Courtyards

How do you get sun, light and a sense of space when your block is only 6 metres wide? This home has some solutions for narrow blocks.

When you're dealing with a tight site, a courtyard could be your answer to let in light, breezes and create a usable outdoor space.

A delightfully fun, cubby-like folly at the bottom of the garden provides extra space and encourages the full use of the garden.

Just a short walk from the beach and surrounded by Moona trees, a central courtyard is the link between this home and the landscape.

This 1920s home was transformed by an extension that refocusses living areas and a master retreat on a new north-facing courtyard.

Small changes can make a huge difference to the comfort and practicality of a home. New windows and a pivot door transform this studio.

In contrast to the neighbouring weatherboard houses, this crisp, modern modular home makes a huge statement in this Melbourne street.

Designing a family home is challenging because the family's needs change as they grow, that's why you have to plan for change.

Even after a reduction in total size, this renovation works better than the previous cluster of poorly considered renovations.

This considered addition capitalises on good qualities of the home and fixes the less than ideal. What can be saved in your addition?

At just 36 square metres, this compact yet thoughtful addition creates space for cooking, eating, writing, sitting and more...

With copious amounts of timber inside and out, this modern interpretation of a workers cottage feels natural, warm and welcoming.

Dealing with poor orientation this North-facing cloistered space acts as circulation and additional indoor/outdoor living space.

Older homes typically face two problems: lack of natural light and poor planning. A glazed atrium dining room solves both issues here.

If you're an introvert you'll know that the world we live in can be overwhelming at times. Sometimes you need somewhere to hideout...

Carefully planned around a central courtyard to maximise light and connection to the garden while minimising its impact on the street.

Inspired by the surrounding '60s estate, James Russell Architects takes the humble breeze block to new heights of style.

Parts of the original house are left intact to create sheltered outdoor areas in this renovation, grounding the home to its history.

Reclaimed bricks are used in various ways to bring a sense of history and weight to this inner-city extension.

This renovation shines with a light well bringing light deep into the house, bright red accents and pops of personality throughout...

The entire ground floor of this house has become one continuous indoor/outdoor space thanks to a well conceived alteration and addition.

A lot of mistakes were made in the '80s, Nic Owen Architects attempts to rectify one of them with a modern pod-like extension.

A series of courtyards weave this modern extension into the original home. A sensitive departure from the typical add-on.

A magnificent 100 year old fig tree and a small creek are treated as sacred elements in this home which embraces its environment.

The unusual roof of the small but effective addition is the real winner - providing plenty of light to the small, overshadowed site.