Orienting Your Home to the Site

Accounting for weather, sound and views

The ideal custom home is oriented to sun, weather, views, and sound. A good site plan shows the directions of these elements so they can be better taken into account in the design. For example:

• Sunbeams – which will be lower in the winter and higher in the summer – may be pleasantly warm in the morning but unwelcomingly hot in the afternoon.
• Trees, hills, and neighboring houses and buildings create shade. That shade may protect you from unwelcome hot sun, or block desired light and warmth.
• Harsh winter storms may or may not come from the same direction as the cooling breezes of summer.
• Now is a good time to find out if there is a noisy street, noisy neighbors, or a barking dog near your future home. Design features can help insulate from the sound.
• Consider whether pleasant sounds such as ocean waves or a babbling brook could become unpleasant – perhaps you want to hear them over breakfast, but not at bedtime. Or you may love to fall asleep to those sounds and want to orient your bedroom near them.
• Consider not only the views, but from the rooms, windows, decks and patios you want to view them from. It is popular to orient the living room to the best view, but you might also want to be sure your master bedroom, kitchen, or office has something beautiful outside the window.
• Don’t just focus on the best view – there may be other, smaller views to capture from different rooms or directions. And there may be surprise views – not visible when standing on the ground, but from a higher level or alternate angle, they might be made visible from your house. Consider also if future activity such as the growth of trees or the construction of neighboring houses will change your view down the road.
• Are there things that you don’t want to see out your windows? Maybe you are not fond of the look of your neighbor’s house or parked RV. Just as the right design can place big windows where you want to look out, it can create solid walls where you would rather not.