Skip to main content

Why This Lake Washington Courtyard House Is the Perfect Suburban Retreat

It’s no secret that the suburbs are getting a bit crowded these days. These areas were once carefully laid out neighborhoods with rolling front lawns, plenty of space between houses, and a chance to escape the hustle and bustle of city life. Today, spacious lots are being divided to cram more residences into the same square footage. While it may be a necessary part of life for cities with nowhere to expand, it creates one glaring problem — a total lack of privacy. It’s hard to feel as if home is a sanctuary when you can reach out and touch your neighbor’s house from your window. One Seattle-based architectural firm has addressed this issue head on with a clever, experiential design for Yo-Ju Courtyard House.

Designed by Wittman Estes, Yo-Ju Courtyard House lives up to its name. Mandarin Chinese for “secluded living,” Yo-Ju creates a deeper level of privacy as you move along each section, from the busy thoroughfare at the front to the peaceful oasis of the back courtyard. Inside and out, the idea of being secluded while surrounded by neighbors was promoted throughout the home, supported by everything from layout to landscaping.

Related Videos

Beginning with the driveway which is connected to the street, this home is formed by a series of exterior courtyards and interior zones. These courtyards and zones create a natural progression that thoughtfully moves guests through each space, from entry to entertaining space to the rear courtyard.

The feeling of seclusion the home was named for starts with the exterior, which is surrounded by thoughtful landscaping and a privacy fence that wraps around the property. This fence doesn’t just offer visual privacy but helps to dampen the sound coming from the busy street and neighbors. The same dark charred wood used for the privacy fence was incorporated into the cladding of the home. Seen from the street, the pops of green trees against the black vertical-laid planks create a striking visual. This is contemporary minimalist architecture at its finest.

The transition through the home is defined by “thresholds” that go from opaque (the dark fencing surrounding the property) to transparent — the back of the home is filled with large-pane windows and walls of glass that can open up to the courtyard. It’s another way the design of Yo-Ju Courtyard House intuitively guides guests from the busy outside to the secluded sanctuary formed by the home and landscaping.

The contemporary minimalist theme of the exterior continues in the open family room, from polished concrete floors to the white walls and ceilings which contrast against the black slate fireplace surround. Wood is used throughout to create visual moments intended to either draw you further into the home or provide another “threshold” to step through. A medium tone wood was used for the kitchen cabinetry and the staircase, along with a slatted wall that semi-shields the stairs from view, acting as the “translucent” threshold in between opaque and transparent.

Once you’ve made it through this second, interior zone, the glass walls of the family room can be opened up, turning it into an indoor-outdoor space. Transitioning smoothly from inside to exterior patio, this space builds a connection to the natural oasis that Wittman Estes built with the help of the firm’s talented landscape designers. Lush trees surround the back fence line while wild grasses grow tall, all offering the seclusion that inspired the creation of Yo-Ju Courtyard House in the first place.

Editors' Recommendations

How to Cultivate Modern Rustic Style in Your Own Home
rustic modern home

If the dream home you envision is a rugged reflection of your passion for the outdoors, modern rustic style is the look you need. Rough stone fireplaces, exposed wood beams, and a cozy sofa with a buffalo check flannel blanket, this style isn’t the feminine chic look popularized by Joanna Gaines and Fixer Upper. Rustic homes are masculine retreats that can be anything from a cabin in the woods to a farmhouse on a ranch.
Principles
The term "rustic" can be used to refer to a range of looks. The key is in the way the home reflects its natural surroundings. Where other styles like minimalism or mid-century modern want the connection to nature to be built around the view to the outside, rustic brings the outdoors in. The abundance of natural materials often left raw (untreated and in their natural form) creates a feeling of still being in nature while relaxing in the comfort of your own home.

This is one style that has seen a dramatic shift in recent years, forgoing the “revival” of other trends and instead morphing into something fresh and new. While in the past rustic was divided into two distinctly different looks -- farmhouse was the feminine answer to the masculine mountain cabin -- today’s rustic can be used in either setting and focuses on blending rugged materials with luxurious finishing touches.

Read more
Spring Lawn Care Tips: How to Bring Your Yard Back to Life After Winter
well groomed lawn

If you take a look at my back yard right now, you're going to have some explaining to do, because you can only see the yard from inside my house or from neighboring private property. Instead, how about I take a look for you, and then I'll tell you what I see.

I see plenty of work needed. Grass lawns don't just grow back healthy and hearty year after year, not without help, anyway. We laid down brand-new sod on our property just four years back, and for the first year following, the yard looked pretty great with minimal effort. In all the years since, however, the effort needed to keep the lawn healthy has grown every spring.

Read more
How to Ditch Your Home’s ‘Dorm Room’ Feel, According to an Expert
how to decorate apartment fluid design  relocation 1mentistudio com 23

Stacey Herman has seen it all over her years working with men as an interior decorator: The mattresses lying on the floor, the stolen road signs that harbor sentimental value, the collections of liquor bottles atop the kitchen cabinets. But it's all got to go. "You're an adult now," says the founder and chief transition officer of Stripe Street Studio. "You have to live in that adult world to accomplish the goals you've set out for yourself." With her guy-focused design firm firmly planted in Miami, New York, and Tulsa (and consulting even more widely), it's obvious that American men are clamoring for advice and guidance when it comes to transitioning from dorm room to board room. But if you're anything like her myriad hapless clients, breathe easy: With a few pointers, you, too, can make that jump with ease — and even better, without a lot of money.
Related Guides

Men's Apartment Essentials
Things Every Man Should Own

Read more