Two properties that we visited and rated this week are 14 Greville Street Prahran & 11 Keats Street Sandringham.

These homes are located in two very different parts of Melbourne, but both properties are renovated period homes with a great feel, well suited to the area demographics (Prahran is mainly singles and professional couples, while Sandringham is mainly families) and we really feel they will have many admirers.

The one big difference with these properties is the orientation of their rear yard: 11 Keats had a north-facing rear yard, while 14 Greville’s was south-facing.

Rear light is an important consideration as part of our James Home Ratings system and rightly so. In Melbourne, we live in a temperate climate and it does get cold in winter (as we are again finding out!) Natural daylight streaming into our backyards and informal living spaces is really important, and these areas ideally are located at the rear of the property where it is private. But it is not just light that is important;  the warmth (or passive solar gain) from the sun is equally beneficial.

With energy efficiency design standards becoming more and more regulated (ie, in addition to all new homes, some renovated houses now need to comply with government 5-star requirements), a modern house with a north-facing rear will generally score better than the same house with a southern orientation.

In a recent book by American architect Matthew Frederick, which discussed the effect of natural light on buildings, he stated  “The altitude, angle and colour of day lighting varies with compass orientation and time of day.” His views include (please note that I’ve paraphrased and changed his directions to accommodate our southern hemisphere here):

• daylight from the NORTH-facing windows is dominant from mid-morning to mid-afternoon. It tends to render colours accurately and cast strong, crisp shadows.
• daylight from the EAST is strongest in the morning. It tends to be of low altitude with soft, long shadows, and grey-yellow in colour.
• daylight from the SOUTH tends to shadowless, diffuse and neutral or slightly greyish most of the day and year.
• daylight from the WEST is strongest in the late afternoon and early evening and has a rich gold-orange cast. It can penetrate deeply into buildings and occasionally be overbearing.

Even though we liked our two house examples (and I am sure a lot of people will too), the rating scores vary considerably, and one reason for this is the rear orientation. It is easy to fall in love with a house with a great feel and presentation, but you do need to understand the impacts and effects of direct natural light. In short, natural light can really change your mood.  When inside, how many of us gravitate towards the windows when sun is streaming into the house on a cool day?  While south light is consistent and suits working areas well (most factories and studios have south-facing windows), it is shadowless and – well – boring. If you’re looking at a two-storey house with a south-facing backyard, be aware that most of the shadows cast by the house will fall into your backyard – who wants a pool that rarely has access to natural light? If considering a second-storey renovation to a single-level house with a south-facing backyard, be aware that shadowing can often impact on the neighbour’s amenity, so it is a real planning issue to be aware of.

A counter argument to the south-facing rear yard issue is that in summer we often don’t want too much natural sun, as it can be overbearing and overheat the house. But effective screening and eave design can easily address this. If there is a wonderful view to the south, then of course we will want to include that view and locate our living areas to take advantage of this – there is always an exception to any rule – but, generally, a north-facing rear will be much more preferable to a south-facing one.

14 Greville Street Prahran is listed by Mark Harris of Bennison Mackinnon and it is scheduled to auction at 10.30am on 13 June. We rated this property 617/1000 and currently it is quoted at $1.2m+.

11 Keats Street Sandringham is listed by Kate Smith of Hocking Stuart and it is scheduled to auction at 11.30am on 13 June. We rated this property 845/1000 and currently it is quoted at $2.5m+.

Design Smart.