ᐅ Window area relative to room size, especially bedrooms

dertill schrieb:

Morning light in the bedroom is really a great feature, so I wouldn’t want to do without an east-facing window if possible.
Regarding the room’s illumination, wide, shallow windows—as planned on your east side—are definitely more effective than narrow, tall windows. Especially when they are positioned high up in the room rather than at knee level.

Yes, that is absolutely correct. My wife currently feels the need to change this, as she would prefer to do without the window above the bed (due to Feng Shui). I would rather keep it, but it is possible that this issue always comes up when you have trouble sleeping... of course, we will have to sort this out internally.

Pinkiponk schrieb:

I find windows, or rather the light that streams through them (and sometimes the view), more pleasant than walls/artificial lighting, so I would always vote for as many windows as possible everywhere. You can always close a window or limit visibility, but adding a window afterwards is more difficult.

Well. I basically understand that approach, but I also know a few houses where they didn’t spare on glass, and I wouldn’t want to live in those.

A good, or rather bad example is Mies van der Rohe’s Farnsworth House (if you don’t know it, it’s worth looking up). Sure, it's exaggerated. But it illustrates well what I mean:

Quote from Wikipedia by Edith Farnsworth, the resident:

The house is as transparent as an X-ray. I wanted something “meaningful,” and all I got was this slick subtlety. We know less is not more. It’s just less. […]

The glass-and-steel structure is uninhabitable. […] Mies talks about open space, but the space is very rigid. I cannot even hang a coat hanger in the house without wondering how that will change the view from outside. […] Every rearrangement of furniture becomes a problem.”
– Edith Farnsworth

Of course, it’s nice to see the surroundings and not feel like you’re in a prison in your own home. But the walls should also protect from the outside and keep a certain distance.
Windows do not create a sense of comfort and coziness.

I think the classic middle ground is a good approach here, as it often is.

In my view, skimping on windows in affordable buildings is a real problem. But well, fortunately everyone can and must decide for themselves what is important and what is not.

Reply to the OP: It’s fine to leave out the window if the bedroom is only used for sleeping.

[Update 09:37: Used the wrong quote by mistake]

johannes.spr schrieb:

because she prefers to do without the window above the bed (due to Feng Shui)

Definitely! … I completely understand why someone would want to avoid having a window behind the bed. This is exactly because of the reasons Feng Shui argues.
Personally, I am generally in favor of having large window areas. However, as a general rule, I would focus more on the feeling of “coziness” in the bedroom and at least prefer windows with sills (e.g., casement windows) in the bedroom. You didn’t specify the dimensions (height and width). A narrow window (like a patio door, for example) usually brings brightness more vertically than across the room’s width… for example, our 2-meter-wide (6.5 feet) south-facing window no longer lets light reach under the sloping roof beside it in a room that is over 5 meters (16.4 feet) wide. So, I would always prefer to look at and assess this based on a drawing 😉

johannes.spr schrieb:

Thanks for the reply.
We have recently been considering the planning with regard to Feng Shui. It is said that a window above the bed should be avoided. Therefore, we were wondering if it would be possible to do without the window.

Is moving the bed to the other wall not an option?

Like @motorradsilke, I would first ask myself how I can arrange the room differently. Basically, I would prefer east-facing windows over south-facing windows in the bedroom.