North facing living room - did you get it right?

cardigan-weather

Block in Hobart slopes a bit and the draftsman keeps flipping the living room to catch the water view south. Looks great on the render, worries me for winter.

Last rental was north facing lounge and you could sit in there at 4pm in July without the heater going flat out. Bit paranoid about ending up with a cold box you only enjoy in summer photos.

We are not locked in yet. Trying to work out if fighting for north living is worth losing the view, or if good glazing and eaves fix most of it down here anyway.

Anyone in a cooler spot glad they prioritised sun into the main living space?

papercrane-oz

Brisbane reno years back and we moved the lounge to the north side even though the street front was south. Winter mornings changed completely.

Still needed ceiling fans and decent cross ventilation for summer. Would do it again even with the uglier street face.

plot-twist-77

Adelaide new build and we kept living north east. Lounge gets sun until early afternoon then the kitchen catches late light.

Helps that eaves are wide enough you are not roasting in January. Builder wanted to shrink the overhang to save lineal metres. Glad we pushed back on that one.

old-man-river-1962

SEQ bloke chiming in. North living is great until you forget afternoon west sun hits the front windows like a pizza oven.

Not Tassie obviously but shading matters as much as orientation. Check where sun hits at 5pm in summer not just the pretty morning diagram.

bench-seat-27

North facing living in Newcastle now and glad we pushed for it. Winter sun hits the couch by 10am without the heater flat out.

View would have been nicer out the back south but we are not sitting in blankets all July. Wide eaves still matter when the afternoon gets warm.

toast-owl

We got north right on paper and still stuffed the afternoon glare. Living room faces north which is great in winter, but the west return wall has a big window that cooks the couch from 3pm.

Fix was external blinds on that one window and a lighter floor colour so it bounced less heat. If I was drawing it again I would shrink the west glass before worrying about another degree of north orientation.