North facing house Vastu: layout and main door

This guide explains how to check the facing, where to place the door, how the rooms are usually laid out and what most often goes wrong.

What north facing means

Facing is read from the main door. Step out of the door with a compass: if you are facing north, the home is north facing. In a flat, use the door of the flat, not the building gate or the balcony.

North is traditionally the zone of Kubera, the keeper of wealth, and of Mercury. It is linked with money, careers and new opportunities, which is why many families look for north facing homes.

Where to place the main door

Measure the north wall from the north-west corner to the north-east corner and mark the middle. The door is commonly placed from the middle towards the north-east. The far end near the north-west corner is the part many consultants avoid; the wider north-west zone is still treated as acceptable.

Some consultants divide the wall into nine equal parts from the 81-square mandala and rate each part. Their charts differ, so use this for new construction rather than as a reason to move an existing door.

Room by room layout

Standing on the road and looking at a north facing house, the north-east is at the front left and the south-west is at the back right.

What a north facing house offers

• An entrance in Kubera’s direction, a first choice in Vastu.
• Steady, indirect daylight on the front of the house through most of the year in India.
• Natural open space in the north, which Vastu prefers to keep light.
• The kitchen and master bedroom fall at the back, away from the road.

Common mistakes

• Placing the door at the far north-west end of the wall.
• Building a toilet, septic tank or staircase in the front north-east corner.
• Raising a heavy structure, such as a car shed with a solid roof, in the north-east of the front space.
• Keeping a large overhead tank on the north side of the roof.
• Putting the kitchen in the north, which is avoided for cooking.

In a north facing flat

Keep the entrance bright and uncluttered, place the shoe rack to the west side of the door rather than the north-east, keep the north wall of the living room light with a plant or open shelves, and use the south-west room as the master bedroom. A small cash box or locker is often kept in a room’s south-west, opening towards the north.

Adjustments without rebuilding

• Many consultants suggest a clean, well lit entrance with a toran and a clear nameplate on a north door.
• Where the door is near the north-west end, a commonly suggested adjustment is a solid wooden door and a raised threshold.
• Many consultants suggest green plants or a small water feature on the north side of the front space.
• Keeping the cash box or locker in the south-west, opening towards the north, is a common suggestion.

These are traditional practices that many families follow. They vary between Vastu schools; for your own home, a consultant can say which matter most.

Related Vastu guides

• Main door Vastu: The best directions for the main door, where it sits on the wall, and what to keep out of its way.
• East facing house Vastu: Main door position on the east wall, a room by room layout and the common mistakes in east facing homes.
• Vastu for wealth: The north zone of Kubera, where a locker is commonly kept, water in the north-east and fixing leaks.
• Vastu tips for home: Where each room traditionally goes, how to treat the centre and the corners, and what to change in a flat.
• Vastu directions: Deity, planet, element and the right rooms for each of the eight directions, and how to find them at home.

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