10 Modern Houses with Interior Courtyards & Gardens

The Hanging Rock House, by Melbourne-based Six Degrees Architects, not only features a long, rectangular window for panoramic views of the surrounding landscape, but it has an open-to-the-sky interior garden that can be enjoyed from different spaces.

Fougeron Architecture designed this penthouse apartment, named Tehama Grasshopper, in an old warehouse building in San Francisco. The top floor houses the living spaces, including this glass-enclosed courtyard that brings a bit of outdoors in.

Photo by Juan Solano Ojasiy

Located in Peru, Casa Cachalotes, by Oscar Gonzalez Moix, takes inspiration from the lush surroundings and brings nature to the interior with this double-height garden that also helps bring daylight into the ground floor.

A two-story atrium, which opens to the sky, takes center stage in the Cube House, designed by John Maniscalco Architecture, as a way for all areas of the house to enjoy the light, air, and greenery it affords.

Photo by Marco Zanta

BoA Studio Architetti designed this private residence in Treviso, Italy with a central helical staircase that’s positioned next to a full-height, glass-enclosed greenhouse that helps break up all of the white surfaces within the space with its greenery.

Photo by Florian Grohen

To create a light-filled house, architect Elaine Richardson created the Open House in Sydney, Australia as a place the family could hold a party. To add more space, the atrium opens up on three sides thanks to sliding glass doors.

Photo by Mariko Reed

San Francisco-based Klopf Architecture built an atrium in the hallway as part of an addition added to the front of an Eichler house they designed. The small space helps bring light and nature into the new extension.

Photo by Mike Sinclair

Designed as a U-shaped residence by Hufft Projects, the Curved House brings nature to the inside with a central courtyard that also maximizes light throughout the day.

Photo by Iwan Baan

The Aurora, Oregon-based Courtyard House, designed by NO Architecture, flows around a central courtyard that provides light and air to the interior, while also acting as a space divider for daily living.

Photo by Derek Swalwell

The semi-detached Greenbank Park house, by HYLA Architects, frames a frangipani tree in the middle of a pond within a two-level courtyard where it becomes a focal point for the kitchen, dining room, and living room.