Creative & Inspiring Options for your Courtyard

Guest Blog #155, Entry #629, August 25, 2011

Courtyards in homes are a beautiful addition that many don’t take advantage of. Whether you want to add one on to your home, or it is already present, but you want to enliven it. Today, my Guest Blogger gives tips for brightening up your outdoor home with a courtyard.

Uncover a hidden gem with a courtyard

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It doesn’t matter how big or small your outdoor living space is, you can create a lush courtyard for yourself. When you bring the emptiness to life, you may be surprised at just how much more time you spend out there. Nature is addictive, it has a way of drawing you in with its beauty and then the more you’re surrounded by it, the more you long to be around it.

What’s Your Vision

Even if you basically have a drab concrete courtyard right now, you can create something spectacular with a little planning. Think about what you would like your space to look like. Is a Zen garden with moss and bonsai trees your style or would you more appreciate a French bistro vibe. Of course, you can always create a fun tropical and tiki environment as well.

Recreate your home with a beautiful courtyard

Prepare Your Space

Your first step is to clean up the space. This probably is not the most exciting step but it has to be done. Don’t just pile refuse and junk to one side and think that you will deal with it later either, clear it away! If you have a lot to get rid of, you may need to rent a large trash container that you can fill and then have picked up.

Next, you will probably want to cover the cement or asphalt surface you likely have. Stones, pebbles, bricks and pavers all work great. If you are not looking to invest quite that much energy into laying materials, buy one or two decorative outdoor rugs and no one will notice what’s underneath.

Make Use of Your Space

Most courtyards are pretty small so you want to make use of every little bit of space you have. Chances are, you don’t have room for an actual garden or flower bed but you don’t need one. Make a raised bed or use containers. You can find containers super cheap at garage sales or flea markets. Alternatively, you can buy those inexpensive, boring plastic containers, get some outdoor paint and paint your them to match the rest of your decor.

If you have walls around our courtyard, hang baskets with ferns or plant vines in containers and permit them to grow up the wall. If you have a balcony overhead, use it to hang pots of flowers.

Natural Elements

Don’t underestimate using natural elements like boulders and rocks. You can drop a few decorative stones in your plants or even create a small rock garden. These offer a very Zen atmosphere.

Plants can liven up your courtyard, and bring nature in

Add the Extras

Every outdoor space really should have some type of water feature. Whether you add a small solar fountain or a bird bath is up to you but water really has a way of naturally invoking tranquility.

Lighting is an important feature as well. Solar lights are ideal if your space is completely shaded or a small gel fireplace would do the trick as well. If you do have a wall, hang string lights or paper lanterns.

A nice piece of wall art is another great idea. There are paintings available that look just like prints you would frame for the inside of your house only they’re coated to stand up against harsh weather and bird droppings.

Every space can be turned into a lush, inviting and relaxing wonderland, even a balcony! If you live in an apartment, you may be surprised at what you can do with that balcony if you let your creativity take over.

 This is a guest post from My Garden Hammock. A site dedicated to the humble hammock with some great tips on choosing a hammock bed for the garden or even to replace your bed

For more outdoor living ideas on Stagetecture, click here.