Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Enchanting courtyards...

The last couple of posts have got me thinking *ouch* lol, one of my favourite things to do when visiting my mum is sit in her Tuscan inspired courtyard and in summer enjoy the trickling sound of the water feature and in winter enjoy the crackling sound of her chimenea.
Just like my mum, I'm always drawn to homes that feature a courtyard - especially of the european variety ;)
Courtyards like in most busy city suburbs, are a very popular feature in the homes of inner Sydney as most of the houses are terraces and no room for grassy backyards. As you'll see many back kitchens and family rooms have large doors that open out to these spaces and really allow them to become yet another room of the house.
As we are currently in the planning and negotiating stages of renovating our home I would really love to incorporate a french inspired parterre courtyard that our new bedroom will open out to. This will include tall rendered walls, climbing vines, an array of terracotta pots featuring topiary and colourful plants, large stone pavers, stone table, iron chairs and somehow, someway a stunning limestone fountain just like the one below :)

To me, the following pics offer some inspirational courtyard ideas :)







Oooh a chandelier in the kitchen! I love it!









image 1, TBA
image 2, Parterre
image 3, valentino hotel
image 4, International design awards
image 5, French entree
image 6, French quarter house
All other images via realestate.com





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