If your Brisbane kitchen feels dark even during the middle of the day, the problem may not be your light fittings.
Orientation, deep floorplans, neighbouring homes, extensions, verandahs and the position of existing windows can all reduce the amount of natural light reaching a kitchen.
During a kitchen renovation, one of the options worth considering is a skylight.
A correctly positioned skylight can introduce daylight directly into the centre of the kitchen, particularly where adding another external window is difficult or simply would not solve the underlying problem.
Can a skylight fix a dark kitchen?
Yes, in the right home. If a kitchen is too far from an external wall or receives limited daylight because of its orientation, surrounding structures or previous extensions, a skylight can bring natural light directly into areas that conventional windows struggle to reach.
The important part is designing it properly.
In Brisbane, that means considering not only how much light the skylight will introduce, but also its size, position, glazing and potential heat gain during warmer months.
Why is my Brisbane kitchen so dark?
We have been looking at discussions between Australian homeowners dealing with poorly lit kitchens, and there is a recurring theme.
Some kitchens have windows but only receive useful natural light for part of the day. Others have gradually become darker as houses have been extended, decks enclosed or neighbouring properties developed.
One common example is an east-facing kitchen.
It may receive plenty of useful morning light before becoming noticeably darker later in the day.
Other kitchens sit towards the centre of the house. Even if nearby living areas have large windows, the daylight has to travel through multiple spaces before reaching the kitchen.
That means a kitchen can technically have access to natural light while still feeling gloomy.
Older Brisbane homes can develop natural light problems over time
This can be particularly relevant when renovating older homes throughout Brisbane’s western suburbs.
The original house may have been designed with the kitchen positioned against an external wall. Over the years, however, a patio, enclosed verandah, living room or extension may have been added around it.
The original kitchen window remains, but it may now look into another room or covered area rather than directly outside.
Large eaves can also reduce direct sunlight, which is useful for controlling Brisbane heat but can leave some internal spaces darker than expected.
Renovating the kitchen provides an opportunity to reconsider how daylight enters the entire space rather than simply working around the existing layout.
Do dark kitchen cabinets make a kitchen look darker?
They can, particularly when the room already has limited natural light.
Darker cabinetry, benchtops, flooring and splashbacks generally reflect less available light back into the room than lighter surfaces.
But that does not mean every dark kitchen needs white cabinetry.
A better approach is to ask why the room is dark in the first place.
If the daylight problem can be improved through the layout, windows or a skylight, homeowners often gain significantly more freedom with their material and colour choices.
Dark cabinetry, timber finishes and deeper feature colours can work beautifully when the room has enough natural light to support them.
Before redesigning the kitchen, look up
When there is limited opportunity to introduce more daylight through the walls, the roof becomes another option.
A skylight can bring light vertically into areas of the kitchen that may otherwise receive very little daylight.
This is particularly useful around:
- kitchen islands;
- central preparation areas;
- deep kitchen floorplans;
- butler’s pantries;
- internal kitchens with limited external walls; and
- kitchens affected by adjoining extensions or covered outdoor areas.
Australian Government passive-design guidance notes that skylights can introduce substantially more daylight than similarly sized vertical glazing because they receive light from a larger portion of the sky.
That does not mean bigger is always better.
For a kitchen renovation, the goal should be to introduce the right amount of useful daylight in the right place.
Are skylights a good idea in Brisbane?
They can be, but Brisbane’s climate has to be considered.
A poorly designed skylight can introduce excessive heat and glare, particularly if it is oversized or exposed to strong direct sunlight.
That is why a skylight should be treated as part of the overall renovation design rather than something added after the kitchen has already been planned.
Questions worth considering include:
- Which direction does the roof face?
- What time of day does the kitchen currently become dark?
- How large does the skylight actually need to be?
- Where will the daylight fall inside the kitchen?
- Will direct sunlight create glare on a polished benchtop?
- Would diffuse glazing provide more comfortable light?
- Would a tubular skylight provide enough daylight?
- What glazing will help manage heat gain?
- Should the skylight be fixed or capable of opening for ventilation?
In many Brisbane homes, a smaller, carefully positioned skylight can be more effective than simply installing the largest possible opening.
Do skylights make kitchens hotter in Brisbane?
They can if they are badly designed, but they do not have to.
The amount of heat introduced depends on the skylight’s size, orientation, glazing and exposure to direct sunlight.
Modern glazing, solar-control options and careful positioning can help balance natural light against unwanted heat gain.
Tubular skylights can also be worth considering where the objective is primarily daylight rather than creating a large glazed architectural feature.
The right solution depends on the house.
What is a tubular skylight?
A tubular skylight, sometimes called a sun tunnel or daylight tube, uses a reflective tube to carry daylight from the roof into the room below.
They can be useful where a conventional skylight would be difficult to position or where the kitchen only needs additional daylight in a specific area.
For example, a tubular skylight may be enough to brighten a dark preparation area or section of benchtop without introducing a large opening into the ceiling.
A skylight can change the entire kitchen layout
This is one of the reasons natural light should be considered early in a kitchen renovation.
If daylight can enter through the roof, the kitchen no longer needs to be designed entirely around the existing window.
That can potentially change where the island sits, where tall cabinetry is positioned, where the sink goes and how the kitchen connects with adjoining living areas.
Instead of asking:
“How do we fit the new kitchen into the existing room?”
the renovation can ask:
“How should this room actually work?”
Solving the natural light problem early can create significantly more flexibility in the rest of the design.
Is a skylight better than adding another window?
Not necessarily.
If there is an external wall available and the orientation is suitable, increasing the size of a window may be the simpler solution.
In other homes, another wall window will not help because the kitchen is too deep within the house or the available wall faces a covered outdoor area, neighbouring property or shaded part of the block.
Sometimes the best result comes from combining several changes:
- opening the kitchen towards an adjoining living space;
- changing the size or location of existing windows;
- introducing a skylight;
- using more reflective surfaces strategically; and
- improving the artificial lighting design.
The important thing is diagnosing the cause before choosing the solution.
Does a skylight replace kitchen lighting?
No.
A well-designed kitchen still needs artificial lighting after sunset and during periods of low daylight.
Task lighting is particularly important around preparation areas, sinks, cooktops and work surfaces.
A skylight simply reduces the kitchen’s dependence on artificial lighting during the day and can dramatically change how the room feels.
The aim is not to eliminate light switches.
It is to avoid walking into the kitchen at 11 o’clock in the morning and immediately needing to turn the lights on.
Can you add a skylight during a kitchen renovation?
Yes, and the renovation stage is often the right time to investigate it.
The kitchen layout, ceiling, electrical work, cabinetry and finishes are already being reconsidered, which makes it easier to integrate natural lighting into the overall design.
It also means the position of the skylight can be planned around the new kitchen rather than trying to retrofit it around existing cabinetry later.
Planning a renovation for a dark kitchen in Brisbane?
If your kitchen feels dark, the answer is not automatically white cabinetry and more downlights.
First work out why the daylight is not reaching the room.
It could be the orientation of the house. It could be a deep floorplan. It could be an extension, neighbouring building, covered outdoor area or the position of the existing windows.
Sometimes changing the kitchen layout is enough.
Sometimes a larger window makes sense.
And sometimes the best place for the natural light to come from is directly above you.
At Briswest Renovations, we look at the kitchen as part of the wider home, including the existing floorplan, orientation, windows, roof structure and the way the space is actually used throughout the day.
If a skylight is appropriate, it can then be considered from the beginning of the renovation rather than added as an afterthought.
Planning a kitchen renovation in Brisbane’s western suburbs? Speak with Briswest Renovations about creating a kitchen that works with your home, your lifestyle and the natural light available to it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my kitchen so dark during the day?
A kitchen can feel dark because of its orientation, deep floorplan, surrounding buildings, extensions, covered outdoor areas or limited access to external windows. The first step is identifying what is preventing useful daylight from reaching the room.
Do skylights make kitchens hotter in Brisbane?
Skylights can increase heat gain if they are oversized or poorly positioned. Appropriate glazing, solar control, orientation and sizing can help introduce useful daylight while reducing unwanted summer heat.
Where should a skylight go in a kitchen?
The best position depends on the layout and roof structure. Common locations include above kitchen islands, preparation areas and central sections of the kitchen that receive limited natural light from external windows.
Can a skylight be added during a kitchen renovation?
Yes. A kitchen renovation is a good opportunity to investigate a skylight because the new layout, cabinetry, ceiling and lighting can all be designed together.
Is a skylight better than adding another kitchen window?
It depends on the home. If a suitable external wall is available, another or larger window may work well. A skylight becomes particularly useful when the kitchen is deep within the house or external walls cannot provide enough daylight.
Can I still have dark kitchen cabinetry if my kitchen has poor natural light?
Yes, but it is worth improving the underlying daylight problem first. Introducing more natural light can provide much greater flexibility when choosing darker cabinetry, timber finishes, benchtops and feature colours.