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 wouldn't buy it. The neighbours have their patios at the end of the garden but they are completely overlooked.

You would be in same situation. I like privacy on the patio so it would be a no from me

Is the garden long enough that the back of the garden will be out of the shadow of the house and get sunny? If it is, could you make a patio in the back and put in garden furniture, so that you can sit in the sun in the back of your garden instead of right next to the house?

One advantage of a long north-facing garden is that you can use the part near the house (in the shade) when it’s really hot, but use the part further from the house (in the sun) in the spring and fall when it’s warm but not properly hot.

I bought a house with north facing garden.

Bad decision as kids couldn't use half the year as too cold

Also washing wouldn't dry.

No from me. We have a SW facing garden meaning we get sun in the back for almost the entire day, I think it moves around from the side garden at 11am and is in the back until sunset. We had a brilliant first summer here sat out all day.

Take up art, the beautiful northern light is constant and mainly glare free. No glare on the TV for wimbers. Hold artist days and serve tea to them? Sit for them. In the late spring and early summer the sun will be high enough to shine on your garden as your photo shows. Northern light in your living room will give clear light for art on your walls and preserve all textiles and leather on your furnishings. Have I convinced you yet? Lol.

A hard no from me, too. traipsing to the end of the garden with everything for a slither of sunshine. Gloomy near the house. Bet that patio gets covered in green and the decking and furniture from the lack of sunshine. Chilly every day except the odd heatwave days. No No No

Also you will have no privacy on the end of the garden on a patio.

Inside will be dark, needing lights on most of the year-round, and higher heating bills as there is no natural light/warmth and a far higher probability of dampness. A nightmare that would induce SAD for me. I love my SW-facing sun-filled garden with Velux windows that bring glorious light into my house 365.

We have a north facing garden which is quite short, 40-50ft, and during the summer most of the garden is in direct sunlight. We did have a large tree that provided some shade and tended to block the late afternoon/evening sun, but removed it this year. We built the main patio at the end of the garden and find that we need parasol for shade. The small patio next to the house and the living room gets the morning sun so it’s where I sit and have my morning coffee.
The back of the house is cool in the summer ( it’s well insulated) but our bedroom at the front of the house cooks. We recently had new double glazing which has helped but still need white blinds to reflect the heat and have a portable air on unit for night time.
I think the garden would be more of a problem if you were overlooked either side, sort of boxed in.
In the summer the sun is too high to be shadowed by the house. I don’t know many people who sit on their patio from Oct- Feb. If they do they have heaters and it’s usually dark anyway.

Love a North facing garden. When the sun is out, we get sun to the garden all day, not all the garden, but at least some of it have sun all day.

Last house had South facing rear garden. Never again!

Really appreciate everyone's thoughts.

There is a footpath which sort of gives a view of the back; think I will take the dog for a walk over there and see if I can get a covert view of the garden!!

I had an east facing garden that was long and we built a patio at the bottom for evening sun. Definitely not a deal breaker

Definitely go and have a look and see how far the sun gets - now is a good time to do it!

Ours is NNW and it's lovely in the summer as the whole garden still gets sun. In the winter, the garden gets sun right at the end so it's never been an issue for us. Also our kitchen is at the back but has windows that face West so even though the back of the house is north facing, the kitchen still gets sun - it's worth checking how the sun shines on the house too when you do your walk!

Long garden wil get sun all day. The back fence is south facing and will be a lovely sun trap over looking the fields
I gave a north facing garden and in the summer the run comes round far enough that the back of the house gets the evening sun.
Not a deal breaker

We have a north facing garden and its completely in the sun except the first 8ft closest to the house all summer late into the evening. In the spring and autumn about half the garden is in the sun so you can sit out at the back. In the winter its not very sunny but who sits out in their garden in the winter in England?

We had a south facing garden before which was lovely but honestly in our kitchen extension was too hot in the summer and we had issues with glare. I wouldn't worry about the garden as much as the room backing on to the garden. In our house we have lots of sky lights that flood the space with natural light but it looks like the back of your house could be quite dark. However, it does mean the front reception rooms / living areas would be lovely and sunny.

Our north facing garden is green and lush. The patio is the envy of all our friends. Our gardeners boast about the planting even though I do it. The lounge is always cool but the dining room at the front is always sunny and warm. We love it and, tbh, we never even thought about which way the house faced when we bought it. We just fell in love with its kerbside appeal and the atmosphere as we entered the hall.

We moved from a house with a south facing garden to one with north facing. I was quite dubious but love it. Previously the open plan kitchen was boiling in summer. Now our kitchen is lovely all year round. Get the morning sun at the back and the front of the house gets lovely sun. Our garden is about 30-35m long and in summer we get sun in the back 30 for most of the day. There are no obstructions to the east and west which really helps.

Your garden does not look like you have trees of buildings obstructing it to the east or west so you'll get lots of sun. Our garden now is much more lush than our previous one.

Ours is north facing but it's very open, so the only shadow is our house which doesn't cover much of the garden. We have a large patio and big parts of it it always in sun. I think your neighbours housing has a bit impact on how shady the garden ends up at different bits of the day.

There is one corner that is shady and gets a bit green but I put some shade loving plants in pots there.

I dont don't find the inside is dark etc. It's not like all our windows face north too. The house has windows in all directions. My living space looks south, the kitchen big window is in the east and gets the morning sun. The dark thing must depend on the house layout.

I hated my north facing garden.

Could you ask someone else who lives on that street?

On our street - that would backfire. Our neighbours on the left (ie to to the west of us) have a wider garden and no neighbours, so they get plenty of sun, even in winter.

Our neighbours to the right (ie east of us) have 100ft garden and their house is significantly further into the garden than ours so they also get plenty of sun, even in winter.

Our garden, on the other hand, is largely sun free from October-March!

We have a north facing garden and it gives us no bother. If anything our real problem is the south facing front rooms which get way too hot in summer.

If the house was OK, the orientation of the garden wouldn't bother me in the slightest.

Where in the country are you? If you’re not in the south, maybe take comments about how great it is to have shade with a pinch of salt! I’m in Scotland and you really need the sunshine to make sitting outside pleasant, as it can be very cold in the shade even in summer, barring about a fortnight of heatwave. And bear in mind you’ll be less sheltered from wind at the end of the garden rather than near the house. I had a north-facing kitchen in my last house and it was pretty depressingly dark in there so we never sat in it.

@MaryLennoxsScowl that is a very fair point.

I am in a sunny bit of the south east, which might well be a factor in funding it fine.

I have a north facing garden and it's absolutely fine! I have sun in my kitchen first thing and on the patio close to the house. When it gets too hot, it's lovely when it becomes shaded. We have a fairly long garden and parts of it have sun for most of the day in the summer. You just have to plan where to put decking/a patio area etc. Oh and the front of my house gets the sun, so the two front rooms are very warm and bright. It didn't cross my mind to turn it down because it was just what we were looking for.

I found the following website very useful when I was buying my current house, you draw the house and surrounding objects (estimate roof heights) and it shows all the shadows for different hours and times of years.
https://www.findmyshadow.com/