Courtyards: a new, popular trend for outdoor living space

The trend toward outdoor living, which uses comfy seating, bright rugs and weatherproof art to extend the al fresco season at home, is bringing new attention to a centuries-old architectural feature: the courtyard.

“It’s the original outdoor room,” said Philip Weddle, principal architect of Weddle Gilmore Black Rock Studio in Scottsdale, Ariz. “Courtyards are as much about enriching the indoor spaces as creating amazing outdoor spaces. That blurring of the boundary between indoors and out makes the experience of each space richer.”

Courtyards — a staple in Roman, Middle Eastern and ancient Chinese architecture — are becoming popular in homes throughout the U.S., builders and architects say.

As they have for thousands of years, courtyards offer a safe and private area for families and guests to gather. In urban areas, especially, such secluded outdoor space is rare.

Improvements in retractable glass walls and sliding doors have helped make them more feasible.

“That technology has really improved over the last decade,” Weddle said. “It really does allow you to open interior space to a courtyard more easily.” People are accessing that outdoor space to cook, dine, entertain or just relax, Weddle added.

Builder Nilay Bhatt, president of Dani Homes in Columbus, Ohio, also sees more Midwestern customers choosing courtyards: “It’s an element of outdoor living,” he said.

And in older suburban neighbourhoods in Atlanta, Ed Castro Landscape has helped clients add courtyards to existing homes, said Hannah Seaton, a senior landscape design consultant with the firm. “They’re trying to turn an area of their property into a private place,” she said.

In other places, homeowners are creating courtyards in front of houses by adding plantings and paving stones. That can increase curb appeal, reduce the amount of water-guzzling lawn, and showcase a water feature or piece of sculpture.

Front-yard courtyards can be casual (benches and gravel walkways) or formal (statues, fancy lighting and fountains).

But the appeal of a courtyard doesn’t stop at the door, said Missy Henriksen, vice-president of public affairs for the National Association of Landscape Professionals in Herndon, Va. The courtyard’s purpose is to connect the home’s interior with the outdoors, she said.

“Courtyards are unique in that they flip this idea by instead bringing the outdoors inside the home, allowing the beauty of the courtyard to be seen from several areas of the home.”