A “skylight” is defined as: a window installed in a roof or ceiling.

When stained/leaded glass is made into such skylights, domes or otherwise, it becomes a very special and outstanding feature of its environment.

But how such beautiful structures are integrated into buildings is quite often misunderstood or not understood.

Let’s shed some clarity.

The first thing to realize is the basic categories of such structures. Stained/leaded glass skylights can be two-dimensional (flat) or three-dimensional.

Flat ones are usually rectangular (linear) or circular/oval (curvilinear). But other geometric shapes are also possible, as are even irregular ones.

Three-dimensional ones can be semicircular* (domes) or they can be of linear geometric shapes (e.g., triangular, trapezoidal, hexagonal, etc.)

The second thing to realize is that stained/leaded glass skylights can be structured into ceilings (interior) or roofs (exterior).

This gives our basic orientation.

Roofs can be horizontal or slanted. Three-dimensional skylights are usually reserved for horizontal orientations and not slanted ones.

With interior skylights/domes, they are situated at the ceiling, and, if three-dimensional, between the ceiling and the roof, in which case their height must fit comfortably into the attic space. As the roof blocks out the sun, they are illuminated artificially.

With exterior skylights/domes, they are situated at the roof, and, especially if three-dimensional, are encased by a special closed area to house them and protect them against the elements. This is comparable to a customized attic space in appearance and function. It is usually covered in a sturdy transparent material (a regular skylight) to allow accessibility to natural sunlight. However, such structures also have artificial lighting so as to allow them to be illuminated during periods lacking sunlight, such as eveningtime or nighttime or overcast skies.

As stained/leaded glass skylights/domes are popular heavily in affluent residences and estates, the availability of artificial lighting allows them to be visible in all their glory at any time, day or night, perfect for entertaining or just enjoying one’s residence 24/7.

The proper installation and lighting of such structures requires excellent and knowledgeable coordination, planning and consultation with contractors, superintendents, architects, electricians, lighting engineers and the like. Progressive Art Stained Glass Studio possesses unmatched qualifications with the right expertise required for this.

* Domes are not truly semicircular as “semicircle” refers to half of a sphere. They are actually slightly less than half, but we use “semicircular” here purely as a descriptive term.