No home should have interior spaces with basically ONE major exposure, and the rest left to happenstance.

What you need to do is get the architect to your site. That is your very FIRST step.

That is where you consider every need, from light, how big, how small, how you live, entertain, how many beds/baths......what you need in a kitchen. And more.

Shallow depth homes and multiple exposures, will always bring more light. Window heights are important......

The point is, nobody can answer your question. All good design is a marriage of interior/exteriors/exposures et al........and much more along with what best suits the site.

Get thee an architect.

I agree with all of Jan's comment. I love my 75' long MCM ranch for the simple fact it is really mostly one room deep so every space gets the light except the bathrooms which to me is no big deal. We have a fabulousview on the South so play that up for sure then all along the North wall we have patio doors and large windows to face the backyard. The house is built with huge overhangs on the South to keep the sun out in the summer but allow it in in the winter to help heat the house. IMO a home is designed with both your needs and the best possible placement for the lot .

Agree with Jan, that there are so many factors , you’ll need to brainstorm with architect on many aspects of your lifestyle & how you spend your time.
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You discuss west- facing and outdoor time, but just read posts on people’s issues with deck or patio on west side that become unusable with no trees or other shade- of course they discuss adding sunshades but that is best factored in when you can ( building vs. buying already built). And if you plan to plant a tree or trees.
Or see posts re: a wall of west windows needing special shades or drapes- not a problem but sometimes unforeseen when designed, or not budgeted for.
Then as Jan says, unless you have a long skinny house 1- room deep, you’ll have options for rooms with one or ideally windows on 2 walls. Your kitchen, dining, bedroom, a parlor or office or other rooms.
Are you home during the day usually? I ask because then you have more options to enjoy light from different exposures during the day. If you have SAD, I would for sure have some southern exposure windows somewhere- I would love a LOT of south windows but can also see having a room or 2 with that light.
Most people buy already built houses and can’t align every desirable feature- location, lot, floorplan, exposure etc but try to get a number of boxes ticked.

Another very common discussion on HOUZZ is the effect of covered porches on how much light reaches house interior. The location and depth of coverage plus whether there are other windows and sources of light.

And also, the design of the house for use of good artificial light— which light- lovers need along with natural daylight. Things like ceiling heights soaring to majestic but un- lightable heights so they are like tall caves at night, or floor plans that make it hard to have places for end tables with lamps, or floor lamps, or floating furniture without access to electrical outlets.

These are all things I would be discussing with an architect.

You could consider still making it a west-facing home but place the areas in which you spend the most time (e.g. family room) on a side that gets more light during the day.

I wonder if an L-shaped home would work for your site? It seems like it would give you the best of both worlds, depending on how you can orient it.

Depending on how you arrange your main living spaces, you can technically have sun streaming into that area all day. The back of my house (with great room, kitchen and breakfast room) faces south, but because I have banks of windows on 3 sides, I get sunlight flooding the space all day….east for morning sun, south for most of the day, and west towards the end of the day (although the west side is dappled sun because of some tall trees). Having so many windows doesn’t leave much space for wall art :), but that is a small price to pay for a happy, cheerful interior!

Sunshine and brightness in my home was my MAIN criteria, and everything I did was chosen with that in mind…starting from the parcel choice (no trees blocking sunlight and also being able to have the proper orientation etc), and then figuring the best interior layout so sunlight would stream in all day, window size and locations (large floor to ceiling windows wherever possible) etc.

If sunlight is super important to you (especially if you suffer from seasonal affective disorder), this should be your major concern….. that trumps everything else IMO and you can fudge a little with your view so that the main living areas are not facing directly west. South is best with windows on three sides for the brightest and cheeriest interior (although a slightly southwest exposure will do well also).

Here is an example of my layout. There are large banks of windows on all 3 sides of my main living area and with a good architect you could do similar if you pivot your house just a bit so that the main living areas are not facing directly west but more southwest and you can have glorious sun in the home all day.

Yes, think outside the (rectangular) box, and consider "L" or "T" shaped house which blocks the west sun and orients major living spaces to the south, while providing usable outdoor spaces. Good luck!

You don't want direct west exposure if you want to use the space in the evenings. Besides being very HOT in summer, the sun will be glaring so it's basically unusable.

I'm in SW FL and built a U shaped house (we're on a small plot) and oriented my main rooms south. Every single public room and bedroom has windows on at least 2 walls. I minimized the windows facing west.

Even on a cloudy day like we are having here today, my house still feels light and bright.

Here's my first floor plan so you can see how light and bright my house is. Top is south. Notice how the only window on my west side is in the bathroom?

The added bonus is with our lanai, in the winter when the sun is lower, we get direct sun into our great room and dining area but in the summer when the sun is higher, our lanai gets no direct sun so we can sit out there all day long. Even without the direct sun in summer, the great room and dining area are still light and bright.

I agree you should consider an L or T shaped house.

We have a house with wonderful south exposure. The LR, DR, sunroom, and two bedrooms all south. Kitchen is north with good windows, and exposure to the DR light.

We have three small windows to the west, two in bathrooms (including a downstairs guest bath) and one a corner of our bedroom (not far from the window on the south wall). I have to say, I really miss being able to see the sunset, especially when my local fb has posts about “did you SEE that sunset?” Mind you, trees block the horizon, but still, it would be nice to see at least the colors, or a nudge to run down the driveway to gaze west for a moment. and btw, we have the same issue with the sunrise, only one small window on the east, in DS’ bedroom. oh, and in the garage.

How much space do you have? It looks like plenty, so no reason to have a one or the other situation. Even if space is tighter than it looks, living space in the southwest corner of the home can be a good solution. Lots of windows along the south wall. Windows, and maybe a French door or slider on the west wall opening onto a covered patio. Enjoy the view, but the covered patio keeps that west sun from beating into the house until later in the evening. Plant some deciduous trees to the west too.

Your house should be designed to fit the site, which means addressing site size, orientation, seasonal sun path, prevailing wind direction, soil conditions, vegetation, water table level, water features, topography, existing structures, neighboring structures, wanted views, unwanted views, neighboring sound generators, neighboring odor generators, neighboring land uses, roadways, utilities, local jurisdiction restrictions, and more.

Lots of great advice here. I think we all understand what you are saying but I would ask that you clarify something. A house faces the direction that it is in the front. You use the term as if it is the direction where the back yard is. So I think you are mostly referring to an East front yard.

How big the lot is and the location of the road matter somewhat. If your views are to the West, then that can't be changed.

We have a lot in the city with a due west facing back yard. We put the garage rear facing and our "yard" is on the south side. Do not tie yourself to a rectangular box with a door on the front means your outside time has to be 180 degrees opposite that.

I agree with all the points made by others here.

That being said, you have a beautiful lot, and getting professional design help in orienting and laying out the house is paramount to matching your home to the lot.