Is a north facing house good as per vastu?
Yes. A north facing house is one of the easier layouts to work with. In vastu, the north is the zone of light, water and open ground. A main door on the north wall brings daylight into the front of the home and keeps the front open.
North facing plots and flats are widely sought after. The direction alone does not make a home compliant, though. What matters is where the door sits on that wall and where the kitchen, bedrooms, toilets and stairs fall inside. What vastu-compliant means explains how we judge a layout.
One thing to settle first. North facing means the main door opens towards the north. Stand inside the doorway, face out, and read the compass. If it points south, read vastu for south facing house instead.
Where should the main door be in a north facing house?
Divide the north wall into nine equal parts, counting from the north-east corner towards the north-west corner. The door works best in the third, fourth or fifth part. This keeps the entrance in the north-east half of the wall.
The first and second parts are acceptable as long as the door does not cut into the north-east corner itself. The parts towards the north-west end are the ones we advise against, and the last part is the one placement we ask people to change. In a flat, the same rule applies; see main door vastu for flat.
- The door opens inward and swings clockwise, with the hinge on the right as you enter.
- It is the largest door in the house, in good repair, with a clear threshold and a light above it.
- Nothing stands directly in line with it: no pillar, tree trunk or wall.
- The gate on the boundary wall follows the same rule.
Which room should be where in a north facing house?
The table below is the standard layout for a north facing plot. Use it with a compass reading taken at the centre of the house, not at the gate.
| Room or element | Best zone | Also works | Keep out of |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main door | North wall, north-east half | North-east corner, not cutting the corner | North-west end of the north wall |
| Living room | North, north-east, east | North-west | The centre |
| Kitchen | South-east | North-west | North-east, south-west, centre |
| Master bedroom | South-west | South, west | North-east |
| Children's and guest bedrooms | West, north-west | East, for a child who studies | South-west |
| Toilets and bathrooms | North-west, west | South-east, south, bathroom only | North-east, centre, south-west |
| Pooja room | North-east | East, north | South, under a staircase, beside a toilet |
| Staircase | South, south-west, west | North-west | North-east, centre |
| Store and heavy items | South-west, south, west | North-west for daily stock | North-east |
| Underground tank or borewell | North-east, north, east | South-west, south | |
| Overhead tank | South-west, west | South | North-east |
| Open space and garden | North and east, wider than south and west | Sheds and stores in the north-east |
Where should the kitchen be in a north facing house?
In the south-east. This is the fire zone in vastu, and on a north facing plot it falls at the rear of the house, away from the door. The second choice is the north-west. In either room, cook facing east where the layout allows.
The kitchen should not sit in the north-east. That corner is meant to stay light and open, and a stove there is a placement we find in north facing flats where the builder put the kitchen beside the entrance. Read kitchen direction as per vastu for the sink and stove positions inside the room.
Which bedroom direction is best in a north facing house?
The master bedroom goes in the south-west, the heaviest and most settled part of the house. In a north facing house that puts it at the rear, away from the door, which is also the quiet end.
Children's rooms work in the west or north-west, or in the east for a child who studies at home. Guests take the north-west. Sleep with the head towards the south or east; bed direction as per vastu covers the rest. Keep bedrooms out of the north-east. If the plan already has a room there, use it as a study or the pooja room.
Where should the toilets be in a north facing house?
North-west and west are the first choices. South-east and south work for a bathroom without a toilet seat. Keep toilets out of the north-east, the centre and the south-west corner.
In a north facing house, the toilet near the entrance deserves a look. If the door is in the north-east half of the wall, a guest toilet beside it often lands in the north-east. That is the toilet we check first. The toilet direction as per vastu article covers the seat, the door and the outlet.
Where should the pooja room be in a north facing house?
In the north-east. A north facing house usually has this corner at the front, beside the entrance, which is fine. The room should have light and air, and the person praying faces east or north. If the north-east is taken by the door, a pooja corner on the east or north wall of the living room works well. Do not place it under a staircase, inside a bedroom, or against a toilet wall. Details are in pooja room vastu.
Where should the staircase be in a north facing house?
South, south-west or west, rising clockwise. The north-west works as a second choice. Keep it out of the north-east and away from the centre of the house, which vastu keeps open and light. See staircase vastu for the number of steps and what can go underneath.
How should water and open space be arranged in a north facing house?
Water sources below ground go in the north-east, north or east: the borewell, the underground tank and the rainwater pit. The overhead tank goes on the south-west or west of the roof, where its weight belongs. The plot should drain towards the north or east.
Open ground should be wider on the north and east than on the south and west. On a north facing plot this happens on its own if the house is set back from the road. Keep the boundary wall lower on the north and east. Keep the north-east corner of the plot clear: no servant room, generator, store or septic tank. A small lawn or a tulsi plant is what that corner wants.
What are the common mistakes in a north facing house?
- The door at the north-west end of the north wall, because that is where the driveway landed.
- A kitchen or toilet in the north-east, because the builder put the wet areas next to the entrance.
- A heavy store, a staircase, a septic tank or the overhead tank in the north-east corner.
- Buying remedies before taking a compass reading at the centre of the house.
How do you correct a north facing house without demolition?
Work in this order, and touch structure last.
- Swap room use. A bedroom in the north-east becomes a study. A store in the north-east is emptied or becomes the pooja room.
- Move the heavy things. Shift the store, the safe and the wardrobes to the south-west and west.
- Open the north. Add a window on the north wall, trim the tree, and lower the front boundary wall where the colony rules allow.
- Fix the water. Shift the overhead tank to the south-west of the roof. Move a septic tank out of the north-east at the next service, and regrade the paving so rain drains to the north-east.
- Only then touch structure. A door shifted along the same wall is a small job. A kitchen moved out of the north-east is a bigger one, planned rather than rushed.
Is a north facing flat different from a north facing house?
The rules are the same. What changes is how much you can move. In a flat you cannot shift the door, the kitchen plumbing or the toilet stack, so the check belongs before you buy. Vastu for flats covers the limits, and our Dwarka Expressway guide covers the corridor sector by sector.
When should you get a north facing house checked?
Before you buy, if you can. If you already live there, get the compass reading done at the centre of the house. A reading taken at the gate is often off by a few degrees, and a few degrees decide which part of the wall the door sits in. We do this in person as the vastu consultant in Gurgaon, and from a floor plan through the online vastu consultation for families elsewhere. The AI Vastu Check does a first pass in minutes.