house aspect advice, experience, needed fast please. east or west.

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rikf86

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I am in a bit of a predicament, I have recently reserved a house in a new development off plans (west facing front east facing garden.) However as the weeks have gone on significant doubts have crept into my mind, mainly with regard to house aspect, as well as the fact looking at houses sold of this time over the last year 'mine' is much more expensive.

There are, no show houses of the house type I am interested in, or in the same aspect. I have been lucky enough to have a walk round one built for someone else in a different part of the estate, as the saleswoman was keen to sell me this with the original purchasers looking to pull out of the purchase. This fell through for me however. With this in mind it it is hard to know about lighting issues with the new builds, and mainly how the light sits in the living room, kitchen/diner and garden as the two I am interested in are only part built, one much further off than the other. The two houses (both of the same design) have either east facing back gardens, and vice versa west facing front or west facing back gardens and vice versa east facing front rooms.

The main living room is at the front, as is the master and second bedroom and the open plan kitchen / dining area is at the back. In terms of being overlooked, the two house types are equivalent. The gardens are slightly bigger in the one with the east facing garden however I have noted in the afternoon garden light is particularly poor. The burning question, which is driving me stir crazy, which would you prefer and why, - east facing garden + kitchen/west facing lounge or west facing garden/ east facing lounge?

Secondly would an east facing lounge be dull? I have no experience or way to gauge this for myself.

I can't answer how much I would use a garden as this hasn't been an option for me over the last ten years, and its a first home purchase so I have no prior house buying experience.

I think a west facing rear would be better, but my concern is a dull living room say after 2-3 pm with east facing front. I'm going round in circles.
The builders aren't keen to transfer me to the east facing one which would be available much later in the year, I did fall to very high pressure sales tactics used when I originally reserved the east facing house with the sales woman telling me if i didn't reserve today (4pm, shutting at 5) it would be gone, I'll admit I lost my composure and now 2 weeks on my doubts are growing significantly as to the property... Any thoughts or wisdom?
 
The front of my house faces north west-ish, main bedroom is at the back left hand corner of the house (looking from front) and the sun is shining in right now, it will move around and at 12ish will be shining directly into the kitchen which is on the right back corner of the house, throughout the afternoon it will be mainly right side of house where the main part of the garden is and as it sets in the evening it will shine into the sitting room which is right hand side front of house. The bedroom and hall to the left front of house never see sun so I decorated in bright colours to compensate.

So basically I have no great light or sun in the sitting room for the bulk of the day, it's not that dull or dark a room but not as bright as kitchen/dining room. It doesn't bother me in the slightest and in fact when I bought this site the one on the opposite corner was also available and I didn't buy it because the sun would be mainly in the front garden and front rooms of the house. I can see the neighbours over there when they are in the garden as it fronts the road, they would have no sun in their back garden in the afternoons.

Most people these days if they are at home all day spend most of the day in the kitchen area of the house, I know I seldom venture into the sitting room until evening to watch tv and for a lot of the year the fire is lighting and curtains closed by the time I get in there so irrelevant what it is like during the day.

In fact when I brought my rough plan to an architect day one he pointed out to me that I would not have sun in my sitting room during the day and sure that was where I was going to be all day (apart from the fact that I was out working all day). I asked him did he think that was what his wife did all day at home, sat in the sitting room!

So after that roundabout explanation I would not like a house where the sun/light was not going to be in the room most used, which these days is often the kitchen/dining. I like my garden and I have sun in back early in day and in side later, all quite private but a front sunny garden unless well enclosed and some bit private is not going to be used that much. I would also like if I had children to be able to see them in the garden from the kitchen area.
 
Our first house had an east facing back garden and we didn't like it at all. It was so frustrating not to have good sun in the back of the house and the garden.

When we made a list of what we really wanted for our second house, a south / west facing back garden was one of the things that we wouldn't compromise on. We bought a house with the back garden facing south west and its fantastic having sun pouring into the back of the house. So, having lived in houses with both orientation, I would have no hesitation in recommending a house which is south or west facing to the rear.
 
cool cheers, yeah I think I'm going to see if i can swap, wait a few more months and get the right house that appeals to me. I don't panic buy my jeans or cars, no reason why I should with a house. I guess its all too easy to get railroaded and flustered when spending a huge amount of money that isn't yours and making a decision that could affect the rest of your life, you shouldn't feel forced or manipulated into.
 
My house has a front living room and the master bedroom facing north and a back kitchen-diner facing south and I much much prefer having the sun at the back. As I pretty much only watch TV in the living room, not having direct bright sunlight is in fact a bonus (although I do get a lovely glow for an hour or two in the late evening). Likewise I don't spend much of the day in bed looking out the window. Definitely having the kitchen open up to a sunny back garden is preferable to having it open into shade.

As for your north-facing rooms being dull, a little attention to the decoration will sort that out. I have all the rooms in my house painted Woodies' own brand Brilliant White which is a white with no grey cast so it never looks chilly. I also have mirrors to multiply the light - on the wall facing the window in the living room, and on a wardrobe at right angles to the window in the master bedroom. I've added bright colours through the furnishings (a red sofa, lots of pictures, books, etc) so it always feels warm.

But I think the sign that you should go for the south back garden option is really that your instincts seem to be telling you that, so listen to them :)
 
dubgem said:
My house has a front living room and the master bedroom facing north and a back kitchen-diner facing south and I much much prefer having the sun at the back. As I pretty much only watch TV in the living room, not having direct bright sunlight is in fact a bonus (although I do get a lovely glow for an hour or two in the late evening). Likewise I don't spend much of the day in bed looking out the window. Definitely having the kitchen open up to a sunny back garden is preferable to having it open into shade.

As for your north-facing rooms being dull, a little attention to the decoration will sort that out. I have all the rooms in my house painted Woodies' own brand Brilliant White which is a white with no grey cast so it never looks chilly. I also have mirrors to multiply the light - on the wall facing the window in the living room, and on a wardrobe at right angles to the window in the master bedroom. I've added bright colours through the furnishings (a red sofa, lots of pictures, books, etc) so it always feels warm.

But I think the sign that you should go for the south back garden option is really that your instincts seem to be telling you that, so listen to them :)
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dubgem, you're 90 degrees out but its a similar point! West facing rear, east facing front. So yeah smaller but sunnier garden. Sunny kitchen and diner in the afternoon, sunny front room and bedroom in the morning.

I have gone and just changed my plot today, its costing me a couple of grand more and I'm having to wait 6-7 months longer for my house, however saying that, what i will save in bills over those 6 months will more than make up for that couple of grand.

Like you say, no direct sunlight on the front room in the evening is a big bonus, and in the winter I'll have a head start on defrosting the car with the easterly drive way, which as I'm currently living in the highlands, is not to be sniffed at!!
 
I actually park my car at the side of the house if there is frost forecast as any bit of sun in the morning will have it defrosted nicely in time for work.
 
How do you live? What hours do you work? Where do you sit and read? Relax? When?

In every house there is a room that the people living in gravitate towards

All householders are different but I would say there is a general gravitation towards private living space with a sunny aspect (preferably south westerly) at the end of the day

In saying that, I live in a house with all the living space south easterly aspect at the rear but that is where we all go - but it is a glass room - lots of light during the day just so no sun, but plenty of light, in the evening. And a shed load of bird life. Great fun at the moment with the baby birds with mouths open looking to be fed by mammy bird from the bird feeders

For me this side of the road works, with rear access to the local shops, pub, park. My neighbours on the other side of the road have the sun in the evening but no access to those facilities without a long walk around.

If I had a choice on my road I probably would still choose the lesser aspect and on a sunny evening I might choose to sit on my front step pondering my over grown but sunny front garden in the evening.

A lot done but more to do, as Bertie might say.........

mf
 
My living room is at the back...and has a south west aspect. Pain for watching tv!
 
Never buy off plan is the moral of this story. If you build a house they say it takes three goes until you get it right. My current home is the best one we ever lived in, because it is so sunny most of the time. In all the right rooms. Makes an amazing difference to living a life, the feeling of being in a sunny bright place.
 
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