In a market full of dark, cramped little apartments, an abundance of natural light may be the ultimate home decor status symbol. And if it's coming from above? Even better (and probably a sign that you've snagged either the penthouse or an entire house). In the interest of making the most out of our dwindling long summer days, we've combed the current listings for spacious, sky-lit sales and rentals.

Natural light is particularly useful (and rare) to open up the space in an apartment's bathroom, and we love this well-placed skylight over the tub in a $14 million Lincoln Square condo.

For those who really want to go big (and are willing to invest in a regular window-cleaning service): an almost $15 million Tribeca condo with a skylight that spans the entire 22-foot-high ceiling of the living room, and leads out on to the triplex's deck.

All told, there are five skylights in this carefully renovated $14 million Park Slope townhouse, including one in the bathroom...

...and a patterned window that sits at the top of the building's large, spiral staircase.

The living room in this $9.25 million Lenox Hill townhouse opens out onto the building's garden, and is also topped off by a skylight (and plenty of greenery).

For $15,000 a month, you can land yourself a tricked-out Tribeca loft that includes a "sky-lit sun room" leading out onto the apartment's terrace.

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