As you design a courtyard, keep
all of the views in mind,
including the one from above.

Adding a New Courtyard

If your home is already built, plan a courtyard when adding onto the house. This may not add as much cost to the project as you might think. For example, when adding a study, extra bedroom, or even an attached garage, you can add the same structure 15 or 20 feet from the house. The additional costs you will incur are for one wall (the one that will no longer be shared with the rest of the house) and the hallway required to connect the new structure to the existing house. You can then enclose the courtyard using a fence or dense hedge. Then, of course, there is the cost of the courtyard itself.

 

Traditionally, courtyards were
surrounded by a building. But
you can use any type of
enclosing structure to create
the same effect.

If you plan to add a courtyard, consider how it is oriented to the sun and how you will enter and exit from the house and garden. The more entries, the more you are likely to use the space. Be sure the courtyard paving, no matter the material used, drains away from the house. Also consider ways to provide a partial canopy by extending the rafters of the roof over the new structure.