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Original poster

South facing garden - WIBU

40 replies

Onemoresliceofcakewonthurt · 29/03/2018 10:01

Bit of back story - our house sold back in October, we found one (south facing garden) and the sale was going through but our vendor pulled out in December (his wife decided she didn’t want to move). We then carried on looking from January but haven’t found anything - has to be 3/4 bedrooms and DH is adamant it must have a south facing garden. Is he being unreasonable that he won’t even consider a house that doesn’t have a south facing garden? Or is it sensible he’s covering all bases?

It’s driving me bloody mad now.. I spend my life on rightmove!

Just wanting others opinions on whether I’m being unreasonable thinking he’s dragging it out now?

OP posts:

Auntpetunia2015 · 29/03/2018 10:05

South or south west facing are preferable so that you can enjoy the sun when you come home from work of an evening. Ask him to consider south west as well.

Original poster

Onemoresliceofcakewonthurt · 29/03/2018 10:47

He’ll consider south west - it’s just driving me mad trying to find one of those as they’re apparently bloody hard to come by!

OP posts:

Bluebell9 · 29/03/2018 11:33

I moved from a house with a North facing garden to a south facing garden and I love it. it would be on my list of wants in a new house if we ever decided to move again.

JoJoSM2 · 29/03/2018 12:13

It's a non-negotiable to us although we now prefer an E -W facing house (with a W facing garden). You get good light in the morning at the front and light in the back of the house and garden till sunset. Our current garden is long enough for a breakfast in the sun at the back too.

I think a SE facing garden can be a good option for pensioners as the are likely to be able to enjoy the space earlier on in the day and the sun isn't as important by late afternoon.

A North facing garden is a no go as it make the back of the house permanently gloomy.

DonaldWeasley · 29/03/2018 12:30

Our Garden is north facing but has patches of sun at all times of day. So we have two patios to take advantage of this and I never really think about it beyond that - it’s nice and sunny!

TamaraDrankMyMilk · 29/03/2018 12:43

A North facing garden is a no go as it make the back of the house permanently gloomy.

I love it when people say that. because it is simply not true. It depends on whether there is a house to the side of you or something that blocks the light.

My house is on a SE/NW axis front to back. The back garden gets sun all the way to the back of the house because of its position in the street. Not everyone lives in a row of houses. I don't have a house directly to the other side of me either despite living on a modern estate.

It is lovely to have the sun either front or back or avoid it when it is too hot.

My parents had a south facing garden, we constantly had to shut the curtains to keep the house cool (huge 1970s windows) or to see the tv when it was too hot to be out.

I'm not saying buy a house with a north facing back garden but don't think it is a blanket rule that it never gets sun.

AnneWiddecombesHandbag · 29/03/2018 12:49

I would never buy a south facing again. We have one and hardly ever use our garden because it's too bloody hot all day. The sun has faded the flooring and curtains etc in the rear rooms. It also makes them unbearably hot in the height of summer.

Angryosaurus · 29/03/2018 12:50

Agree exactly with JoJo that E-W houses are perfect, with morning sun at the front, then the best evening sun. We used to have that, recently moved to a south facing garden. So far I'm missing my west facing one, and the north facing rooms are much gloomier than we ever had in our E-W house

busyboysmum · 29/03/2018 12:52

I love the sun so it was an essential to me. I love my conservatory in the winter as if there's any sun we get it. Then all evening in the summer I can sit on my swinging hammock and enjoy the sun until it sets.

I'd never buy anything else.

SimonBridges · 29/03/2018 12:53

It depends on so much else.
I have a south facing garden but I also have a woodland at the end of the garden so a large amount of it is in shade anyway.

Didiusfalco · 29/03/2018 12:53

I wouldn’t buy a house with a very small north facing garden but I have a house with a long north facing garden and it’s gorgeous and shady in summer. We have massive patio doors at the back so it’s not dark. Unless you’ve got a ton of cash I think it would be restrictive to discount houses because of this.

PissedOffNeighbour · 29/03/2018 12:59

We have a house where the back faces north east and front faces south west. I like it. We have bifolds at the back opennng onto a patio where it is lovely to sit and have a coffee in the morning/eat lunch and enjoy the sunshine. We also have a raised deck in the bottom right hand corner where we get sun all afternoon and well into the evening where we sit for a BBQ and evening tipple. Our sitting room is at the front and is also lovely and sunny in the afternoon/evening

TimesNewRoman · 29/03/2018 13:03

Definitely don't rule out other gardens, it depends whats around you. You can get wee suntraps in any garden. You might miss out on an amazing house.

Lilonetwo · 29/03/2018 13:12

I agree with the PP that a west facing garden is great. (so the front of the house gets sun in the morning and the garden is sunny in the afternoon)

It's not too hot in the back rooms and the front rooms are brighter than if they faced North.

boredofwaitingagain · 29/03/2018 13:33

You need to view the house. Ours is north east facing but because we are not hemmed in we get sun all day - it's only immediately adjacent to the house that we are in the shade - so we have a sep patio area. Also our living room (at the front) is lovely and sunny. The only real issue is that we want to do a big kitchen extension and I'm worried we will end up with a gloomy box!!

magimedi · 29/03/2018 13:35

When we were looking for our house (some 10+ years ago) one of the criteria was a South/SW facing garden.

An estate agent showed me the details of a house that fitted every requirement BUT the garden was North facing.

When I pointed this out to him his reply was:

"Well, it depends which way you look at it!

JoJoSM2 · 29/03/2018 13:35

Tamara, yes N facing gardens can get sun if they're big enough and big trees/buildings don't block the light. The problem I've always found is the back of the house = the rooms at the back. When they're N facing, even if they have bifolds, roof lanterns and what not, I seem to head straight for the light switch even in the middle of a sunny day. But fair enough if other people find it ideal.

Parrothead · 29/03/2018 14:11

Our house is E-W (West at the back) with a big conservatory at the back and I hate it. As a PP said, it’s too bloody hot in the spring and summer. We are basically living in a greenhouse. The conservatory is open to my kitchen and TV room so basically that whole area becomes uncomfortable, especially in the late afternoon when the sun shines directly in. I love sun as much at the next person but it is possible to have too much of a good thing!

In any case, I think your DH is BU to be so restrictive in house directions.

JessTessMess · 29/03/2018 14:11

Well if you have a south facing garden, you still have one half of your house that’s dark - we have one side that’s always cold and one that’s always warm.

If you dh is going to moan endlessly about a south facing garden, you should probably rule out north facing gardens at least!

UndomesticHousewife · 01/04/2018 01:38

I don’t know which way my house faces, the sun hits the back of the house in the morning and moves round to the front by the evening but none of the rooms are dark at any point.
It doesn’t bother me in the slightest the house is perfect and the location is perfect so I wouldn’t have said no because of the sun.

BettyBooJustDoinTheDoo · 01/04/2018 01:49

Agree with Tamara not all North facing gardens or north facing rooms are gloomy, really does depend on how big the garden is, the buildings surrounding you etc, I would look at each house on an individual basis taking these points into consideration, you could be missing out on an amazing house otherwise.

Joanna57 · 01/04/2018 08:19

The front of my house faces east, but my garden runs the full length down the side of the house, so is south facing.

The sun rises over my garden, stays over my garden all day, and sets nicely over the garden as well.

Taking a photo of the front of my house is very misleading, due to the position of the garden not being obvious from the front of the house.

I see the most amazing sunrises and sunsets.

Starlighter · 01/04/2018 08:28

We insisted on a south-facing garden too, which means we have the sun in our garden all day, which is lovely, but there are drawbacks.

The front of the house is very dark and cold.

On a very hot day, it’s just too hot in the garden and there is no shade.

You can never get a conservatory. (We had one, it was like a greenhouse, totally unusable!)

A lot of our plants die and the grass gets scorched.

I would consider other options if we moved again. I know people with west facing gardens, which is lovely. Sun at the front all morning and in the garden all afternoon. Also north-facing is fine is your garden is longer than the shadow of your house. You could make a lovely sun trap space at the end of the garden. If the house is perfect in every other way, I’d go to see it anyway and see how the sun falls.

AnneWiddecombesHandbag · 01/04/2018 10:23

I do have a conservatory in my south facing garden but we spent mega bucks on special glass and blinds etc so it's useable all year round. But if we hadn't been able to afford to do that would definitely not have been an option.

Baxdream · 01/04/2018 10:58

Our garden is west facing but we're a corner plot so we don't have anyone next door so we get sun all the time as the south aspect isn't blocked.
I have to admit north facing has put me off but it would depend on if the garden was overlooked/obstructed

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