How to Solve a Windowless Room

With the lack of space almost everywhere, townhouses are often faced with the problem of a windowless room. Some in the real estate business are businessmen, not real architectural designers, so they don't bother thinking about how to solve a windowless room. They just want to make the whole thing look beautiful to make it sellable.

A windowless room happens when all sides of a room is adjacent to another room or a dead end. It has no side facing an open area. What most developers do is put air-conditioning. Now, when a brownout happens, or when the air conditioning unit breaks down, that's the only time the owner realizes the flaw of the room, and it's too late to complain about it. What do we do?

For rooms already there, the best thing to do is install a blower getting air from another room that has an ample window. Blowers are better than electric fans. During a brownout, make sure the blower is operational other than by electricity. Power it with a generator or car battery. So, that's one way how to solve a windowless room.

If you don't like that, how about converting that room into a storage area and then having another room constructed elsewhere facing an open area? In Quezon City, I saw someone convert his garage into a room and park his car on the sidewalk just outside their house. The problem is if the subdivision management suddenly decides to ban parked vehicles in the streets at night.

If a windowless room faces a dead end, like the property line, you may opt to cut back a little from your room  (something like 2X2 meters) just to provide space for an opening. Then you may place a window there. This works for both existing windowless rooms and rooms just about to be constructed. It's definitely a better way how to solve a windowless room.

Better yet, if you're still on planning stage and a windowless room seems inevitable, assign that room another function (like a storage or music room) and then construct your bedroom, in lieu of it, on a new floor. A better HOUSEpinoy tip. It's a little added expense, but you'd have better results than dealing with a windowless bedroom or converting your garage into your bedroom and kicking out your car into the streets.