The outdoor shower situated off of the master bedroom is enclosed to offer privacy and features a courtyard garden. Michael Arp of Lanoha Nurseries designed the house's landscaping.

A covered walkway provides a sheltered passage between the main house and studio. The fire pit is used during social gatherings.

The home’s enclosed courtyard sits at “the heart of the structure,” says Baumann, who resides with his wife, Lisa Sardinas, and eight-year-old son, Oskar. “This is clearly the dominant space; everything flexes towards it.” Baumann cast the square concrete floor tiles himself, enlisting the help of his son. A small, neat patch of grass—a playful nod to the archetypal domestic lawn—is edited down to a charming folly.

At once part of the city and protected from it, the house benefits from plenty of open space and light and creates its own courtyard enclosure.

Their daughters, Annapurna, left, and Siddartha, play with their dog, Anouck, beneath the kangaroo paws in the entry garden courtyard.

The house’s new lime plaster walls, seen here in the courtyard, contrast with the old brick wall that divides the house from Kolasiński’s adjoining carpentry shop. Though the house itself is small, the outdoor spaces and furniture studio bring its total square footage to nearly 11,000 square feet.

Parson Russell terriers Pepper and Trixie get a glimpse of the large courtyard through a glassy expanse by Marvin Windows and Doors.

The inner courtyard is the core of the home.

The apartments face a landscaped common courtyard. The site is an irregular trapezoid, a fact the zig-zagging sidewalks reflect well.

Several courtyards help bring greenery in. On the west side of the home, plants absorb sunlight and create another passive cooling feature. Crushed limestone pebbles and an exposed stone wall complete the lush space.

To most eyes, Ezequiel Farca’s 1970s-style concrete home in Mexico City looked like a teardown. Even the lot itself—shallow and crammed against a steep hillside—wasn’t particularly alluring. But Farca saw through all the restraints to create a spa-like refuge in one of the world’s most energetic cities. "It’s is such a hectic place. You’re bombarded by so much information the moment you step into the streets," says Farca, who first gained prominence as a furniture and interior designer. "So we envisioned this house as a retreat, a kind of a temple." The rooftop courtyard is lined with a verdant mix of indigenous plants, including banana trees, palm trees, lion’s claw, Mexican breadfruit, and native vines. The chaise longues were designed for Farca’s EF Collection.

The courtyard with its fire pit and infinity pond—extends the living area outdoors. The family has hosted events, weddings, and even a funeral here, and annual solstice parties are always a big hit with the neighbors.

A door leads out from the romantic courtyard, lush with plants. “Although we live in a big city, it doesn’t feel like it,” Kolasiński says. “The neighborhood and the nature are very relaxing and quiet.”

The architect incorporated a central courtyard in the house, an unusual but intelligent design response for the region with a temperate climate. “The house sets up an interesting tension between two established [courtyard and farmhouse] typologies,” Crump explains.

The architects pulled away the roof at the house’s center to create a courtyard where the residents can enjoy meals. The ground sits below floor level, which means that the wraparound eucalyptus deck can also serve as a bench.

The home's exterior, composed of concrete and glass, welcomes guests with a traditional water fountain in the entryway. Photo by: Bill Timmerman

The courtyard is sunken because of the existing grade. The Albezia shade tree was planted when the outdoor area was still scrap yard, an “act of hope and faith in the future,” says Wittman.

“The intimate courtyard, with a concrete floor and plants, is an homage to many charming places in Southern California, where my wife and I lived for four years before getting married," says Priatman.

In their concrete-walled courtyard, Yuka and Aaron watch as twins Emerson and Jasper, daughters Maude and Mirene, and Alfie the dog play. The house is painted in Black Bean Soup by Benjamin Moore, a color in keeping with the period of the original architecture. The garden was designed by Lauren Hall-Behrens of Lilyvilla Gardens.

The material was gathered from soil with high sand content on the property as well as a second site in the vicinity. Certain volumes of the home consist of a concrete structure and brick masonry.

An Almond bathtub by Porcelanosa is accented by a tub filler from Hansgrohe.

Outside, Kartell Masters chairs surround a Tom Dixon Screw table.

Birdsall and Atticus are seated on an ipe bench designed by Anna Boeschenstein; the stucco exterior cladding was matched to Cast Iron 6202 paint by Sherwin-Williams.

In this family-friendly household, even the dogs have been given a space of their own. Enclosed courtyards offer the family and their two dogs outdoor living areas that feel like extensions of the interior spaces.

The Courtyard House nurtures inter-generational family life, framed by nature: a gentle entrance ramp and exterior covered terrace, negotiable for wheelchair, walker, or stroller, connects inside to out.

Because no room is compartmentalized and isolated as in a conventional home, every room can be an active space during the day and a sleeping space at night.

Architect Michelle Linden worked with Brothers to create a minimalist house. Inspired by the inward-looking approach of Cistercian abbeys, Linden oriented the U-shaped structure around a courtyard.

A majestic Japanese maple nestles against the Master Bedroom and adds vibrant color to the courtyard.

A mix of polyethylene seating and rustic stonework is in the home's courtyard.

An internal courtyard punctuates the main floor of this renovated home near Melbourne, Australia, and adds a practical source of light and air. The local climate patterns were taken into account during the home’s design and layout. Because temperatures can vary quite dramatically, solar control was very important. The large glazed sliders to the east, where the home gets morning sun, strategically contrast with the less extensive glazing to the north.

Solid European oak flooring by DuChateau runs throughout the home. The sculpture is by Jorge Yázpik.

The living area opens beautifully into the outdoor area, which is a key design element of Eichler homes. Photo by Mariko Reed.

Resident Nadja van Praag enjoys the view from the deck that connects the trio of structures. The idea for the deconstructed plan was inspired in part by Alvar Aalto sketches of a “peeled apart” summer cabin, says architectural designer Riley Pratt, in which interconnected volumes surround a central courtyard.

Villa Vals is subtly out carved from an alpine slope in Vals, Switzerland. The unique design by SeARCH and Christian Müller Architects provides both a comfortably sized patio, and stunning mountain views while remaining visually unobtrusive in the pastoral landscape. Photo by Iwan Baan.