North facing garden

[Denmark321]

Hi all,

Me and my husband have found a house we really like, however the garden, living room, dining room, kitchen and master bedroom are all north facing, some north west. My question is, would we ever get any sunlight inside? Or would we be living in the dark for most of the day....

I have this. It was a consideration but one we overturned. We have a north facing living room, kitchen and master. The kids rooms and dining room and playroom are on the south wall.

I still manage to grow loads of plants in the back. Out sitting patio is at the end of the garden and the area that the kids play in is in the shade which works well. The front of the house which is south has a magnificent wisteria covering it, and my summer baskets and pot look fab around the door.

My only concession is having a log burner in the living room. Sometimes it’s a tad chilly so having the burner in means we light that rather than put the heating on. And I had to be strategic with my washing line otherwise laundry would only dry in high summer. Otherwise no regrets

Thank you guys, this is very helpful. My only worry is, I love sunlight coming through our living room (currently live in a south facing house) so I guess my question is, would we get loads of light inside as well or would the shadow of the house cover that?

I don’t notice that lack of direct light indoors. In fact I appreciate it not showing the dust up! Are are of the rooms south/south west windows?

We have a nw facing garden and get sun from about midday onwards. A lot more than I was expecting. We also get the morning sun for a few hours when it peeks between our house and next doors. A north facing garden was my nono when we were house hunting, but I am glad we got this house.

We have this lounge looks out to north facing garden it has a row of high bushes one side of boundary and a tree at end of garden we have the lights on all the time honestly even in the afternoon

I'm used to it but it is a shame

I couldn’t go back to living in a dark house after doing it for years. Our garden was north facing and would get sunlight for a few hours on a morning but everything would be in shade by lunch. Lights always needed to be on inside, always cold.

I insisted on buying a house with south facing garden and have never looked back!

If you live in a house now with a south back facing garden you will find a house with a north facing back garden too much of a contrast imho.

I really wouldn't do it. I had a North facing house and had to move. No sun in the house at all. Found it dark and depressing. Am now in a south facing house. What a difference! Love it, we all feel so much happier. Will never live in a north facing house again. Sorry if this isn't what you want to hear.

Ours is north west and is actually not bad at all. We get surprisingly aot of sun in the summer.
I don’t really mind not having sun in the kitchen/rear lounge. It’s actually more of a benefit with no sun in our bedrooms especially in the summer. Room stays cool and dark

The front of our house is north facing, but we have large windows and all the rooms are very bright. No issues at all. The south facing rooms at the back are wonderful in winter, but can get too bright in the summer. I do love our south facing garden though.

We are north facing at the back - how overlooked is the garden by nearby buildings?

Ours is a NF garden but we aren't overlooked so sun all day

For the house I think the size of the windows are a factor.

Are you able to visit again at a different time of day?

I lived in a house with a north facing garden for 6 months... made me miserable. And the garden was mossy and the rear walls and patio were green and slimy... I wouldn't consider a house with any north direction to the garden. East is not ideal because by you don't get the sun in the evening. South West is the best in my opinion

A lot of old houses were built to get the sun into the front rooms, when they didn't use gardens like we do today. But I think people now generally prefer a sunny back where they have the privacy.

I think north facing gardens can range quite a bit. Ours is on the small side but has plenty of sun in the summer. Not so much in the winter, but we aren't outside so it doesn't matter to us. We have no problem growing grass or anything else. Moss hasn't been an issue at all.

Our living room also faces north and I did find it dark in the winter. Now that we've lived in it a full year, I find that I'm content with it. When everything was hit this summer, the living room was the best room to be in. I'm in our living room right now and don't need to put the lights on.

@redtulip12 what do you mean by south facing house? Does the front of the house face south? Do you not have any windows facing north? Surely most houses have some windows that face either north or east?

Should say *hot this summer, not hit!

@Kescilly sorry if not clear. in my previous house my garden was north facing and all of the living space was at the back of the house. The sun never shone in these windows into the house and the rooms were dark. (There were a couple of sunny bedrooms at the front but we spend most time downstairs and in garden). The garden also got a bit boggy as it didn't dry out easily after rain.

My current house has a south facing garden and the living room, kitchen diner all face this way. The sun streams in through the windows and doors making the house light and warm. We spend far more time in garden now too.

I have also had a house with an East facing garden and that got sun in the back of the house in the morning and front of the house in the afternoon.

I would always go for a house with a South facing garden in future if possible.

Our back garden is nw facing. We get morning sun at the front, and afternoon sun at the back. I have been grateful for some of the shady spots this summer, but it certainly isn't dark. The only thing is we get no sun in the downstairs back during the winter, but I can live with that, as it still shines through the front.
I once has a south facing garden. It was murder in hot weather due to the lack of shade, and the plants would wilt a lot.

Ah that makes sense redtulip. I think it’s important for people to think about how they use a house when it comes to light. Many people probably prefer a bedroom to be darker.

I think it’s also important for anyone considering a north facing garden to look at the state of the garden. Ours has never been waterlogged or had any trouble, but I know that others have. So I think that orientation is only one factor to consider.

We are North/East at the back and South/West at the front, and our house is always flooded with light. Our main bedrooms and living room face the front. You would think this is lovely BUT all summer, the curtains have to be closed by early morning otherwise it is boiling hot. The conservatory against the back of the house is also basically unusable during the day in the summer, even though that faces North/East, Spring and Autumn are ideal for sitting in there. Our patio, against the back of the house gets sun all Spring and Summer. It's swings and roundabouts, we are lucky as we have a large garden and we are not overlooked or shaded by other houses, so actually we are pretty content with this arrangement.

My sister and I lived next door to each other at the ends of terraces, so the sides of our houses faced each other while the other sides joined onto next door. Both houses faced the same way, NW, so our gardens faced SE. However, we got the sun in the front and side all day til it set, whilst she only got it in the front from late afternoon, and for about an hour through the side windows for about half an hour at lunch time, and never in the kitchen. We didn't get much sun in the garden because it was blocked by the houses diagonally opposite.
Her house was much darker and felt colder than ours.
Our current house, mid terraced, gets sun from early morning til about noon in the front, and from 11 til sunset in the back, which is where our main living area and garden is. It's so bright I absolutely would never go back to facing away from the sun!

We had a south facing garden in our lady’s house and it was insufferable in the summer. No shade anywhere no after what we planted. The sitting room and our bedroom were both at the front of the house and both dark and dingey all the time.

This house has north east garden and it’s wonderful! We have sun across 75% of it during the day and natural shade too! We have placed our paved area in ten lartvtbat gets sun until about 8pm. We have a hot tub which is also in direct sun too.

I would never get a south facing garden again. What we have now is perfect. The house is bright and full of light and the garden is a pleasure to sit in. The plants flowers at the front do very well too.

Sorry for typos! Should have proof read that first!

We have Nfacing but an open view at the back and it doesn't feel dark - main living room at back also, and kitchen. I do find the months when I want to use the garden are fewer, I don't much go out there between October and about February as it is damp and miserable, but in summer I really don;t notice what way it is facing, we have patios top and end and can always sit somewhere to get sun well into the evening