How VELUX Skylights Transform Every Space — From Your Kitchen to Your Covered Deck
Natural light does something to a space that no fixture can replicate. It makes rooms feel larger, more alive, and more connected to the world outside. And yet, for many Pacific Northwest homeowners, some of the most-used spaces in their home — the kitchen, a loft, a hallway, a covered outdoor area — are also the ones most starved for it.
At Tenhulzen Construction, we’ve made it our mission to change that. Through years of designing and building covered decks, loft conversions, and whole-home additions, we’ve found that VELUX Skylights and their family of products are the single most versatile tool we have for bringing natural light into virtually any space — inside the home or out.
As Scott Tenhulzen, our founder, puts it: “A lot of our clients will be concerned with lighting — it’s going to block all the sunlight and whatnot. We educate our clients on ways to keep that light coming in, rather than blocking it out, and make it really look like a feature.”
Here’s a closer look at how we use VELUX products across three of the most common applications in our work.
In the Kitchen: The Heart of the Home Deserves Great Light
The kitchen is where families gather, meals are made, and mornings begin — and it’s one of the spaces most likely to feel dim and disconnected when a home addition or covered structure is added nearby. Even without a deck addition, many kitchens simply don’t receive enough natural light from their existing windows.
A well-placed VELUX skylight changes the entire character of a kitchen. Installed directly in the ceiling above a prep area, island, or dining nook, it delivers a wash of daylight that’s both functional and beautiful. Tasks feel easier. The space feels more open. And the aesthetic impact — that dramatic column of light from above — is one clients consistently call out as one of their favorite features long after the project is complete.
For kitchens where a full skylight installation isn’t practical, VELUX Sun Tunnels are a game-changer. These innovative products capture daylight at the roofline and deliver it through a highly reflective tube directly into the space below — no structural changes required, no electricity, no wiring. For kitchens tucked away from exterior walls, or for the darker corners of a large kitchen, they’re an elegant and effective solution.
In Lofts: Bringing the Sky Into Your Elevated Space
Lofts present a unique lighting opportunity that many homeowners underutilize. Positioned at the top of a home, close to the roofline, a loft is ideally situated to benefit from skylight installation — and the visual impact in these spaces is often the most dramatic of all.
A VELUX skylight in a loft doesn’t just add light; it creates a connection to the sky that transforms the feel of the entire space. Whether the loft serves as a reading room, home office, bedroom, or creative studio, natural light from above makes it feel purposeful and inspired rather than tucked away and forgotten.
The solar-powered, remote-operated VELUX skylights we install are particularly well-suited to loft applications. Loft ceilings are often vaulted or high, making manual operation impractical. The ability to open and close the skylight with the touch of a button — or through a smart home system — makes ventilation effortless, letting fresh Pacific Northwest air circulate through the space on demand.
Scott notes this directly: “Whether it’s over a covered area or high up in a vaulted living room or loft, the ability to open and close them with the touch of a button is invaluable.”
On Covered Decks: Light and Air in Your Outdoor Living Space
A covered deck is one of the best investments a Pacific Northwest homeowner can make — it extends the usable season of your outdoor space dramatically, giving you a place to gather, cook, and relax even when the weather doesn’t cooperate. But a covered structure, by definition, blocks the sky. That’s where VELUX skylights become essential to the design.
By incorporating skylights directly into the roof of a covered deck or patio structure, we preserve the open, airy feeling that makes outdoor living spaces worth having in the first place. Light still reaches the space. The connection to the sky remains. And the structure feels intentional rather than heavy.
The solar-powered opening skylights are especially valuable here. On a warm day, cracking them open allows natural ventilation to move through the covered space, keeping it fresh and comfortable rather than still and enclosed. And because they’re solar-powered, there’s no complicated electrical work required — the installation stays clean, the finish stays polished.
As Scott describes it: “On a nice day, being able to crack open the skylights — even on the covered deck — allows for wonderful airflow and helps keep the space feeling fresh.”
This same principle extends to the adjacent interior. When a new covered structure is added to a home, interior rooms nearby can lose significant natural light. Strategically placed VELUX skylights in the new roofline ensure that kitchens, lofts, and living spaces directly connected to the outdoor area stay just as bright as they were before — often brighter.
Smart Technology Built for Modern Living
What makes VELUX skylights particularly compelling in all three of these applications is the technology behind them. The solar-powered models we install operate with no electrical wiring — the panel charges the motor directly, keeping installation simple and clean in any setting.
They can be opened and closed remotely via a handheld control or integrated into a smart home system. They include rain sensors that automatically close the skylight if weather rolls in — a feature Pacific Northwest homeowners genuinely appreciate. And they’re engineered to perform in high-moisture environments, which is exactly why we specify them as our standard for every project.
The Federal Tax Credit: A Premium Feature That Pays You Back
One of the most compelling — and often overlooked — aspects of VELUX’s solar-powered skylights is their eligibility for a federal tax credit. Installing qualifying VELUX products can offset a meaningful portion of the investment, making a premium design feature a financially smart one as well.
We make sure every client we work with understands this benefit from the beginning of the project. It’s the kind of detail that separates a well-planned project from one that leaves money on the table.
Certified Installation: Why It Matters in the Pacific Northwest
Tenhulzen Construction is a certified VELUX installer and dealer. That distinction matters for more than marketing reasons.
Certified installation means every VELUX skylight we put in is backed by the manufacturer’s full warranty and the trusted “no-leak skylight” guarantee. In a region where moisture is a year-round reality, that performance standard isn’t optional — it’s the baseline. Our clients don’t just get a beautiful product; they get the confidence that it will perform exactly as promised for years to come.
Light Is a Design Decision
Every space in your home deserves natural light — not just the ones with the best window placement. VELUX Skylights and Sun Tunnels make it possible to bring that light into kitchens, lofts, covered outdoor spaces, hallways, bathrooms, and anywhere else it belongs.
At Tenhulzen Construction, we don’t treat skylights as an add-on. We treat them as a design decision that shapes how a space looks, feels, and functions — and we plan for them from day one.
Ready to get started? Contact Tenhulzen Construction today for a free consultation.
