North facing house

[bumblebee61]

What would you feel about buying a house with a North facing aspect? The garden is South facing , as is the dining room, but all other rooms except one bedroom are North facing. Is this a complete no no? Anyone have a house with this aspect? The house does not feel dark when you are in it, but perhaps it would in the Winter. I am obsessed with light and get SAD in the Winter.

If it was south facing you would have a shady garden (as I do) which isn't great. Not sure what the ideal orientation though.

My house is north facing. It actually annoys me more in the summer than the winter as the sun goes over the top of the house. In winter it is lower so the sun shines in the windows more if that makes sense. The sunshine in the garden more than makes up for it though. And the house stays nice and cool when it is very hot.

The south facing back garden is a winner for me. We can sit out the back in the evening after work in a little flower filled sun trap while our neighbours across the road have to sit out the front to get the sun. Our front garden is a bit bleak though!

Quite like the cooler house in the summer and don't really notice it's darker in the winter as by the time I get back from work the lights are on anyway.

The front facing en suite gets mouldy quite quickly which have to keep on top of, but that's it really.

Wouldn't swap the south facing garden for anything, except a bigger south facing garden!

I'd take a gloomy house and the sun in the back garden over my shading back garden and sun streaming in the living room window any day of the week! Go for the north facing house and enjoy the sunny garden

Love my north facing house with its lovely sun filled south facing garden! My living room, bedroom and a spare room are at the front which stay cool all summer and the kitchen and dining room are flooded with light. I wouldn't want to change aspects now I have been fortunate enough to find this one.
South facing garden can get too hot but i have plenty of umbrellas and shady spots for when it gets too much

I have a north facing house with a south facing garden.

In my old house I had a south facing front and north facing yard onto a 'back alley' which I think is a particularly northern thing.

There are big pros and cons to both.

My old house had lovely warm bright and sunny sitting room with all that sunlight coming in through the bay window. Hot even on cold days if it was sunny. Just made you happy basking in the sun in the sitting room. I used to grow fab plants in the bay window.

The dining room and kitchen was at the back and they never really felt cold because of having the cooker on, tumble dryer etc.

However there wasn't any sunny private garden space because the yard at the back was very dank. At the time this wasn't an issue as I wasn't into gardening at all really and I would sit on my front step with a glass of wine if I wanted to be in the sunshine.

Now I have totally the opposite!

North facing sitting room and south facing garden with kitchen / diner and sun room at the back.

The garden is fab - gets the sun all day. Having a hot and sunny private garden space is soooo lovely.

However now it's summer my sitting room is really cold (and don't want to have heating on as the back of the house is warm) so I still have to sit under a blanket to watch TV.

Consequently I don't really spend any time in the sitting room and spend as much as possible in the sun room. I have plans to make the back of the house al nicely open plan but that is a few years away.

I'm winter it made no difference as the heating now as on and it was dark anyway.

We have had both

House 1 south facing sitting room and main bedroom, east facing kitchen, north facing dining room (that even with huge glass sliding door) was cold and dark, north facing garden that we never used as it was always dark even in middle of summer. Really didn't like the house, but we inherited it from PIL

House 2 north facing front so main bedroom and 3rd bedroom cold and dark,had huge huge problems with damp and mould in there, kitchen, dining room, bathroom and DS room all south, sitting room was a thru room so had dining room south and sitting room north, wonderful south facing garden

House 3 is EAST front so sitting room and DS room and WEST garden and our bedroom and dining room (which is a thru room with sitting room) ---- it is amazing cos we get daylight and sunshine all day long.

We chose this house mainly for this reason as we believe that EAST/WEST houses are the best of all and would never buy a NORTH/SOUTH house again

Our first house was East- West so front had sun streaming in in the morning, I loved waking up to the sun coming in to our room though dh hated it as it got so so warm. Sun also came in the living room until lunch. Then we lost the sun over the house for an hour or so and it then came over to the back. By late afternoon it flooded into the kids rooms and kitchen and dining room.

We now live in a north to south house so no sun flooding in the front (our room and lounge). Kids rooms at the back get loads of sun all day. There's a conservatory right along the back so we don't really get sun into the kitchen or dining room either but obviously loads in the conservatory. When it is sunny we are outside anyway otherwise I sit in the conservatory. I rarely sit in the lounge. We aren't long enough here yet to miss the sun in the house and probably need to see all seasons before seeing for sure how it goes. However the biggest pleasure for me so far has been lunch outside with the sun beaming down as we never had that before! We actually get sun all day in the front garden too, as it is quite long with a large drive, so so far we are very happy. We are lucky to have a large garden here though and I love the conservatory so it is working for us so far.

I do think East to West works well though if light in the house is a bigger priority than sun in the garden!

My house has a north facing front so my living room and bedroom face north. My kitchen, garden and kids rooms face south.

I love love love my sunny kitchen and the fact that we get sun in the garden all day. I hate the fact that my kids rooms are in direct sunlight and get hot. My room is cool all the time, as is my living room but it's not dark and never had damp.

My neighbours across the road have the opposite set up and all keep their blinds down in their front bedrooms all the time, so I assume they get hot. They also have dark and shady gardens while mine is always sunny.

I wouldn't swap in a million years, even though they have bigger houses.

We have a West East.... ideal. The sun rises the kitchen and dining room and our bedroom. The kitchen is dual aspect so gets sun all through the day. Living room is dual so gets sun all day and in the evening.

The north facing rooms are kids so they get cool and dark in the summer which helps with sleep. We have garden on the west, South and East and just a path down the side on the north.

I think it's the Ideal sun position house

I don't think there actually is one 'ideal' personally as everyone likes different things My husband loves coming in from the roasting garden to the cooler lounge, whereas the dog and I love the sun in the house too, therefore sit in the conservatory a lot. The kids don't really care I do think though that is advisable to check it all out before buying, we knew exactly what to expect with ours. If anything the sun on the garden exceeded our expectations but then we have been lucky to have had mostly good weather since moving - with the exception of today.........

We have garden on the west, South and East and just a path down the side on the north.
I think it's the Ideal sun position house

That is the total dream!!!

When I win euro millions i'll buy a pent house apartment on the top of a nice tall building in central london that will be triple aspect and will have 3 terraces. A big south facing one. An east one for breakfast coffee and a west one for sun downers. #livingthedream

I agree with Smartie east/west was best for me too in houses I've lived in.

My flat now has bedrooms which are west facing and get very hot on sunny afternoons and the sitting room overlooks a huge 100' north facing terrace which isn't overlooked and has sun all day from April to September.

You want a south facing kitchen/garden, as that's where you'll be mostly in the daytime.

Bedrooms better North facing (cooler in summer)

My house - front is South facing, and rear (with kitchen/garden) is North facing. I wouldn't say never again, but the kitchen lights are on most of the daytime, whatever the weather.

I once had a kitchen that got the sun in it all afternoon/evening (west facing) and i HATED it. Cooking in the summer was a hot and sweaty experience. I actually like that my current kitchen is a bit cool in the evening and i can cook with ease. It is south facing but by the time i am cooking the sun has moved round a bit. I have a lovely west facing sun room which is a joy on summer evenings.

I would open up the dining room and use the garden as a garden room. There is so much you could do to utilise this space so you get the benefit of the garden. I have had a south facing garden and it's great. You get the sun going east to west so it is usable all day.

Ours is south-facing, so back of house and garden north (though it's long so not the end of the world).

Have spent a lot of money improving the lighting and heating and adding glass doors (windows too soon I hope) and rooflights. When we moved in the back of the house was gloomy and much colder and damp too (caused by other problems, but not helped by the aspect). Is lovely in places now and is nice to be able to escape from the sun on hot days.

I don't mind north facing rooms. But would want a South facing back garden...

My house is this way around and i love it. You can always find a warm or cool spot depending on the weather and time of day!

I'm south-west facing at the back (where the garden is) and north-east facing at the front. It works really well, although the kitchen can get a bit chilly in the winter. My bedroom is at the front and gets the sun first thing in the morning, which is lovely.

Thanks everyone. I am trying to decide if it's a deal breaker. I hate dark, cold and gloomy environments.

Wouldn't bother me. Our living room and bedroom are north facing and it's fine. Key to winter happiness is lots of candles, open fire and soft fabrics.

Could you visit for a viewing on a cloudy rainy day at about 5pm, when at this time of year you don't need lights on then you could see what it was like on a dingie dismal damp day and see how it feels in north rooms?

Without the lights on