One thing to consider is house orientation. If you design with the correct overhang lots of south facing windows will let light flood your rooms during the winter months. Avoid western windows and main rooms.

thanks @dan1888 - I am doing this for sure, the house itself is largely being designed to make use of every drop of sunshine! I'm less confident doing the same outdoors though, mostly because the openness & wind mean turning sunshine into heat is more of a challenge!

I have two friends who included screened in rooms with fireplaces in their new homes. They entertain in these rooms for 3 seasons of the year and I love spending time there. No bugs and a cool breeze in the summer months, and the fire makes it comfortable in the spring and fall when we would otherwise have to move indoors.

I would think a space with a lot of glass that is exposed to the sun would be better than a courtyard/waled garden would better meet the needs you expressed. The space should be properly located on your site and many of the windows should be operable to passively control the temperature.

I am in process of designing a similar space addition for a house I remodeled several years ago. I assume you have relayed your concerns to your architect.

I spent a lot of time in a house with two courtyards/walled gardens, but it was in a hot, dry climate. The south-side courtyard was the favorite, because it got the warm winter sun and the summer shade. Both had house on one side, house and wall on the ends, and wall on the fourth.

If you do a courtyard completely surrounded by house, you have to deal with drainage.

Also pay attention to where sound comes from. You don’t want noise from the highway a mile or two away bouncing off the walls in your otherwise tranquil courtyard.

I'm building a home with a courtyard that's about 1100 sq ft. Recommend you purchase a book Homes and Courtyards by Bassenian Lagoni. Most of the homes are in Southern California and I've been in many of them when they were model homes. When done correctly, an interior courtyard is incredible especially when you add mature trees, planting beds, a fireplace. Even adding a small interior courtyard is a great way to bring light into the center of your home. I would not build a home without one. You just need to ensure that you have enough home to wrap around it and expect to bump up your window budget.

Just for quick ideas, Google White Horse Scottsdale where you'll see courtyard homes and floor plans plans that may provide you with good ideas. They're expensive, but you can get take ideas from them regardless of your budget.

You mention that your weather is often cool and wet. Something to consider: with these conditions, the north wall of the courtyard will stay wet for long periods of time. With little or no air movement inside the courtyard, this may invite moss and mold. You drainage and waterproofing should be impeccable.

Another thing to consider: how many months in a year do you think you will be using the courtyard? I've seen a TV show where the owners decided their courtyard was not usable much because of air humidity. They covered it with a glass roof, and it became a gorgeous living room / conservatory with a big fireplace. They kept their palms and citrus there for the winter.

Depends a lot on the climate you're in, the solar orientation of both the adjacent indoor rooms and outdoor courtyard space, and the predominant wind direction. These should all be factored in when planning this kind of space. I'm a big fan of these kinds of spaces, what I call "outdoor rooms." When done right they can really help a house to sit in the landscape beautifully. Have a look at these shots, a small house where we employed just this kind of strategy. Good luck with it! - Ben Parco

Berkeley Hills House · More Info

Berkeley Hills House · More Info

Berkeley Hills House · More Info

Berkeley Hills House · More Info

Thank you all for the tips, thoughts and photos! Lots for me to look into there - I'll be mulling over all of your comments carefully!

I lived in Kyoto with an interior garden. The garden was visible from two abutting rooms, which had sliding screens, and the connecting walkway. The space was purely visual snd a source of fresh air snd light. It was designed to be seen not used, and as such was perfect. I now live in a stone house with a three sided courtyard in the Hudson River Valley, New York. This one is expected to serve both function (access to front door and lounging or dining) and also be an aesthetic amenity viewed from the house. Far trickier! I impart one early lesson. Conifers near the house will soon brown out on the house side...

Consider a u shaped house instead

We have a home built in 1979 with an interior atrium. We absolutely love the space but it has proven to be a bit expensive as over time, our pipes and drainage systems needed to be updated (a broken pipe was leaking under our house and the water was finding it's way to our living room). Any work done within an atrium is extremely expensive because you can't get large equipment in there! Plus they had to tunnel beneath our home to replace the drainage pipe and sump pump (I live in Texas so I'm on a slab foundation). Now, despite all that the atrium is by far the coolest feature of our otherwise basic 70s ranch and I wouldn't trade it for the world!

I think your answer is in several porch/deck areas facing correctly for sun exposure at different times of day...a small spot for morning coffee....a little dining/ seating /reading area at lunch time .... and a spot facing the sunset....to relax at the end of the day...all out doors but not at ground level like a courtyard...any area that is prone to wind could be semi enclosed with framed glass wall/s in whatever style suits your home ...if your home is not box shaped you can utilize little niches by having two solid walls behind each spot as further protection ...