• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
The Interiors Addict

The Interiors Addict

Style without the Snobbery

Job Board
  • Job Board
  • About
  • Before & Afters
  • RENO ADDICT
  • Kitchens
  • Bathrooms
  • Kids Rooms
  • Bedrooms
  • Living Room
  • Shopping
  • Expert Tips
  • Recipes
  • Parenting
  • Travel
Interiors Addict
  • About
    • Our Story

      Australia’s largest interior design, styling and renovation blog for the everyday Aussie. By former journalist and magazine editor Jen Bishop, the original interiors addict!
      READ MORE

      We’re big on Instagram!
      @interiorsaddict

      • About
      • Contact Interiors Addict
      • Work with Interiors Addict
      • Advertise / Find a job in Interiors
      • Press
      • Subscribe

    • How to Pull a Living Room Look Together eBookSubscribe to the Newsletter!
  • By Room
    • Browse by Room

      Where you can search for all our posts about a specific room. Only interested in kitchens and bathrooms? We got you!

      • Kitchens
      • Bathrooms
      • Kids Rooms
      • Bedrooms
      • Living Room
      • Home Office
      • Dining
      • Laundry
      • Outdoor & Exteriors
      • Renting
    • How to Pull a Living Room Look Together eBookSubscribe to the Newsletter!
  • Before & Afters
    • Before & Afters

      Who doesn’t LOVE a good before & after? If you want to be inspired by the whole reno process, and not just the shiny photos at the end, this is the place for you!

      View Articles

      • Before & Afters
      • Jen’s reno
      • Real Renos
      • RENO ADDICT
    • Snapseed-14Navy weatherboard house: a crazy good before & after
    • Skylights_web_JacquiTurk-1Skylights have transformed our living room: here’s all the details
  • Reno Addict
    • RENO ADDICT

      Looking for reno inspo? Find it all here, from other people’s projects to the latest trends, tools and products, whether you’re DIY-ing or employing trades.

      View articles

      • Reno Products
      • DIY
      • Reno Trends
      • Before & Afters
      • Real Renos
    • IMG_035116-9-ContrastInstall new lights without an electrician thanks to new product
    • Hallway styling ideas to make the best first impression
  • Shopping
    • Shopping

      Want to know where to buy the latest furniture, homewares, rugs, art and more? We’re always sharing our latest finds and telling you where you can buy them.

      View Articles

      • Furniture
      • Homewares
      • Art
      • Smart Home
      • Appliances
      • Reno Products
    • IMG_035116-9-ContrastInstall new lights without an electrician thanks to new product
    • Hamptons-Home-Landscape-Images-600-px-by-400-px-64 easy ways to incorporate Hamptons decorating into your home
  • Inspiration
    • Inspiration

      While Jen’s a legitimate interiors addict, she’s no design professional, so she calls on an army of the country’s best to share their expertise with you. Be inspired by their stories too!

      View Articles

      • Decorating 101
      • Interviews
      • Expert Tips
      • Before & Afters
      • House Tours
      • Designers
      • Styling
      • Renovating
      • Real Renos
      • Covet my coffee table
    • md_TAM-Rooms-12Luxury hotels NSW: Tamworth gets its own 5-star glamour
  • Lifestyle
    • Lifestyle

      We’re mostly about the home but Jen also likes to share other things she thinks you’ll love, like food and travel.

      • Recipes
      • Travel
      • Parenting
    • Banquette seatingThe Star Sydney: New Italian restaurant features interiors by TomMarkHenry
    • md_TAM-Rooms-12Luxury hotels NSW: Tamworth gets its own 5-star glamour
  • Jobs
    • Advertise on our Job Board
    • Job Board FAQs for advertisers

Illume skylight alternative before & after

December 2, 2019 16 Comments

Facebook0Pin00Email0Tweet0

I’m actually really excited to share this with you because I think it’s going to be a game changer for our home and I hope you’ll love them too. My builder recommended the illume Skylight Alternative to me when we were in the planning stages of our new bathroom. We were getting rid of its dated old skylight and installing a new ceiling where we knocked the WC and bathroom together. So we lost a lot of beautiful natural light, which was, frankly, the only good thing the old bathroom had going for it!

The illume in our new bathroom made a big difference but the real magic happened in our hallway!

With our budget already stretched, we couldn’t afford a new skylight and the old one would have totally ruined the look of the shiny new bathroom, so a “faux” skylight, as I call it, was an option! We also have the dingiest hallway in the world, so it seemed a good time to try and fix the issue of always having lights on along there too.

Enter: illume! Not a skylight, but the simplest way I can sum it up is a solar-powered diffused light that will cost you nothing to run!  Before I get into the specifics, take a look at the before and after from our hallway. Because we chose to install an isolation switch so it could be turned on and off (probably unnecessary in hindsight but I was worried it would be so bright it could wake Sebastian in the mornings because he sleeps with his bedroom door open onto the hallway), you can see what it looks like on and off.

Even with the bedroom door open at the end and the big glass door to the garden beyond, it was still so dark down here.
Let there be light!

illume is the original product of its kind with a patented technology. Unlike a traditional skylight, you can even install an illume to lower levels, basements and attics — the possibilities are endless! illume’s innovative design cuts the cost of your electricity, with no running costs or batteries. Installation is easy and non intrusive. You can even buy the product off the shelf and do it yourself. And because there’s no electrical, you don’t need an an electrician. You don’t need a big hole in your roof either, which people often worry will result in a leaky roof.

Here’s how it works…

Solar Panel: illume is powered by a solar panel positioned on the roof, cutting the cost of your power bill, by reducing the need for electrical lighting or batteries in your home’s dark rooms or spaces.

Transfer Cable: The solar power is transferred to the light panel via a cable, simulating the lighting conditions outside. illume automatically comes to life at sunrise, and its intensity varies during the day depending on sun exposure and cloud cover outside.

illume Light Panel (these come in different sizes, round, rectangular or square): The lighting panel uses Ambient Light Technology (A.L.T), bringing light into the dark areas of your home, creating the feeling of harmony between external and internal lighting conditions.

They’re perfect for rooms with no windows, built-in robes, walk-in pantries and really anywhere with bad natural light. They’re a fraction of the cost of a traditional skylight, you can install them yourself (or contact one of their trusted installers near you), and they cost nothing to run.

I’ll admit I was a little sceptical and worried it would look, well, tacky or too fake! Or that the light would be like what I call hospital light! But I genuinely think they look really good and am planning to get them in our bedrooms now too. We want a traditional skylight in our living room and I do think there are some rooms where it is worth spending the extra money and being able too see the sky, not to mention the benefits of real daylight! For other rooms however, the illumes are ideal and I really do recommend you look into them.

Disclaimer: We were gifted our illume in return for an authentic review.

For more information

Facebook0Pin00Email0Tweet0

Primary Sidebar

Trending This Week

Visit Jen's profile on Pinterest.

Subscribe

Love interiors and renovating? Sign up for our bi-weekly emails featuring all the best bits! We'll also send you our free eBook:
How to Pull a Living Room Look Together

Real Renos

Navy weatherboard house: a crazy good before & after

Kitchen

Redfern terraces combined to create one light-filled home

Architect’s Victorian villa comes alive in colour

AFTER bathroom

Tired 40s house given colourful new lease on life by interior designer

Amazing backyard transformation for under $1,200

Jen Bishop

About Jen Bishop

Jen Bishop is our owner and publisher and an experienced journalist and editor. This blog has been her full-time job for more than 7 years. She is married to Damian and mum to Sebastian and Charlie.

More from Jen’s reno

Skylights have transformed our living room: here’s all the details

Playroom storage ideas: what we used in ours and why

Playroom ideas: revealing a room I’ve never shown you!

Interiors Addict bathroom reno 2: what I chose and why

Interiors Addict bathroom reveal: before & after

Jen’s deck is summer ready + win my outdoor dining set

Interiors Addict gets it wrong: Jen’s new living room!

The folding arm awning which completed our back deck

Room reveal: our master bedroom, take two!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. AvatarGrace says

    December 2, 2019 at 8:26 pm

    Hi Jen, which style of mounting did you choose? Thank you

    Reply
    • Jen BishopJen Bishop says

      December 3, 2019 at 9:47 pm

      Flush mount and the premium version. Hope that helps!

      Reply
  2. Avatarallison beattie says

    December 4, 2019 at 8:31 am

    Agree totally Jen! We have just installed a 300mm square Illume during our powder room reno. As a room without a window, a light was always needed to be turned on but now natural and diffused light is available whenever the sun is up. It’s going to save on energy but more importantly I love the look and feel in this room now.

    Reply
    • Jen BishopJen Bishop says

      December 6, 2019 at 10:55 pm

      Isn’t it magic?! We have the 40cm square in the bathroom and the 120cm long one in the hallway. Definitely considering for all bedrooms now!

      Reply
      • AvatarPip Smith says

        August 31, 2020 at 10:07 am

        I’m wondering about the size of the light in your hallway – I see you went for a large light. Based on design, I too would choose a long rectangle light to go in a long rectangular space. I have a similar space to light. But according to the specs Illume give, I only actually need a small square or round light for the size of the hall area. Do you find your light too bright? Would you choose based on the light output Illume recommend, or the shape that will look best when installed?

        Reply
        • Jen BishopJen Bishop says

          August 31, 2020 at 10:35 am

          All I can say is that mine feels perfect, not too bright, and it’s also aesthetically pleasing to have a long and thin light in a long and thin hallway. I guess it also depends on how dingy your current space is and mine was VERY dingy! Jen

          Reply
  3. AvatarCarolyn says

    December 4, 2019 at 11:24 am

    Hi Jen I have a beautiful formal dining room with lovely grass cloth wallpaper however I’ve little natural light in there so the wallpaper doesn’t really shimmer like it should do you think the Illume would make the wallpaper shine? Or should I spend the extra for a proper skylight? Thanks.

    Reply
    • Jen BishopJen Bishop says

      December 6, 2019 at 10:55 pm

      I think so, yes! But it’s really more to do with the cost difference (which is significant!), how often you use the room etc.

      Reply
  4. AvatarHelen Downs says

    May 11, 2020 at 1:01 pm

    Hi Jen,
    I have a long hallway on the lower level of a 2 storey building, whih does not have direct access to the roof. How do i connect the solar panel to the light panel?
    Regards
    Helen

    Reply
    • Jen BishopJen Bishop says

      May 11, 2020 at 1:30 pm

      I know it’s possible, Helen, let me ask an expert to come back and explain here as an answer. Jen

      Reply
    • Jen BishopJen Bishop says

      May 11, 2020 at 1:57 pm

      Hi Helen. I asked Illume and they said:

      “There are a couple of options depending on your situation 1. Through the Wall cavity or 2. Using a conduit system externally. If you like to contact us and we can help further. www.illume.com.au”

      Reply
    • Avatarillume says

      May 11, 2020 at 2:02 pm

      Hi Helen, there are a couple of options depending on your situation
      1. Through the Wall cavity or 2. Using a conduit system externally. If you like to contact us and we can help further. www.illumeskylights.com.au

      Reply
  5. Avatarserafino alberti says

    May 31, 2020 at 9:42 pm

    How much does it cost with an isolation switch and how the it get connected as they don’t show how’s it’s done in the video clip ?

    Reply
    • Jen BishopJen Bishop says

      June 1, 2020 at 8:13 am

      Depends on the size and model and it is possible to DIY but I got an electrician to do it because of the isolation switch going into a witch with other ‘real’ lights. There’s a lot more info on their website which is linked at the end of the blog post.

      Reply
  6. AvatarLeoni says

    January 11, 2021 at 10:23 pm

    So how do you use the light at night. Can you turn on at night

    Reply
    • Jen BishopJen Bishop says

      January 12, 2021 at 3:45 pm

      You have a normal light as well for night time 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Promo Area

Subscribe to the Newsletter

We publish twice a day every weekday. Sign up to our twice-weekly newsletter with all the best bits! We'll also send you our free eBook:
How to Pull a Living Room Look Together.

Footer

Interiors Addict

Interiors Addict

  • About
  • Contact
  • Work with Jen
  • Press
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Disclosure Policy

Browse

  • RENO ADDICT
  • Jen’s Reno
  • House Tours
  • Real Renos
  • Interviews
  • Styling
  • Designers
  • Bedrooms
  • Covet My Coffee Table
  • Expert Tips
  • The Block
  • Art
  • Furniture
  • Recipes

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RENO ADDICT

Copyright © 2011–2021 Addicted Media Pty Ltd
Website care by ClickWP · Log in

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!