ᐅ Window area relative to room size, especially bedrooms

Hello everyone,

We are currently trying to determine how much window area is necessary or reasonable in relation to the size of a bedroom.

At the moment, for a room of 19.90 m² (213.9 sq ft) on a full floor, we have planned one window facing south (2.01 x 1.32 m / 6.6 x 4.3 ft) and another window above the bed (2.01 x 0.95 m / 6.6 x 3.1 ft) facing east. We would like to remove the window above the bed. Would the natural lighting still be sufficient then?

Out of the 19.90 m² room size, about 2 m² (21.5 sq ft) will be taken up by a wardrobe (3.40 x 0.60 m / 11.2 x 2.0 ft), so roughly 18 m² (193.8 sq ft) still needs to be illuminated.

Do you think that the south-facing window alone (2.66 m² / 28.6 sq ft) would provide adequate natural light for the bedroom?

Thanks for your assessment,
johannes.spr

As far as I know, a 1/8 ratio is required, 1/4 to 1/3 provides a nice bright space, and more than 50% becomes expensive and is excessive.

In the bedroom, it depends on how the room is used. If it’s really just for sleeping and relaxing, then 1/8 is probably enough. If you also like to spend half the morning there having breakfast and reading, I would rather go for 1/4 to 1/3.

However, I would never plan bedroom windows facing south...

I recommend the 1/4+ rule. We use it in most rooms here at home, and for me, the living experience is genuinely better than with the small, narrow windows found in the new builds of our acquaintances...

johannes.spr schrieb:

... we are currently trying to figure out how much window area in relation to the room size is necessary or reasonable in the bedroom?
Thanks for your input, ...

I find windows, and the natural light they bring in (and sometimes the view), more pleasant than walls or artificial lighting, so I would always advocate for as many windows as possible. You can always close a window or limit the view, but adding a window later is much harder. Do you sometimes get sick and have to stay in bed for a few days?
("Necessary," since you used that term, in my opinion means no window is required in the bedroom if you have a ventilation system.)

May I ask why you want to leave out the extra window? Ultimately, it’s not only about what is "necessary" or "reasonable," but how you feel comfortable—and having few windows is just as acceptable as having many.

Morning light in the bedroom is really a great feature, so I wouldn’t want to miss having an east-facing window, if possible.
Regarding the "brightening" of the room, wide, shallow windows like those planned for your east side are actually much more effective than narrow, tall windows. Especially when they are installed high up in the room, rather than at knee height.

Pinkiponk schrieb:

I find windows, and the light that comes through them (and sometimes the view), more appealing than walls or artificial lighting. That’s why I would always advocate for as many windows as possible. You can always close a window or limit visibility, but adding a window later on is more difficult. Do you sometimes get sick and have to stay in bed for a few days?
("Necessary," since you used this term, in my opinion, means there shouldn’t be a window in the bedroom if you have a ventilation system.)

May I ask why you want to leave out the additional window? Ultimately, it’s not just about what is “necessary” or “practical,” but about how you feel comfortable, and having few windows is just as fine as having many.

Thank you for the reply.
We recently gave some thought to the planning based on Feng Shui. According to that, it is recommended to avoid having a window directly above the bed. That’s why we were considering whether it might be possible to skip the window.