South and west Lanai dealbreaker??
 

Looking at houses in TV and my wife is insistent that we only consider east and north facing lanai’s. I am hoping that an audience vote will help me confirm her concerns, or open up our search to more houses. We plan to homestead in Florida and travel north for the hot summer months.

We live in Michigan and our 3 season room is the favorite hangout during summer months. Sun shades are not very sophisticated here, given the climate. What do you all think?

I suppose this is a very personal choice, but I disagree. When we rented we had an east facing lanai, which means the front of the house faces west into the long hot afternoon and setting sun. I wanted a south facing lanai (which we got). In the cool months it maximizes the sun exposure, and we like to alternate between the lanai and the front porch where we can sit, read, and wave to the neighbors.
We leave in mid-May for northern climes, but we notice that by the time we leave, the sun is high enough in the sky that the south facing lanai doesn't get as much sun as it does in the winter months.
That was our preference. Yours may be different.

Style of house and arrangement of lanai and front seating options would make a difference too. We have a Gardenia with an expanded lanai which provides screening and ventilation on three sides, so in warmer, breezier weather it's pretty delightful. Not all lanais are like that.

We have been in Florida for 17 years now. The first 4 years we were in a patio villa as snowbirds, so didn't matter so much.
When we moved to our courtyard villa, the orientation was VERY important to us, that Florida sun is hot hot hot.
So, our lanai faces NE and we love it, shady all late morning and all afternoon. So is the rear of the house which is our living area and primary bedroom. The front of the house gets the south and west sun, fortunately it's the garage and a covered front porch.

I vote for the NE lanai , I wouldn't consider anything else unless you're a sun person. But it is hot, baby.

South facing is not all bad. Warm low-sun in the winter most of the day. No sun during most of the day during summer; but yes, sun from the west late in the day.
I like it.
SE facing would make it a little better in the summer, but you would get more early morning sun.

NE definitley!

We have fewer years but the same opinion of the NE-facing lanai.

If someone intends to be here only for only the cooler months then a lanai that catches the sun might be nice. In the warmer months we greatly prefer the shade in the NE lanai.

West facing view lots can have nice sunset views and stay warmer in cooler weather.

Power shades can block the sun when needed and keep the lanai warm in cooler weather.

We use our Lanai in the mornings and ours is facing a little south of west which makes it ideal having no sun in the mornings until mid afternoon. We don't have to put our air on until 4 o'clock or so and I get to enjoy working in the garage, washing my cars, or doing front yard work in the afternoon without sun beating down on me. Other than sitting in the lanai there is very little to do in the back of the house except watch the birds and alligators in the pond and that's in the comfort of the lanai. If we were to build again I think I would aim for the same set up. Just a personal preference.

Southern Exposure
 

Southern lanai was always a priority for us when looking at lots because we always have a pool (only form of exercise we can do is swimming) and my wife always wants maximum sun exposure for the pool. Also, the front garage stays a few degrees cooler.

We have a Gardenia style house, with a due South facing lanai which works very well for us, and I highly recommend this orientation. We get some morning sun, as that side is open, very little direct sun during the day, and very little setting sun as that end of the lanai is a solid wall.

Ours faces WSW and we love it. We just added a pool and enjoy watching the sunsets and having the pool in the sun most of the day. We do have a few cantilevered umbrellas for shade. Also had the 20/20 screen on the birdcage that knocks down the sun more than I expected. We had coolaroo shades on the lanai but installed the power shades from Shade Brothers once the pool was finished and those are great from 4 to 7pm when the lanai gets full sun. It's all personal preference but we are happy with our decision.

North facing Lanai's are nice in the summer. But, as has already pointed out, each orientation has its advantages.

I think it is quite restrictive to only look at houses with North or East facing Lanais. If what you want is 3BR/2BA home on an interior lot, and are not picky about location, then sure get house with a Lanai oriented how you want. There are many homes for sale. But if you have other considerations, like you want a location that is near something or other, or you want a pool, or you want a fenced in yard, or you want a view lot, or you want a big garage, or you want and oversized lot, or you want a 4th bedroom or 3rd bathroom, or you want a particularly favorable price (bank-owned, estate sale etc), or any of a host of other factors that some people want and some don't, then only considering one Lanai orientation will limit you.

There are lots of homes for sale in the villages. But, if you apply filters seeking particular features, you will find that lists dwindles very quickly.

We wouldn’t want anything except our beautiful southwest exposure and nightly sunsets : )

Given you are snowbirds from Michigan I'll assume you are not fans of the extreme summer heat here. If true your preference of East and north makes sense - IE cooler. However if you are not going to be here at the "put your head in the oven" months west and south will give you warmer afternoon / evenings in the coldest months. I also am a snowbird. My number one priority for a lanai far exceeding orientation is NO kissing lanais. That has the potential of destroying any and all orientations.

I agree. We enjoy our sw lanai. We have a roll down shade for the hottest part of the afternoon and then roll it up and enjoy the sunsets. One picture is worth a thousand words.

As many have said, earlier there are tradeoffs with every orientation. A South-facing lanai will usually have a North-facing garage, which will keep the garage cooler than an East-facing garage. We also have no windows on the West side of our home which significantly reduces our AC use. Good luck with your home search.

Our lanai faces west, so the front of our house faces east. We knew this when we bought our lot and designed our house.

In the morning, we enjoy sitting in our lanai to have our coffee.

We also have a small patio in front of our house, and enjoy sitting out there in the late-afternoon shade.

We have been here for 9 years. I guess we all find our own way to enjoy our life.

With all houses on market now you should be able to find exact house you want.

When I was home shopping, I was more concerned about what I had to look at from my lanai.

We love our west facing lanai. Beautiful sunsets. We expanded our birdcage to give us more outside living. Sure, it gets hot between 3 and 6 pm but the view of the pond makes up for the discomfort.

So our 3 homes in MI all have south facing entertainment decks, sunrooms, because summer isn’t that long. We usually travel north for June/July summers,

In TV first house lanai faced west, however we had great breeze and shade.
2nd lanai north east facing great in summer but cold in the winter.
3rd lanai south facing. Hot as a match in summers, but great for spring/fall/winter.
4th lanai North East facing.. great for spring summer, early fall but winter can be cold.

Unless you rent during different times you will either be wrong to suggest “south works great”
Or possibly selling a year later. It also depends on your view and how much breeze you get. I don’t think any couple can agree 100% on a location.

I have an east facing with a hot tub. Best for evening use and part of the birdcage gets the sunset view in the west.

3 houses ago, we had a west facing view from our patio, never again in the south. Before we bought our last 2 houses, we made sure the backyard never pointed west. Since we double paned enclosed our lanai, if it pointed west, it would be a sauna in the summer.

West facing lanai
 

The answer is - it depends. We have a west facing lanai. We enclosed it, put in a mini-split, and it is our favorite room in the house. We also have motorized shades, which are great because in the summer the sun comes in that room quite strongly. We have a patio outside, which I love in the mornings. I do think my attic and garage stays a lot cooler than my east facing lanai friends’ homes because it is in the shade in the afternoon. So my answer is that if you choose west facing, make sure you plan to enclose it OR you have a nice big overhang.

You want the masses to voice their opinion and have them gang up on you wife? How brave of you.

If you want a patio home (kind with white picket fence) perfect for snow birds, I have the perfect lanai. Shade all day! Grill area is in afternoon shade! No kissing lanais behind you to hear neighbors at night or barking dog they leave out! Plus new two stage AC, LVP throughout, low bond, Sumter County taxes, Great central location Dunedin! We are moving to our permanent TV home in June. To be honest hoping new home is not a mistake leaving this one. PM me and I will send you flyer I made.

We have a west facing lanai and we love it. It is fairly large as we have a pool. But we love to watch the sunsets. Best view ever.

Our home has a SW lanai on a corner lot. We enclosed the lanai to expand our living space and added a “dehumidifier” which we rarely need to run. I only use light sheers to cut down the suns rays on the western doors around 4-6 pm. The sunset views on the western side of our home (all windows face west) are one of my favourite features of this house. Our home was the last house to sell on our street. Most likely for the reasons your wife feels are important. But for me, those features were a selling point. Enjoy your search.

South or East? Go for the South first, then East. I grew up in South Florida and my family would never consider a house with the back of the house facing West.

The first home we bought had a west facing lanai. Great in the morning, too hot in the afternoon. We put in a paver patio in the front so we could sit outside in the afternoon.

The home we're in now has a north facing lanai and we love it. If we were to ever buy again we would stick with north facing.

We love the fresh air so we have no desire to enclose our lanai. But that's just presonal preference. As some have said, there's no perfect orientation. Just depends on whats the most important to you.

Pluses and minuses, just like everything in life.

We have an east facing lanai, and get to watch the Cape Canaveral rocket launches frequently.

We have a west facing lanai and while it is hot in the summer, the rest of the year it is perfect. We use outdoor curtains to keep the sun out in the summer months. If you are not here in the summer I think it’s a non-issue. Don’t forget we get much cooler weather in the winter months when the sun makes that lanai usable when in the shade it might not be.

We are snowbirds and our enclosed lanai faces south. Pleasant in the Winter months, gets warm by April. Have retractable awnings for April & May. Should mention we had blown insulation put in above the lanai and garage.

We have a CYV with front door facing north. Original lanai on the east side which we expanded across the back - facing south. We love this. In the summer, the sun is never directly in the south facing section (its path is to far north). but it is in the winter!! Our master BR also faces south, so great sunny spot for our cats during the winter and shady all summer. I would not ever want west facing, as even with the high north path of the sun in the summer, the west side gets very hot in the afternoons.

Personally, I would listen to your wife. We did the same thing 5-1/2 years ago and have a beautiful east facing lanai. We have never regretted it. Some of our friends and neighbors whose Lena‘s face west or south find them almost unusable for a big portion of the year

This is exactly how we feel about our exposure. Our 1st home here was the opposite & the garage and kitchen were always too hot.

We use sun shades in our lanai for our southern exposure now & they work fine, allowing the pool to stay warm

My screened porch faces South, lanai faces North. I enjoy both regularly. I always hear that you don’t want a West facing lanai. I can see the wisdom in that!

Agree. We have fantastic Sunset views on our West facing Lanai.

My lanai has a north-eastern exposure. I get just enough light in the morning to sustain my plants and it NEVER gets hot afternoon sun. Perfect for me.

Ours faces south. We also have a pool and there’s a good sized covered area with ceiling fans. During summer the sun is too high to shine into the covered area but it is warming our pool. During winter with the lower sun it helps warm the covered area? We installed pull down shades (Lowe’s) to utilized as needed when the sun shines in our faces.