afternoon sun.
Power can be a battery tube motor, a hard-wired supply where an electrician is already on site, or a solar panel on the ridge.
Surveying a lantern properly
Every pane is measured individually and the glazing bar profile is recorded, because the blind rails fix to the bars. Manufacturers vary — the survey has to match the specific lantern brand and profile.
Window shapes - your questions
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