We have several houses like that in my neighborhood alone. They are turned so that they get views of the mountain ridges.

in my area smart folks do it to avoid west sun.
orientation can save energy if done properly.
others do it for views..no mountians but some
pretty stuff in La.

suit yourself, I never got why folks are so
caught up in what others think. must be
then nonconformist in me.

best of luck.

It's very common in Charleston, SC and we have a few neighborhoods in my town in GA where all the homes are oriented that way. If it's done properly it looks great.

{{gwi:1463943}}

Here is a link that might be useful:

This post was edited by deee on Mon, Jun 10, 13 at 10:55

Thank you. This is one of the options we're considering and I wanted to make sure there weren't any 'cons' that I didn't think of.

When I was young, my parents had an old red brick colonial turned sideways and it faced the front of a not quite twin home. They were built by a man for his 2 married daughters so they could visit back and forth easily. Each had beautiful enclosed sunrooms facing the street with wonderful millwork casing the large windows that 'dressed up' the street side. I think that's key - have something that looks nice street side, not a plain wall.

@dlm2000 - that's a good point. The street side (which would be the west side) would be the side of the garage so it would be easy enough to put a nice window or two and shutters there.

You could also plan on some pretty landscaping to accent the wall if you didn't want to put windows and shutters there.

Build your house to please yourself.

Absolutely agree with the above. Orient your home so it lives best for you.

If you wanted, you could have that and a front door facing the road by tacking a foyer or short wing onto the long "not-front" front side where the entry is and placing a door there so it's visible from the road. Wrap this area with a picket fence, perhaps, to create a little entry garden, with the opening/gate closest to the road in line with the front door so people know exactly where they're going, and it could be totally charming. Or rather, it is typically completely charming since this is hardly a new idea, much older than our traditional lines of houses all facing the street across front lawns.

If no extension to make the door visible, then a nice set of posts, say, and landscaping framing a nice paved path leading obviously around to the main destination will seem friendly and stand in for the front door for those viewing from the road.