It was the courtyard, above all else, that drove our decision to purchase our home. Touring the residence for the first time, proceeding down the entrance hallway, we encountered floor-to-ceiling windows revealing a large, open space, and beyond it, defining its borders, a rectangular wing of the home and two lengths of wall.
Turning a corner to find more glass and sliders brought the open area into full view: ancient trees and plants in beds fronting the walls; on the ground, large square cement pavers set in gravel; at center, a circle of dirt and electrical outlet; overall, entirely unkept and overgrown.
Yet visually amazing: this space defined the house, made it distinctive, aroused our imaginations, made us want to own it.
At the time, we didn’t quite know how to describe the architectural style we were in; the best we could do was articulate the “feel” as Californian or Japanese — something novel to us. But we did understand what we liked and valued a lot: the open area was a centrally-located oasis around which the entire home was organized.
Defining a Courtyard
Formally described, a courtyard is an outdoor space open to the sky surrounded partly or completely by walls and/or a building. Sometimes there is an opening — a passageway or gate — to the outside world. A true “courtyard house” is one in which a courtyard is integrated into the floor plan, placed at its center, around which main components of the building are arranged, providing direct access to the courtyard from multiple rooms.
Courtyard houses date back to ancient times, common in Greek, Roman, Asian, and Middle Eastern architecture. Roman courtyards, called atriums, typically contained alters, ponds, cisterns for catching rainwater. In medieval England the courtyard house, affording an element of security, was a transitional design between fortified castles and country estates for the noble class.
Advantages of a Courtyard
The courtyard adds an additional room to a home, one that is fully open to nature, sky, and weather. It therefore allows the seamless blending of indoor and outdoor living, especially with use of floor-to-ceiling windows and glass doors. Whereas you might have to leave your home for a daily dose of fresh air, sun, and natural surroundings, the courtyard makes this experience a part of everyday living — just walking between rooms. And unlike decks and patios possibly exposed to public view and access, the privacy of a courtyard is intrinsic and unparalleled.
A courtyard’s blank canvas can be utilized for any number of purposes: lounging, dining, gardening, a playroom, bird and celestial observatory. About the latter: We routinely sit in our courtyard on clear and dark nights, identifying constellations and planets, watching them traverse our segment of the heavens. It is our private planetarium.
Functional benefits go beyond the courtyard itself. Natural ventilation and light — both direct and indirect — are brought into spaces that would otherwise be sealed. Interior rooms access natural elements, making them feel larger and more inviting. Rather than a room comprising four walls, it now extends to an open outdoor setting.
Transforming Our Courtyard
The floorplan of our new (and dilapidated) home located the courtyard on the front side of the property, which was brilliant in two respects. First, it gave us an outdoor space on the southern exposure of the residence, balancing and complementing the pool and patio on the northern side. Second, it utilized a good portion of our front yard, allowing us to actually utilize the space and live there. At times we enjoy listening to (somewhat loud) music, and neighbors can’t hear it, because they’re not living in their front yards. The privacy is complete, whereas our pool borders other backyards. In a community of 150+ homes, ours is a rarity.
Of course, we tore the existing courtyard completely apart. Here’s how we put it back together
The Wall: We replaced the existing curved six-foot wooden wall with cinder block and stucco on a proper cement foundation. We learned that Indian River County had recently issued code restricting wall height to four feet (one wonders why?), and we were relieved to find that our six-foot structure was grandfathered in. If this had not been the case, we would have proceeded in building a four-foot wall with beds on top and planting hedge. Finally, many walls we observed on local properties appeared grimy and weathered on top — from tree debris, bird droppings, weather, etc. — so to remedy this we capped our walls with travertine stone.
The Floor: We chose travertine stone to match the look and feel of the travertine floor we installed throughout the home’s interior. For the exterior travertine, however, we chose an unfilled and tumbled finish for its smooth yet non-slip texture. We went back and forth on mud set versus sand set and chose mud set despite a much higher cost — the required foundation is poured concrete reinforced with rebar. The chief benefits are a gorgeous, unbroken surface and absence of weeds that invariably grow in sand-filled margins between tiles. We’re so happy we made this investment! We were advised by multiple contractors to place a tile design in the center of the floor, so that the large surface area (24 x 45 feet) wouldn’t look like a helicopter pad. We resisted — another good decision in retrospect. One person’s helo pad is another person’s minimalistic surface.
The Garden: Two sides of the courtyard are fronted by beds, with a third small bed located where two sections of the home meet. Originally we wanted the beds to be four feet deep, but increased this to seven feet to allow layered plantings. Another good decision. We installed drip irrigation only to avoid direct spray damage to stucco and glass. We planted seven trees: four palm, two cypress, and one Meyer lemon. We mixed flowering and non-flowering plants — staples such as hibiscus, night blooming jasmine, lantana, ixora, Japanese plum yew — and interspersed cordyline for height and to introduce red into green. To the left and right when entering the courtyard from the living room, we planted single agave specimens, which are now huge and produce pups continuously, which we gift to friends. Finally, four white circular planters hold palms, a gardenia, and an adenium. A shade-only plant was required in only one location in one bed.
The Outer Gate: We installed an aluminum gate with a keypad lock to grant access to and from the front yard and street. A paver sidewalk connects to the side yard.
Wall Surfaces: After completing the bulk of the renovation, Diane removed hardiplank siding from two sections of wall and replaced it with cypress tongue-and-groove board, stained dark brown and sealed. This one addition transformed the entire look and feel of the courtyard, creating a more natural and warmer setting.
Flow and Uses: Within the single rectangular space, we created four different living areas. The first, two lounge chairs for sunning. Second, two arm chairs and table for reading. Third, a conversation area comprised of a sofa, two chairs, fire pit, and retractable awning. And fourth, a dining table with umbrella seating six to eight. We had considered narrowing the courtyard’s width in places to channel foot travel to different areas, but opted to keep things simple, open, large-scale. We do bring cushions inside — religiously — to protect from rain. The
Lighting: Interesting and varied lighting transforms the courtyard into a magical place at night. The two wall sections are fitted with LED vertical cube lights. Large modern wall lights bracket the living room entranceway. Recessed soffit lights run the length of an eave. We use a combination of fixtures to produce more or less illumination and varying moods. Of course, we extinguish all lights to look at the night sky.
The Music: Two speakers mounted beneath the eave, supplemented with a portable smart speaker.
The courtyard defines our home. You may have an opportunity to create one for yourself. We have a very close neighbor friend who renovated much of her home right after moving in and before we knew each other. The first time she visited our home she instantly regretted not building a courtyard; she had the floor plan and front yard to do it. She simply hadn’t encountered one like ours before. Readers take note!
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