A few cool deco ideas for your courtyard
A few cool deco ideas for your courtyard
A rustic deco idea for you from us 
No matter where you live, you can have a cozy room outside to have a familiar escape just outside your back door.
What about your courtyard? It seems so fitting – just a boring concrete slab just outside the back door. Nothing about it encourages you to enjoy the outdoors.
At least that’s what you thought back then. Today’s versions are of course different. They now come in a variety of materials: from bricks to floor tiles. People are beginning to associate these exterior floors with superstructures such as gazebos and cedar tree-lined walkways. At the ground level, a proliferation of decorative containers makes it easier than ever with these then simple plates. With the right materials and decorative accents, the courtyard can become a retreat that will not look decayed or ever put on termites or will require a fresh coat of paint or sealant every few years.
The secret of how to do that is that you have to look at the room differently than an extra room. “What I do is an extension of the house,” says Buck Buchan, Kansas City, Missouri, landscape architect. When you are in your home, your view of the courtyard is such that when you look out, you need a focal point in your courtyard.
Wrought iron furniture invites to alfresco dining while a terracotta waterfall makes the destination soothing and lonely.
That’s exactly why San Diego landscape architect Cindy Benoit outfitted a customer’s yard with a formal, English-style wrought-iron gazebo. A wooden gazebo used to stand in the center of the courtyard, but it was dilapidated and later demolished. A new focal point had to fill this spot, so Benoit wondered what she could do if she lived there. ‘I would want to have my morning breakfast and afternoon tea there,’ she says. So she decided to create an exterior room with a classic look that would attract the homeowner outside. She looked for inspiration in garden catalogs and when she saw the formal English gazebo, she knew it was the grand idea for this room. She draped the structure with the white mosquito net and decorated the flooring of the pea gravel with furniture “wicker and iron” to complete the atmosphere of the room’s romantic fantasy.
A good decoration idea – a whirlpool in her garden
Transforming the courtyard into a backyard escape – that’s a great idea of how Benoit did it. Buchan repeats fabric and accent colors from the home interior to make the blank space outside to an extension of the home. Benoit includes a type of structure or a patio, such as a gazebo or fence, to define the space.
Both landscape architects try the personal character of their customers, such as to reflect a favorite birdbath or works of design outside to properly represent the out-door character.
Personalize your courtyard
You’re more likely to use a room with your favorite elements, such as your favorite colors or favorite painting. This also affects the courtyard. Here are some tips from landscape architects Cindy Benoit and Dollar Buchan on how to turn these important points into a personal paradise:
Personally designed terrace – simple and beautiful
· Allow yourself time to dream
Before you rip your old terrace or start laying bricks on your new one, think about Benoit’s advice. She advises, think carefully about what you want and what the backyard room should be like. How will you use it? As a family outdoor dining or living room? Do you plan to have guests there? If so, how many people are you planning to invite from 8 to 10 or 25 to 50 there? Do you want it to be a dreamy sheltered space or do you want it uncovered so you can stare at the stars at night? No matter what you do, you have to think about your climate, and whether you need protection from the wind or the sun. Read in magazines about surface styles, structures and materials.
· The patio to adapt to the architectural style of the house
An outside retreat should complement the house architecture – you do not need to fight it. For example, a southwest-style courtyard elevates an unfired mud brick, while a formal English outdoor living room top emphasizes the traditional style. Use the color of your house in the décor of the terrace to color-connect the rooms.
· Expand the interior to the outside.
Choose colors, fabrics, and furniture that are within your home and take them outside for a harmonious connection between home and outdoors.
· Defining the room as an outside room.
The structure helps to define the exterior as a ‘room’. The addition of a top structure gives the meaning of a blanket. When placing pillars, 3 foot tall bins, or posts – they help give the room a sense of coziness.
The colors must always be coordinated
· Turn the terrace into a focal point.
A terrace should take your look. Buchan says it’s better to consider how you look out onto the patio from the house, and what you want to see from those windows. Benoit tries to show just enough of the outside room from the house to captivate a spectator to come outside and see it completely
Style can be easy too. So too can your terraces retreat be.
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· To go shopping.
Look for tricks that interest you or it can be a bird bath or something plastic. These pieces will make the terrace even more comfortable and personal.
