A north-facing house is one of the two most favoured facings in Vastu (with east), because north is the direction of Kubera, the lord of wealth, and of soft daylight. Place the main door in the 3rd, 4th or 5th pada counted from the north-east corner of the north wall, keep the north and north-east open and low, put the master bedroom in the south-west, the kitchen in the south-east, the pooja room in the north-east, and toilets in the north-west or west. The common mistakes in north-facing homes are a kitchen or toilet in the north-east and heavy construction on the north side; avoid those two and the plan largely takes care of itself.
"North-facing" is the phrase brokers use most freely and buyers understand least. It does not mean the living room windows look north, or that the plot is on the north side of the road; it means the plot's access road, and therefore the main entrance, is on the north boundary. This guide explains how to confirm the facing, why Vastu rates a north entrance highly, its practical advantages and the disadvantages nobody mentions, the exact door position, a room-by-room plan, pooja room, kitchen, bedroom, toilet and water placement, sample layouts for 30×40, 30×50 and 30×60 foot plots and their vaar equivalents, north-facing flats, remedies for the usual doshas, and a short decision guide for buyers.
What a north-facing house is, and how to check
- Stand inside the plot at the main entrance and face outward towards the road. If your compass reads north (roughly 340° to 20°), the plot is north-facing.
- Confirm on the approved layout plan of the scheme, which marks north and shows which boundary touches the road. For a flat, the sanctioned plan on GujRERA shows the orientation of every unit.
- Do not rely on the balcony direction, the sunlight in the living room or the broker's description. Sellers sometimes call a plot north-facing because a garden or a wider road lies to its north.
- Plots facing between north and north-east (say 20° to 45°) are treated as north-east facing and are considered even better; plots between north and north-west (320° to 340°) need the door pushed towards the north-east.
Why Vastu favours a north entrance
North is assigned to Kubera, the treasurer of the gods, and the north-east to Ishana; the tradition treats the northern half of the plot as the source of light, water and wealth, to be kept open and unobstructed so that these flow in. A north entrance also has plain practical merits in Gujarat's climate: the front of the house never takes direct sun, the front rooms stay cooler, and the light is even all day, which is why architects like north-lit studios.
Advantages and disadvantages
| Advantages | Disadvantages |
|---|---|
| Cool, glare-free front rooms; lower cooling cost | Winter mornings are darker at the front; plan an east window in the living room |
| Wide acceptable door zone (padas 3, 4 and 5) | Strong market demand, so north- and east-facing units carry a premium |
| Natural fit for a pooja room and open north-east | The rear (south) takes the afternoon heat, where bedrooms usually sit; needs insulation and shading |
| Rainwater and drainage naturally slope to the north-east if the plot is graded that way | Any north-east obstruction (toilet, staircase, water tank) is a more serious dosha in this facing than in others |
Where the main door should be
Face the north wall from outside; the north-east corner is on your right, the north-west on your left. Divide the wall into 9 padas from the north-east corner:
| Pada from north-east | Verdict |
|---|---|
| 1 (Diti) and 2 (Aditi) | Acceptable but close to the corner; used when the plot is narrow |
| 3 (Bhallat), 4 (Mukhya / Soma), 5 (Bhujanga) | Best |
| 6 (Roga), 7 (Papayakshma) | Avoid |
| 8 (Shosha), 9 (Naga) | Avoid strongly (north-west corner) |
In words: the door goes in the eastern half of the north wall, a little away from the corner. On a 30-foot frontage each pada is about 3.3 feet, so padas 3 to 5 cover roughly 6.7 to 16.7 feet from the north-east corner. Keep the compound gate in the same zone or in the north-east.
Room-by-room plan
| Room / element | Best | Acceptable | Avoid |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main door | North wall, padas 3–5 | Padas 1–2; an east door in padas 3–5 of the east wall as a second entrance | North-west corner |
| Living room | North, north-east | East, north-west | South-west |
| Pooja room | North-east | East, north | South-west; see the pooja room guide |
| Kitchen | South-east | North-west | North-east (the worst placement in a north-facing house); see the kitchen guide |
| Master bedroom | South-west | South, west | North-east, north |
| Children's bedroom | East, north-west | West | South-west |
| Guest bedroom | North-west | West | South-west |
| Dining | West or north-west of the kitchen | East | South-west |
| Toilets | North-west, west, south | South-east corner of the plot (never of a room used for pooja) | North-east, centre, north (front) of the house |
| Staircase | South, west, south-west | North-west | North-east, centre |
| Overhead tank | South-west | South, west | North-east |
| Underground tank / bore | North-east | North, east | South-west, south-east |
| Septic tank | North-west | West | North-east, south-west, centre |
| Parking | North-west | South-east | North-east |
| Garden / open space | North and east, larger than south and west margins | Big open south-west |
Pooja room, kitchen and bedrooms in detail
- Pooja room: the north-east corner is often right beside the entrance in a north-facing plan; a small room or alcove there with the idols facing west (you face east) is ideal. Keep it away from the toilet wall.
- Kitchen: south-east, at the rear right of the house as you enter. The cook faces east. If the plan forces the kitchen to the north-west, place the stove in the south-east corner of that kitchen. A kitchen in the north-east is the mistake that gives north-facing homes a bad name in practice.
- Master bedroom: south-west, at the rear left. Bed against the south or west wall, head south; see the sleeping direction guide.
- Living room: along the north front, with the larger windows on the north and east. A north-facing living room gets soft, steady light all day.
Toilets, septic tank and water elements
Water is welcome in the north and north-east: the underground tank, borewell, a small water feature or the rainwater pit belong there. Waste is not: toilets, the septic tank and drains should be in the north-west or west, and the overhead tank, which is heavy, in the south-west. The floor level and the plot should slope gently down towards the north-east and up towards the south-west, so that the heaviest, highest part of the property is in the south-west. Do not raise a plinth or build a store in the north-east to "use the space".
Sample plans by plot size
| Plot (ft) | Approx. vaar | Door zone from north-east corner | Suggested arrangement (ground floor) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 30 × 40 | 133 | 6.7 to 16.7 ft | Living across the north front; pooja alcove in the north-east; kitchen south-east with dining west of it; one bedroom south-west; toilet north-west; stairs on the west wall |
| 30 × 50 | 167 | 6.7 to 16.7 ft | As above, with a second bedroom in the east behind the pooja alcove and a store under the south stairs |
| 30 × 60 | 200 | 6.7 to 16.7 ft | Living plus a north-east verandah; two bedrooms (south-west master, east child); kitchen and dining south-east; utility and toilets north-west; parking north-west of the entrance |
| 40 × 60 | 267 | 8.9 to 22.2 ft | Room for a separate pooja room in the north-east, a guest room in the north-west and a garage in the north-west corner of the compound |
One vaar is 9 square feet; see the land units guide for other conversions. These arrangements are Vastu starting points for your architect, not construction drawings; setbacks, the development permission and the structural grid decide the final plan.
North-facing flats and apartments
- Treat the flat's own outline as the plot and find north from the centre of the living room.
- If the flat door is on the north wall towards the north-east, you already have the best case. If it is in the north-west, use the remedies below.
- Keep the north and north-east of the flat light: living room, balcony, pooja unit. Move heavy wardrobes and the safe to the south-west bedroom.
- A north-facing balcony is the pleasantest in Ahmedabad's summer; use it, and keep it uncluttered.
- A kitchen in the north-east cannot be moved in a flat; move the stove to the south-east corner of the kitchen, use light colours, and keep a water pot in the north-east of the kitchen.
Remedies for common doshas
| Dosha | Remedy commonly advised |
|---|---|
| Main door in the north-west padas | Shift the door eastward if the wall allows; otherwise a threshold, bright light, a toran and a second gate in the north-east of the compound |
| Kitchen in the north-east | Stove in the south-east corner of the kitchen; light colours; water pot or small fountain in the north-east of the plot; avoid red in the kitchen |
| Toilet in the north-east | Keep it closed; sea salt bowl; copper pyramid; consider converting it to a store if the plumbing allows |
| Staircase or overhead tank in the north-east | Cannot be moved; keep under-stair space empty, raise the south-west with heavy furniture or a store, plant heavy trees in the south-west of the compound |
| North side built up higher than the south | Lower north-side compound walls, add height or mass to the south-west, keep the north garden open |
| Master bedroom in the north-east | Swap with the south-west room; if impossible, head south, earthy colours, heavy wardrobe on the south-west wall |
Should you buy a north-facing house?
If the door is in padas 3 to 5, the north-east is free of kitchen, toilet and stairs, and the south-west has the master bedroom, a north-facing plot is an easy yes from the Vastu point of view and a comfortable house in Gujarat's climate. Expect to pay a premium over south- and west-facing units in the same scheme. Before you commit, verify the facing on the layout plan, check the plot's ownership and tenure on the land record or Property Card, and pull the Index 2; a good facing is no substitute for a clean title.
Frequently asked questions (વારંવાર પૂછાતા પ્રશ્નો)
Is a north-facing house good as per Vastu?
Yes. North is Kubera's direction and one of the two most favoured facings, provided the main door sits in padas 3 to 5 from the north-east corner and the north-east is kept free of the kitchen, toilets and staircase.
Where should the main door be in a north-facing house?
In the eastern half of the north wall, a little away from the north-east corner: divide the wall into 9 parts from that corner and use parts 3, 4 or 5. Avoid the north-west corner.
Which room should be in the north-east of a north-facing house?
The pooja room, a verandah, the living area or open space; anything light and clean. Never the kitchen, a toilet, the staircase or the overhead tank.
Where should the kitchen be in a north-facing house?
South-east, with the cook facing east. North-west is the acceptable alternative. A north-east kitchen is the most serious common mistake in this facing.
Where should the master bedroom be in a north-facing house?
South-west, the rear left as you enter, with the bed against the south or west wall and the head towards the south.
Is a north-facing house cooler?
Generally yes. The front elevation never takes direct sun, so front rooms stay cooler and evenly lit. The south rear needs shading and insulation because that is where the afternoon heat lands.
What is the disadvantage of a north-facing house?
Higher price because of demand, darker front rooms on winter mornings unless there is an east window, and the fact that any north-east obstruction is a more serious dosha in this facing than in others.
Is north-facing or east-facing better?
Both are top-rated in Vastu and both use padas 3 to 5 from the north-east corner for the door. East gives morning sun in the front rooms; north gives cooler, more even light. Choose by the internal plan and price rather than the facing alone.
How do I confirm a plot is north-facing?
Face the road from the entrance with a compass and read roughly 340° to 20°, and confirm on the approved layout plan of the scheme, which marks north and the access road. For a flat, check the sanctioned plan on GujRERA.
What is the remedy if the kitchen is in the north-east of a north-facing flat?
Move the stove to the south-east corner of the kitchen, cook facing east if possible, use light colours, keep a water pot in the north-east corner of the kitchen and avoid red or black finishes.
