North facing kitchen

[Catmom213]

AIBU to be panicking about building a house with a North Facing open plan kitchen living dining area? Due to site constraints and planning conditions in our area the house has to be built so the KLD area are facing North. I'm not worried about the garden, it is long so we will get pockets of light there. But will the kitchen be really gloomy with no direct sunlight? We plan on having a vaulted ceiling with a large A-window, sky lights and a few more windows in the space also. Will this suffice to make the area feel bright and airy? Would love to hear from anyone who has a North facing kitchen and how they feel about it

Ours is north facing, just a bog standard 3 bed semi but so grateful the kitchen is cool in summer. I have cream cupboards and cream walls. Perhaps I dont notice gloom because I like low lighting!

Sky lights make a MASSIVE difference. It will be lovely 🥰

It’ll be fine. I think architecture is much more important that direction but people get really hung up on it. I have a north facing kitchen and it’s really bright, certainly the brightest I’ve ever had. It has windows on two sides and opens into a glass roof conservatory. Which incidentally rarely gets too hot because it’s north facing,

jf you have enough windows it will be light.

Love my NE facing kitchen. Ambient temp all year round. Have a large roof lantern and bi folds. It's a great open plan room.
With underfloor heating it's cosy and bright all year round

To mention had a South facing one before. Too hot.

If you're going to have a north facing. open plan space with a vaulted ceiling and lots of windows then make sure you over estimate the heating requirements. It will be lovely and cool in summer but potentially cold in winter.

Personally, north facing wouldn't bother me but I do not like open plan, cooking smells throughout and extra heating costs. No thanks.

Mines NE facing and the day starts with beautiful sun. In the afternoon it’s lovely and shaded as it moves around the back and our living room and garden gets the sun until it sets. Perfect for us.

Ours is, with sky lights too.
Never been gloomy, although you don't realise how much difference the sky lights make until it snows.

Ours is a bit gloomy, but we have a house that faces directly north/south so something has to be north facing and I’d rather have a south facing living room and a slightly gloomy kitchen than the other way round.

I have a North facing kitchen/family space and it is lovely and cool from Spring through to Autumn 🍂. I also had a South facing one in my previous house and it was to hot.

Mine is south facing which is quite annoying because when sun's out you can see how filthy the windows are.

Our kitchen and bathroom are north facing and get freezing in winter as previous owners only installed one radiator in the kitchen and a towel rail in bathroom. The kitchen has a tiled
floor and a quartz worktop, while the bathroom has a tiled floor and tiles going half way up the walls. Both look stunning but make it so cold for six months of the year. When it’s boiling in the summer I have been known to sleep on the kitchen sofa though!

Thanks for the feedback everyone! You have all put my mind at ease 😊

There's always one 😂

I agree. Our north-facing extension, with skylights, is the brightest room in the house.

Ours is north facing with skylights and French doors and it feels light and airy. I was worried about the heat in summer but it doesn't get too hot. If it was south facing it'd be like a greenhouse.

Of course, I don't know your colour preferences, but I also have a north-facing kitchen. Advantage is that it is always cool, great for groceries etc.. Why it's not gloomy, is because I have pale yellow tiles on some of the walls, and the windows and door posts are painted a bright warm yellow (think sunflowers/corn). The effect is that all the (natural) light in the kitchen feels like summer sunshine, even in winter. It is not a fashionable colour, but it boosts my mood every day.

Sounds like it will cost a fortune to heat!

I don't think it will. If it's well insulated and the skylights are triple glazed. Our kitchen is warmer than the rest of the house.

Kitchens are always better north-facing.

I don’t think the kitchen will matter being north facing but will there be another separate living area? In the winter the open plan space could get quite cold if north facing so you would probably want a cosier living area as well.

Our south facing kitchen has the sun streaming into your eyes on a sunny day, north facing might be preferable actually. I’ve had many a headache from it!

We have a diner at the other end (north facing) which is kind of gloomy but we have a large window but no sky lights etc.

I think it’s probably the right decision overall.

My whole flat is north facing. It is an open outlook and while I was concerned before moving in it has been fine.

I chose to have have white walls with bright artwork / soft furnishings. As i wary about it looking dingy.

I like my cool north facing kitchen. It is a bit dull but I’ve got good lighting. When it’s roasting in my south facing lounge or garden I am grateful for a cool room. It’s never really cold though because the boiler is in there plus the kettle and white goods give off heat as well as cooking does.