What direction does the home face? Do you have an elevation drawing? What style exterior? What style interior? What is the lot like in the way of neighbors and setting?

Steel grids? Regular laminated insulated glass like what is commonly used in patio/french doors is the choice for me. That construction provides security for all those billions of glass doors currently in use. You could add a piece of beveled glass within the insulated unit if you have the door custom made. Exterior Front Entry Doors | Wood Exterior Doors | Woodgrain

We have one house that is designed with a very similar layout in our neighborhood. The design was a killer when they tried to sell the house recently. It took a lot longer to sell than comparable houses and sold for a lot less than comparable houses. It was also a younger/newer house, but the "poor" layout superseded any other positives the house might have had.

Most people do not want to have to walk outside to get to their front door.

Why do you feel you need this courtyard design? What do you see as the benefits?

I am not sure what Iam looking at to behonest .I need to see the exterior elevations and a fllor plan with lesss stuff bigger , a foyer is the entry to your home how does that one work?

What does the designer of the house suggest?

It is quite hard to see but it looks like the covered entry leads to a covered patio and then people enter the home directly off of that? If I’m reading this wrong please clarify, is the guest room its own building essentially? We stayed in a summer place recently with a separate guest space covers by a courtyard area. It was interesting for sure. Not sure I would want that all the time.

It’s a casita. it’s a nice feature often found in the southwest. Sometimes used as a guest suite, or study, office, studio, or away space.

The front entrance is surrounded by hard surfaces, so the covered area should have intriguing lighting and interesting wall surface. The outside, too. An issue might be someone parking by the garage door might hit the house when opening the car door, or block the way for others.

You might start the welcoming feeling not at the front door but where the driveway becomes the ”car court”, with perhaps a low wall surrounding and attractive landscaping, then a surface design on the driveway in the ”court”. and garage doors that echo the house and foyer.

A courtyard entry that still leads to a front door and foyer would be amazing. I love the idea of being able to walk directly to a beautiful patio area but also love the idea of w proper entrance so I don’t feel like I’m sneaking in constantly .

I also swear this plan was posted by someone else within the last two weeks or so!

When guests enter the courtyard patio, where will the enter the house? Do you plan to arrange furniture in the way shown? As shown, it looks like they will enter to the kitchen island?

Off-Topic: I would think the view from the master bedroom into the guest bedroom and the view from the guest bedroom into the master bedroom and the view from the pool area into both bedrooms needs rethinking.

That wouldn’t bother me. It’s what blinds are for. If you are in your room and want privacy you close a door or a blind. I would love a room that looks out into a pool area. I suspect for would be quite serene

"with no formal foyer entry in to the house"

???

To answer the first question, I wouldn't think it odd if the Entry door had glass, even though it leads from outside-to-outside. I would expect it to match the other two swing exterior doors (at least in the "metal grid" design) in the Living Room, which I really hope are glass there.

The other question about making the Foyer welcoming to the house, the comments are basically saying it is not a decor problem, it is an inherent design problem. The Foyer is welcoming to the outdoor eating table and pool, not the house proper.

We decided on this layout because we purchased not the most ideal lot (long and narrow) in our dream neighborhood close to the beach. We knew we wanted the pool area to be south facing and really like the central courtyard/ indoor outdoor living concept. We knew progressing with this concept would not be everyone’s cup of tea and so when it came to resale it could put us at a disadvantage. However we arent building for resale- we are building for us and even though the many negative comments here made me sick to my stomach- I still love the idea. Here are some additional images that i hope will help give a better understanding about our lot. I will share some of the inspo images we used while designing as well.

@WestCoast Hopeful Thanks for your feedback- hopefully the additional pics help answer your questions. In regard to this same plan being posted recently- do you happen to remember what the post was about?

It is not a problem with the site, or the concept of a courtyard, or the concept of entering the house through a courtyard. It appears the house is sited well and the courtyard concept works here. It is perfectly fine to enter a courtyard and then into the house (it is very common across the world), however this 1st entrance intrudes into the heart of outdoor eating/seating. Whereas, if the pathway into the house were alongside those areas, keeping the feeling of "outdoor rooms" intact, it might be more successful.

Here is just an example of arranging the house around an organizing flow/visual pathway/arrival points (in YELLOW arrows), with the Entry/Foyer being a natural part of that:

I see the stair massing expressed on your elevations, this is just an example of pulling, rotating, and stretching things to illustrate the point. Ultimately, I would tweak the design much more than this.

The concept is similar to my parents’ winter home in AZ, which we loved. I do rather like 3onthetree’s entry concept.

Down here in Florida, many people have Courtyard homes where you enter through a wrought iron door or gate into a courtyard and then enter the actual home through a solid door.

However, I don't think you want simply a gate between the outside and people getting into your courtyard. Naturally your service people will use this entrance to attend to the pool etc.

Here in Florida, the gates are substantial, alarmed and there's usually a cage over the courtyard.

"any suggestions on how to make the covered outside foyer area welcoming?"

@3onthetree thank you for that suggestion- will definitely bring it to our team. What i dont like is that it would eliminate the ability to have the butlers pantry somthat something to think about. But thabk you for taking the time to do that.

@Mark Bischak, Architect - if architecture doesnt work out for you looks like you got a career in comedy in your back pocket👏🏻

I am passing my time while waiting for an answer to my first question, "What does the designer of the house suggest?"

Did you pick this canned plan or did the designer miss the mark on how their client lives? Once you enter the "foyer" you have entered the house, regardless of the house being fully enclosed or not. It is a concept from warmer climates and is hard to conceive for those only familiar to colder climates.

The welcome mat suggestion is a legitimate suggestion, all be it simple and obvious, regardless of how you perceive it. It adds a visual and psychological sense of warmth and a definition of "entry".

Beverly, those first two photos you showed are just the front door to the homes and they do not have a courtyard. A large number of the remodels in my area are getting larger metal/glass front doors just like those and they aren't hidden inside a private courtyard where nobody can see them from the street.

Now that OP explained that it is a beach town with other homes surrounding it on "small" lots, then a courtyard design can make sense. The one in my neighborhood is on a good sized lot with some golf course views in the back that were totally blocked by doing a courtyard home. The design makes no sense for the lot and location, and actually diminished the overall value of the property. If OP is surrounded by other similar sized/designed beach properties, then the design will most likely fit right in, but the house will probably benefit from a few design changes, as others have shown.

We had a home built like a square donut with the courtyard in the center all our exterior doors were sliders the whole courtyard was glass except fo 10' thta was wall to hide our bed . The main entry faced the court yard glass wall but housed all the mechanicla and laundry and 1/2 bath I loved thta house it just always felt welcoming and I know it was like living in a fish bowl but I have never been a privacy nut . BTW the last iiherd that house sold for over million so not a big turn off either with all the glass

Angie, the Butler's being eliminated was just from haphazardly moving things around to illustrate a point for the entrance. I am not suggesting to eliminate the (actually just a) Pantry, or even move the stair. I hope concepts aren't dismissed that would greatly improve your house just because you are looking at non-applicable details of an explanation.