apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

wearing a sleep mask has worked well for me actually, even if one feels a bit twee putting it on

Colleen - that's gorgeous!! But I can understand wanting it a bit darker for morning you might get to sleep in.

Here's one idea: http://www.decorativefilms.com/index.html
I know you can get something similar at Home Depot or Lowes.

Good luck!

i can't ever wear a sleep mask. it'd drive me crazy.

But what about those cool Emma Jeffs patterned decals that you put on windows? That would filter some of the light out, without ruining the look. They're one-time use, but easily put on and removed.

http://www.2jane.com/detailDesigner.aspx?ID=168

You could use a skylight shade with tracks on the sides (the shade operates with a pole or with a remote). These aren't cheap, but might be your most effective option if you want to be able to darken the space. For example: http://www.bestblinds.com/productpages/3_eighth_inch_double_cell_rd_skylight.php

It looks like there's something reflective around the bottom edges...maybe if you dampened the reflection it would be a bit less glaring.

I also agree with the skylight shade as an expensive solution and the sleep mask as a cheap one!

Skylight shade - too expensive, and sleep mask - too cheap.

I say make your own shade, it couldn't be that hard. Two hospital curtain tracks, a few clips, and a piece of fabric as pervious to light as you'd like.

It seems like you'd be close enough to open/close it with your hands.

you could rig up some sort of diffusing fabric to cover the skylight niche. whether it's merely velcro'ed on, on tracks, or the expensive skylight shades, i'd say diffusing fabric is yer best bet.

What about hanging a bunch of smallish round paper lanterns of different sizes inside the skylight. You wouldn't have to actually rig them up with lighting, they would just be there to diffuse the light, and you could hang them with fishing wire. It would add some nice texture and be something to look at while lying in bed.

Hate to bring up a potential problem, but is dripping an issue at all?

I hung shades upside down, like top-down, bottom up window treatments, at the windows in my last apartment, perhaps a similar concept will work on the skylight.

Get an appropriate shade made to the dimensions of the skylight. Decide before ordering whether you want the shade to hang outside the skylight walls or inside the walls. Make sure you purchase a large handle for the bottom of the shade.

Mount the "upper" shade brackets on one end of the skylight, then mount a small brass or other eye screw on the opposite end. Take kite string, double it, and tie it to the handle of the shade, thread the other end of the string through the eye screw. You will probably need additional eye screws to support the string across the ceiling to the nearest wall and then bring it from the ceiling and down to a conveniently located wall cleat.

When you're ready to close the shade, release the kite string from the wall cleat, and pull. The shade will close over the skylight and the shade's spring mechanism with the support of the eye screw and kite string, should hold it in place after you tie off the string and hopefully prevent drooping.

You can find diffusion gels at any theatre supply store. Just ask around for help and they can set you up with something. You may have to find a creative way of sticking them to the glass, but they're probably cheaper than decals and you'll get a nice "frosted glass" look.

Why mess with the skylight at all? Consider a canopy bed, with real fabric instead of sheers. Waking up every morning would be like emerging from your coccoon!

I would try using vellum papers which are translucent but still enough to dull the light. They are cheap and often found at craft stores. You can also find them in a variety of colors, sizes and patterns.

http://www.lcipaper.com/catalog/specialty.paper?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=LPC&Product_Code=JPP10219

Love these ideas... particularly the suggestions for filters.

We're planning on IKEA HOPEN dressers (http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/90088654), so carrying the frosted feeling through the space might be cool.

That platform is where our mattress will go. At it's highest point, the skylight is about 4'.

Angie: good thought! don't know yet about leakage. We move in a few weeks, but there didn't seem to be water damage on floor or loft.

I had the same issue with a skylight in my last house.

I made a "screen" with wooden canvas stretchers. They're easy to find in art supply stores and come in just about any length.

I stapled Irish hankerchief linen to the frame with a staple gun.You could use any type of fabric you want depending on how much light you want to come through. I hid the staples on the side of the frame that faced the ceiling.

Screwing it into the ceiling is the tricky part and it helps to have another set of hands (or lots of patience).

If you can get onto the roof, you could also put a simple shield of some kind up (vertically) against the east side of the skylight. That'll help cut down the direct early-morning light and glare, without compromising light later in the day. I bet it might be enough so that you can work with it without having to install shades.

Might be worth a try for a couple of weeks once you first move in, at least.

Just a thought!

Well, here's hoping you DON'T have a leakage problem

It would be nice to have some sort of a headboard that could flip up to be a canopy, like an oversized window with velum instead of glass.

I have a similar skylight in my living room. While mine doesn't pose problems to wake me up as we have a separate bedroom, the uglyness of the steel really bothers me. So I have a thin natural linen drapped almost like a tent inside the square inset. Otherwise if drapping is not your forte' I would do what NancyA suggested, frame it and inset the frame...