WWYD? Perfect house but north facing garden

[shizgigz]

Perfect house in every way but the rear aspect is worrying me. Hate the thought of back of house being dark and cold as I love the sun.

Photos shown the gorgeous view but would north facing be a deal breaker for you?

I am very happy with my N facing garden. I refused to put an offer on the house until I'd visited in the early evening (6pm) to see what the garden was like at that time of day (in the late Spring). There was plenty of sun at the bottom of the garden (from half way down) so I was happy.

It doesn't get sun in the winter, granted. But I'm never out there in the winter, so it doesn't matter.
And when it's hot in the summer, having plenty of shade is a godsend.

I wouldn't discount N facing at all. But I'd do my due diligence. Can you find out what time of day those pics were taken at? And is it due south, or is it slightly east or west? If it was creeping towards NE, I'd be more cautious as you're less likely to have evening sun.

If you are in the south it can be better to have a north facing garden. Most summers nowadays are increasingly hot and I can't sit out or garden in my south facing garden on warmer days. Equally I have no sun in my lounge or main bedroom at the front of the house.
I would choose north facing gardens by preference.

We have an almost south facing garden. I actually don’t like it because it makes the back bedrooms so hot throughout the summer.

Ok that made no sense. I’m very tired. We have an almost west facing, not south. Not sure what I’m talking about now. 😂

Our garden faces north and like the one you are looking at is quite open on the other sides. It's been no problem at all and in the summer there is almost always somewhere shady to sit. The back of the house stays cooler too.

If you want a sunny house inside and outside then you need to do lots of research to check the level of sunshine that you will get. I couldn’t live with a house that got no sunshine inside at the back especially if they were rooms I would be using a lot.

It appears it's a very slightly North East facing garden.
Unfortunately being the time of year it is there is no sun for me to ascertain a true picture.
The owner is also an estate agent so the cynic is me wonders if the pictures may have been doctored, although admittedly the garden was very green when visited.

Its protected land out the back (I work in planning) which is encouraging. The view is gorgeous.

Aargh...seems the room is divided. I don't really spend anytime sunbathing at home but love to sit outside with friends and can't bear the thought of the house being cold or dark at the back.

I’d buy it if the fields are protected.

It woikd be a dealbreaker for me. Our old house had a north facing garden and it was damp dark and miserable.

This! I couldn't bear to not have any sun in the evening.

Is there a front garden that you could make private enough to sit in if you wanted to or does it face onto a busy road?

The garden clearly gets plenty of sun - it's literally in the photos.

My garden faces NE and gets plenty of sun. The only time it doesn't is like December to February, but I barely step out my back door at all in those months!

It looks very open, so you should get some sun first thing in the morning from the east and also some from the west in the afternoon/evening. Not as much as south facing obviously, but if you love the house then the garden would not be a dealbreaker.

I have a north facing back garden, and was very wary of it when I first moved in.
BUT I am so happy with it now! I get sin in the early morning, sunny spots throughout the day, if I'm really chasing the sun, and a sun puddle mid afternoon to bask in.
When it's a hot, very sunny day, it's a wonderful, comfortably warm retreat.
I am really happy with it, and my plants are too😁

Judging by the photo, in the summer months it will be sunny out there from dawn to dusk. In the winter not so much, but then how often do we get sunny days in the winter anyway?

Our house faces due west, and on sunny summer afternoons & evenings it is like an oven. I positively yearn for a north-facing garden (and yes, I am a keen gardener).

• I get sun early morning! Although sin would be very welcome😅

My garden faces north, but downstairs is open plan with windows on all four sides so there's always plenty of light.
There are two north-facing bedrooms; one is a study and the other is DS who doesn't care.
The garden is a reasonable size and the house isn't particularly high so it's always sunny. The north-west corner has a small patio perfect for breakfast and morning coffee, the main patio for the afternoons is directly next to the house, and a third patio, for evenings, is in the north-east corner.
This garden looks bigger so will definitely work. It's all down to the house itself and which rooms are on which side.

The garden looks quite large - certainly larger than ours which is about 30 ft long only. Our garden is completely north facing. In the summer, it's not atually a big problem as even though our garden is small, it's big enough we still get plenty of sun albeit not close to the house - but we sit out and actually quite enjoy more shade nearer the house. In the winter it is a bit more irritating but our neighbours on both sides have less of an issue as their gardens are longer and it's not like we want to be outside anyway - it's more because our dog gets very muddy as we get so little sun.

No front garden, just a tiny patch of grass

Me too 🤣

I think it depends on what is on either side of the house eg neighbours to block out light or not. It’s far more nuanced than orientation. We have a north east garden and in Summer get sun for most of the day in 50% of garden and can sit outside until 7.00pm in a large sunny corner. At 5pm I can still step from the kitchen extension into the sunlight.

In winter we get morning sun and then shafts of light at the far corner but I don’t use my garden in summer. We get light transfer from front to back as we have double doors into the kitchen from the front. We also have a fireplace to give warmth/ a glow.

So in Summer it’s actually quite lovely as we get sun and shade and out extension does not get overheated as it’s in the shade.

We were put off a south facing garden as there was zero shade despite one tree. It was baking in the kitchen.

We have north facing garden here and it doesn't bother me, but I am not one for sitting in the sun. We get a lot of thermal gain in our south facing lounge though.
In our last house which was South facing back garden , it was too hot at the rear of the house and we ended up with vertical blinds to provide shade when the children were small.

Our house has a north facing garden been in for just over a year now and really like it. I’m a love gardening and things seem to be growing well.

Personally I wouldn’t want a south facing garden as it would be too hot for me.

Depends a lot on what's around to cast shade. I have a largish north-facing front garden and I'm often surprised how much of the day it has sun on it, especially in the summer when the sun is high in the sky. On really hot summer days, it's actually a nicer place to sit than the south facing back where the heat and direct sun can feel a bit oppressive.

The pictures look as though there's nothing blocking the sun at the sides, so you should still get a lot of sun there. That said, if you really have set your heart on south-facing, the orientation of your property is one feature that really can never change and if you think it's going to bother you, then it probably is right to make it a dealbreaker.

Last 3 houses have been south'ish facing. I can't stand it - too hot to sit out, curtains/blinds closed against the light/heat. I must be a vampire as I find it really uncomfortable. Current house south facing but trees at the back for shade.