Many of us live or have lived in a home that has a room lacking in windows, a dark area that has very little life in it because no one wants to hang out there.

The worst scenario is if you spend time somewhere that you need to see what you are doing, like in a kitchen or a home office. Many bathrooms can be dark, too, and were generally placed in the central part of a house, away from outside walls. The outcome is that many problem rooms simply don't have daylight, and even more importantly, little fresh air.

If you live in a bungalow, or the lighting problem exists in the top floor of a second storey home, consider a skylight to remedy the situation. The term skylight is perfect because the purpose is to bring natural overhead light into the home from the unobstructed sky above.

Skylights can be opened mechanically or manually, depending on how high your ceiling is. If you can't reach the skylight easily, you will need a mechanical control.

Another good reason to consider skylights is that although building codes have side yard restrictions on glass in your walls, there's no limit in your roof! There the sky is your limit, so you can have as much overhead window as you want. You can get skylights ranging from 2'x4', 4'x4' or if you want to see more daylight, you simply put units together. Of course this is all dependent on the structure of your home, but in most instances some type of skylight solution can be found.