Choosing a frame colour for your roof lantern: black, anthracite or white

The best way to choose the frame colour of your roof lantern is by what you see inside, not outside. From the street you barely notice a roof lantern on a flat roof, but from inside you look at it every day. The most popular colours are RAL 9005 jet black, RAL 7016 anthracite and RAL 9016 traffic white. A black or anthracite roof lantern draws crisp lines in your ceiling, while a white frame blends into it.

Why the inside decides the frame colour

A roof lantern sits above eye level. Outside, you usually only see it if it is a wall-abutting lean-to against a visible wall, or a large gable roof. Inside, the frame is the border around your piece of sky. That border decides whether the roof lantern stands out or blends into the ceiling.

So look first at your ceiling, the reveals and the other frames in the room. If you have black steel internal doors or black frames in the rear wall, a black roof lantern follows on naturally.

Black roof lantern: RAL 9005

RAL 9005 is jet black. It is the colour for anyone who wants an industrial, graphic look: thin black lines against a white ceiling and the sky. It works well with steel doors and a clean-lined interior.

Black does show every speck of dust and every limescale mark, especially with a gloss finish. A matt finish is more forgiving. On the mono-pitch roof lantern, matt black or anthracite aluminium is available as an option.

Anthracite roof lantern: RAL 7016

RAL 7016 is anthracite grey, a dark grey with a cool undertone. In the Netherlands it is one of the most widely used colours for aluminium and uPVC window frames. Choose anthracite and the roof lantern often matches the frames and roof trim of the extension straight away.

Anthracite is softer than black. The lines stay visible, but the contrast with a white ceiling is less harsh. Dust and dirt show less.

White: RAL 9016 and a frame that disappears

RAL 9016 is traffic white. Against a white ceiling the frame almost disappears and you mainly see glass and sky. That gives a calm, bright room and suits classic and country-style interiors, as well as a roof lantern in a 1930s house.

White also reflects a little more light back into the room. The effect is small, but in a deep room every bit counts. More on this in making a dark living room brighter.

Dual colour: a different colour inside and out

With a dual-colour frame, the inside is a different colour from the outside. For example anthracite outside, to match the roof trim and the walls, and white inside, to match the ceiling. That way you do not have to choose between inside and outside.

Besides these colours, any RAL colour is possible, including the exact colour of your existing frames. Mention the RAL code in your enquiry and the colour will be in the quote straight away. What a roof lantern costs in total is covered in what does a roof lantern cost.

• Black: graphic and crisp, shows dust sooner
• Anthracite: matches many aluminium window frames
• White: the frame blends into a white ceiling
• Dual colour: outside to match the walls, inside the ceiling

Frequently asked questions