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Life On Virginia Street

Life On Virginia Street

DIY . Home Decor . Travel . Style . Life

Outdoor Courtyard Ideas

Landscaping and Outdoor Spaces, Room Makeovers + Design Plans

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Your home doesn’t need a courtyard to take advantage of all of these outdoor courtyard ideas! This post includes beautiful inspiration that could be used in most outdoor spaces!

Today I had planned to share some Amazon Prime deals, along with sales at other stores. And I ended up getting bored in my search. Especially after seeing so many other posts on the topics. If that’s what you came for today I updated a few more favorites at the very end of this post and will continue to share on my Facebook page. So, today I’m sharing a post that didn’t even really exist until last night when I decided to go old-school and share some inspiration and ideas for one of our favorite spaces “in” our home. Our courtyard!

To be honest, we’re years (and years) away from this project coming to fruition. If it ever even does 😉 But, as I’ve been on Pinterest and Instagram recently, I’ve seen a lot of great inspiration that I’ve earmarked and loved lately. The reality is, you don’t need a courtyard in your outdoor space to implement some of these ideas. They work just as well for patios, porches, and other outdoor spaces.

Our courtyard was one of the features that immediately sold us on our home. It’s such a unique design feature and we love that it’s one of the first things you see when you walk into our home! As much as we love the space itself, down the road we’d love to improve it even further!

So, today I’m sharing outdoor courtyard ideas that can inspire all of your outdoor plans! We’re also going to pretend we live in a world with no budgets 😉

This post contains affiliate links for your shopping convenience. You can read my full disclosure policy here.

The Current State of Our Courtyard

I’m not entirely sure our courtyard is truly a courtyard. But that’s what we call it and we love that three rooms on our main floor wrap around the serene space. I recently shared our summer courtyard refresh and we love the customized space so much more now that’s it’s lighter and brighter and more our style. Here’s the view looking into our entryway hallway.

A patio outside of the house with a small table and four chairs and flowers on the table.

And here’s the side that looks onto our office. The wall is an 8′ or so heavy plastic (vinyl?) fence. It’s not a huge space. Maybe 15’x15′? But it’s perfect for our firepit and conversation set. If we make changes down the road, we’d likely change up the furniture in here and move the firepit out to the back of the house.

A planter of flowers on the courtyard table and the table set for a meal.

Here’s the aerial view so you can see the courtyard layout a bit better. The top sliders go to our office, the right sliders go to our entryway hallway, and the windows at the bottom are those in our dining room (the side with the large hutch). On that bottom side on the left, there’s also about a three foot opening that steps down into our side yard on the side of our covered patio.

An aerial view of the courtyard looking down onto the small patio with chairs.

What you may not see in the photos from the refresh is, now that our home is eleven years old, the concrete is starting to heave and the wall is starting to get loose and uneven. It’s nothing pressing, but we do also have concerns that water could eventually get in our basement with how un-level the concrete is becoming. we’re talking 1-1.5″ heaves in certain areas. So, it’s always fun to dream about how we could change this space down the road as things need to be replaced.

Outdoor Courtyard Ideas

If I’m dreaming super big, I have plans for the courtyard that would totally change the overall look. Following is my wish list for some day out in the distance. I’m sure it will end up changing over time!

  • Take down the vinyl “rock” wall, and replace it with something more permanent with a built-in fireplace.
  • Install pavers or brick for the flooring, since the concrete is clearly not working well here.
  • Possibly add a pergola for some shade?
  • We know we’re not too many years out from needing new windows on our home, so I’d like to get a bit more creative with ours (and the sliding doors) in this space!

Following are some gorgeous outdoor courtyard ideas that make my dreams grow even larger!

A small walkway leading to an opened door with a trellis filled with vines on it.
Dolphin Terrace Courtyard Inspiration via Kelly Nutt Design
A light beige house with a cement walkway, trees on both sides leading to sliding doors of the house.
Brick Courtyard via SHM Architects
A white house with a brick outdoor fireplace, gray trim, large gray sliding doors, and barn lights in this area full of outdoor courtyard ideas.
Surrey Drive Courtyard via Kelly Nutt Design
A beautiful courtyard wall idea with white concrete, olive trees, black lanterns, and black out door furniture.
Courtyard Wall via Pottery Barn
Beautiful black framed windows on a white house, with a small courtyard and an outdoor fire pit.
Courtyard Windows via SHM Architects
Black framed windows and door lead from this kitchen nook to an outdoor entertaining area.
Kitchen Nook and Courtyard via Patterson Custom Homes
A gorgeous modern Californian outdoor living space with a white brick outdoor fireplace, black windows, and pea gravel and concrete pavers.
Dolphin Terrace White Outdoor Fireplace via Kelly Nutt Design
A beautiful Mediterranean-inspired outdoor patio with a white outdoor fireplace, firepit, concrete pavers and palm trees and bougainvillea.
Outdoor Fire Feature via Simonsen-Hickock Interior Design
A beautiful outdoor courtyard idea with white house, white windows, woven wicker outdoor furniture, topiary trees, and blue and white accents.
Outdoor Fireplace & Seating Area via Pottery Barn

Additional Outdoor Inspiration

Looking for even more outdoor inspiration? Be sure to check out the following post. Click any of the titles below to read the full article!

  • How to Plant Flowers in a Pot
  • Front Porch Planter Ideas
  • Outdoor Planters
  • Six Simple Ways to Boost Curb Appeal
  • Outdoor Courtyard Ideas
  • The Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Furniture and Decor
  • Exterior Light Fixtures
  • The Best Exterior White Paint Colors

If you would like to follow along on more of my home decor, DIY, lifestyle, travel and other posts, I’d love to have you join me on any of the below channels:

Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | LTK

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July 16, 2019 · 9 Comments

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Comments

  1. Nan, Odessa, DE says

    July 16, 2019 at 8:54 am

    Thanks for sharing!

    Where can I buy the blue/white vase?

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      July 16, 2019 at 8:58 am

      I got it from At Home this summer 🙂

      Reply
  2. Sharon Peterson says

    July 16, 2019 at 12:14 pm

    I find loads of outdoor ideas I would love to implement at my home. Alas, I live in Kansas where summer temps can get to 112 and the wind can blow 40 mph. The advantage to your courtyard is it does provide wind protection. A pergola would be nice with a remote control shade.

    Is your patio furniture new? I don’t remember the chairs being that light. I really like them. Please let us know where they came from. Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Angie says

    July 16, 2019 at 8:02 pm

    Thank you for not posting about Amazon. I’ve been skipping every blog talking about the Amazon sale! Your post was much more interesting.

    Reply
  4. Varun Sharma says

    July 16, 2019 at 10:42 pm

    Wow, such a beautiful idea. Thanks for sharing this outdoor courtyard idea.

    Reply
  5. Mimi O. says

    October 29, 2019 at 9:34 pm

    I love you clean and fresh style. I have been looking for a light grey classic outdoor rug. Where did you get the beautiful grey border rug for your courtyard?

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      October 31, 2019 at 7:53 am

      Thank you! I got it at At Home!

      Reply
  6. Kathe Irowez says

    July 26, 2020 at 1:07 pm

    I love your courtyard so much! We have an entry courtyard, and it’s my favorite feature of the house. Yours is really special – just lovely!

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      July 26, 2020 at 6:56 pm

      Thank you so much! There’s something so magical about a courtyard!

      Reply

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