Some skylights are functional units of Plexiglass but manufacturers also offer elaborate structures; leaks around them can be a  threat in some areas of the country.

Skylights are great morale-lifters. Walk into a room that has morning sunlight bathing it from above and everything seems right in Heaven. Or lean back and watch rain splatter and run along the outside of a skylight on a showery afternoon and know the feeling of tranquility.

It helps, of course, if rainwater isn't trickling along the ceiling near the skylight. So, yes, there can be problems with skylights and sun tunnels, but with proper installation and maintenance they are a wonderful addition to a home.

The most rudimentary skylight is a Plexiglass bubble fixed to a square aluminum base. Light from it pours through a drywalled area that runs through the attic and empties into a room below. If roof and ceiling joists are coordinated, skylight installation is an easy job for a contractor. Making sure the skylight base on the roof is properly flashed and sealed is a roofer's job.

Sometimes the glassed opening in the roof feeds light through a shiny metal tunnel that is capped on the lower end with a piece of translucent glass. This "sun tunnel" lights a room during daylight hours in the same way a ceiling light fixture does.

For homeowners wanting more elaborate skylights, there is no shortage of options. They range from ornamental-looking pyramidal units that are as attractive viewed from the outside as they are functional inside. Or long, rectangular skylights – some of which have ventilation features – can be placed side by side and open most of a room's ceiling to the sky.

Barrel vault skylights can give a hallway an extra dimension of appeal. Whereas a large octagonal skylight becomes an architectural centerpiece of a room, both bathing the room in sunlight and giving it special character. A really elaborate way to connect with the sky is through a roof lantern, which essentially is a many-paned fixture of glass set on a flat roof with a central glass tower rising a few feet for ventilation.

All of these glassed-over holes in the roof give a room a lift from above. But none of them will be praised if they leak. It is important for a homeowner to evaluate the appropriateness of installing a skylight. How deep the snow piles up each year or how many inches of rain falls in a calendar year are pertinent considerations when a skylight seems a perfect solution to the blahs.

Home Skylights:

A dome of plastic on an aluminum frame is the basic unit.

Sun tunnels neatly light a room like a ceiling light fixture.

Vaulted skylights and roof lanterns are dramatic choices.

Skylights are known to leak in some rainy or snowy areas.