I never even thought about the direction of any house I bought. I live in a cloudy area and especially in the winter seeing the sun is a novelty. I guess if there was a great view then the direction would matter.

My house is compact, but i would say in a good way? the primary has north facing windows and the formal living and dining are also north facing. i would love to have more south facing window space but location and floor plan and price would beat direction for me.

We are building a new house on our existing lot. New /old house is S/ W and lots of light. In the meantime I’ve been in a rental with north facing rooms. Made worse by a large bamboo stand uphill from our windows. Rental house is very low natural light and it bothers me more than I expected. As I mentioned, there are some other factors at play. But I honestly never realized how much the direction of rooms factored in until living here.

I have seasonal affective disorder and I prefer to be in the southwest side of the house unless it is summertime. I also grow houseplants so I want the brightest exposure for them too. I would not do well in a house like you describe.

We have lived in 5 houses, one of those had the main rooms (kitchen, living room) facing north east…while it was the most expensive house we have had, I never quite liked living there. I couldn’t put my finger on what bothered me about it until we moved to our current home with the kitchen and main living area facing south west. Wow, what a difference the sunlight makes! I couldn’t go back to a house where the main rooms faced north. If you are concerned about it now, do not do it, you will not be happy! Keep looking, best of luck to you!

I’m pretty southern- exposure dependent especially in winter time. However despite all the advice in HOUZZ about home design, layouts, my experiences in house- hunting are that, short of custom- built homes on ideal lots, or finding the perfect renovate- able home and having funds and skill/ tolerance/ luck for finding architect & contractors , I don’t see the average home- buyer being able to line up windows, exposure, neighborhood, cost, age& quality of home.
Ok, rang over. One aspect of my rant is that recently anyway, houses were selling fast enough that there was little opportunity to compare, nor to have time to evaluate a house for renovate- able - ness.
I think you have to know yourself and your market. And how you use your home& yard.
A small example is, say you like to spend time outdoors and grill, have a few close friends over for that. you could have great south windows but the house and lot situation doesn’t allow easy access to outdoor living for that. Vs a person who’s more confined and will spend a lot of day sitting indoors, or cooks during the day( of course the “ day” is long in summer, so even when I worked long hours, I liked to see summer evening, and then get low winter sun. )

If you are able to tour homes with realtor or go to open houses, see if there are “ aha” moments related to window placement, size of windows, views, that make a house feel like “ home” to you.

Exposure is obviously just one of many factors in choosing a home. My previous house had the kitchen and deck facing west. Breakfast was dark and dreary. In the summer cooking dinner or having a cookout on a sunny hot afternoon was miserable. When I purchased my next house, I deliberately looked for a house oriented in the opposite direction. I was lucky to find one that also met my nonnegotiables of gas heat, public water and sewer, and a decent yard. Of course, I was not buying in a frantic housing market, so I was able to take my time.

Would not be a deal breaker for me. My master bedroom, master bath, kitchen and dining room have southern exposure and I have to pull the curtains until the sun is up over the roof on sunny days. It’s blinding. Once the sun is up, it’s up, and there is little difference in the north v. South side of the house. Sometimes the setting sun is bothersome if someone is trying to watch tv in the living room, which is on the north side. If your house needs more lighting, change the bulbs, or turn on more lights. Go outside and take a nice long walk. I know it’s cold, bundle up and walk fast. You’d be surprised how warm you will stay.

I would never purposely purchase a home (or build a home) where the main living spaces face north east! This was THE main criteria when we were looking for land to build on…it had to be situated in such a way that the main living areas could face south. I have to have sunshine flowing in my windows all day and the interior spaces need to be bright and cheery. Even on an overcast day on a treeless lot, rooms with windows that face south compared to north are drastically different….they are simply much brighter.

Years ago we purchased a home with the main living spaces facing north east. And the family room had huge floor to ceiling windows and no trees blocking the light, but I couldn’t wait to sell that house and vowed “never again”. The feel inside the rooms was definitely dreary and I felt closed in even with the large windows.

While we were building, we rented a town home with the main living areas facing north and it had tall floor to ceiling windows….it was dark, dark, dark! The kitchen was open to the family room/dining room but it was on an interior wall and didn’t have a window. I always needed lights on in the kitchen during the day for any task and the quality of light in the rest of the space was definitely somber.

So, it really depends on how important light (and sunshine) are to you. For some people, they barely notice, but for others it makes a huge impact on how they feel inside their home. You have to locate how light impacts you before you make such a huge decision.

There’s a reason why most model homes are built on lots with the main living areas facing south and with the sunshine streaming in. The bright interiors help to sell houses and they appeal to more buyers without them even realizing they are being influenced by all that natural light and sunshine coming in.

Yes, if I loved the house and the lot, then it comes down to how I work with the natural light and choose paint colors, accordingly.

North light stays the same all day. A color with purple undertones and bright white for trim and ceilings (B.M. Chantilly Lace) will work day and night.

East light loves green. And green and purple (Excalibur Gray) look lovely together. Add more warm colors and you are good to go.

But, you live in a cold climate. North facing access would present as a problem in the winter and possibly damaging effects of ice and snow on the exterior of the house.

Our living room is on the northeast side of the house, with most windows on the north wall. I enjoy the northern exposure - sun never beats down on you and the light stays fairly constant all day. We do have a lot of windows. Our kitchen/dining area is on the south/east corner. The windows facing south have window coverings drawn all day in the winter because the sun is so low it blinds everyone. We are in a townhouse so have zero windows facing west. I can honestly say I don’t miss it, because we have maximized windows everywhere else. I also prefer to have natural light as much as possible, but western light can be problematic in the summer. I have lived in a house in which the east side felt dark after morning, but I think it was due to poor window and wall placement. If you’re working off a builders plan, you may not have much choice in changing wall and window placement. However, if you’re working with an architect, a good one can help you make the most of your site.

Another thought about your location: is the construction 2"x4" or 2"x6"? 2 x 6 allows for more Insulation and from a decorating side, you can install inside mount window treatments, which you can't with 2 x 4.

Here in TO for more than 50 years, I've lived in homes facing north, south, east and west.

The only problematic ones were those with backyards facing west, making summers uncomfortable unless there were numerous shade trees or portable sun shelters.

Front is currently facing south. We have to use blackout blinds in the morning.

Having winter sun pour into the house is absolutely non negotiable for me. So main rooms face south. In summer the sun is directly overhead; then you want shade trees to the west/southwest. For even more cooling, have shade trees to the east/southeast. All deciduous, of course. I have planned for that twice.

I crave natural light so for me it would be an issue. My DH actually prefers his spaces darker and keeps his shades drawn most of the time.

I live in SW FL and designed my house so my DR and LR face south as well as my bedroom, the guest bedroom and my studio. I also designed the house with 32" eaves and a 9.5' lanai so I never have the issue of blinding sun reaching into my house,

When I lived up north, my first house faced S and the backyard was always dark and that was the last area where snow melted. My next house faced N and the front was always the last to lose the snow. Something to think about.

Historically, houses were built with the front living spaces facing south. Here on Cape Cod we have a plethora of antique homes...without exception every one faces south. Our 1840 half-Cape faces south and the borning room gets south/west light.

" I never even thought about the direction of any house I bought."

Me, either.

There is no perfect house, there's always something that's a compromise. In this house, I have an interior kitchen, how I wish I had a window -- I'd take any window, even a north one. But there are lots of windows in the house, including a great room that has banks of windows on three sides = abundant light. The property itself is terrific, and in the geographic location I wanted, so I bought the house. My last house had a south-facing entry and kitchen/eating area with two decent-sized windows, after many years there and trees filling in, guess what? Wasn't all that sunny in there -- bright, but not sunny. My southern view was of the driveway and cars driving down the street -- I'd take a northern or eastern exposure with a great view over that. That same house had the living and dining room facing north with huge window and patio door -- never was sunny in there, either, but it never felt dark or dreary in there, even in winter, because of the abundance of natural light and I maximized my view out those windows with the patios and landscaping, it was lovely to be in there and look out those windows. Those north-facing windows.

What I'm trying to say is there are so many variables to take into consideration, not just the exposure.

Good points worthy, as usual. We are also outside most days, so most days it doesn’t matter what is going on inside. And we do enjoy the shaded backyard in the summer.

Directional positioning of a house has never been a primary factor for me in purchasing one. We always take note of it but if everything else is to our liking we buy regardless of which direction the house faces. I love seeing the sunrises in the morning and I somewhat dislike the burning hot western sun in the afternoon. I'm always closing the blinds on the west side - too hot, too bright, too much fading.

I can't say I would not buy a house where the living spaces face north and east, but I'm grateful that our house has southern and eastern exposures.

We bought half a twin home in North Dakota a year ago; living room has a huge window to the east, sun room with an east window and south patio door, and the primary bedroom faces south. Our shared wall is on the west side - so the neighbor protects us from the NW wind in the winter, and the hot afternoon sun in the summer.

There is an identical twin home across the street, and the one facing north (bedroom and sun room) and west (living room and sun room). Had we not gotten our house, I am pretty sure we would have bought the one across the street - the orientation isn't ideal, but the size, layout, and location are wonderful.

The down side to our house is that the garage faces north - so most of the driveway does not get any sun in the winter.

Have the builder put in some skylights. I did that in our previous home which faced North in the kitchen. The large living room had a wall of windows, floor to ceiling and faced SW. The sun and heat was unbearable in summer. I had window coverings to block some of the sun. Our AC had to run continuously in the afternoon until sunset.

I love skylights as you get gentile light all day without heating the house and blinding you if you are sitting in a Western exposure.

Hey everyone thanks so much for the feedback. I'm loving all these thoughts - a bit on both sides. I do currently have a west-facing back (kitchen & great room/living room) and I am so used to an abundance of sun pouring in, that I'm concerned about my ability to adjust to the opposite scenario. Having said that, a lot of you have made the right points about facing west - the sun and heat are relentless in the summer. My a/c blasts constantly and I hate that. It's essentially a greenhouse effect in my own house. So it's definitely something to consider.

I still haven't quite decided what I want to do, but I am leaning towards being less concerned about the exposure overall, there are pros and cons to all exposures. And if I get in early enough maybe I can make some of these builder requests that have been noted. My next hurtle is trying to figure out if I can move to a town further north, where the population, traffic and over-development are much lower (yes please) but so are the ammenities and proximity to ammenities (hmmm). :)

The only thing I don't want is a west-facing house. TOO HOT in the summer as the sun sets.

My house faces south, which is fine - the sun is up high enough in summer not to overheat or blind me with intensity. And I like my east facing dining window. I get to bask in the early morning sun while I eat breakfast.

But everyone's milage varies, and it depends on where you live.

We ONLY wanted southern exposure when we moved 20 years ago. We didn't even look at houses/lots without sunny exposures. Ideally, you want to breakfast on the east and have your BR on the east, too, but that's difficult in a one-floor house. We got the kitchen part, and the screened porch SE, but our BR is SW. Part of our Kitchen faces north, as does the Library and our MBA, but those three rooms have big archtop windows. (They also have supplemental heat.)