Decking up the courtyard

First and foremost you should mentally put together the activities that you would like to do in your courtyard. You should identify a seating area or areas i.e. in case you want a regular seating and an area for low seating. Regarding the furniture of the seating area it can be of wrought iron,cane,wood or of any other style as per your taste. These can have loose cushions on them of an attractive colour,pattern or fabric to bring in some colour to the surroundings.

One can even consider making a service counter which can double as a bar or service counter. This can be made into a design feature by putting nice tiles or stone on its facia and counter top.

You can further beautify the courtyard by creating green pockets by putting plants in terracotta planters or other decorative pitchers. You can also hang plants in baskets and put wall planters aswell. Having a tulsi plant in the courtyard is considered auspicious as per vaastu. It can be planted in an attractive planter and made a feature in the courtyard.

One can even consider having a swing or jhoola in the courtyard. This can be an antique swing,a cane one,or a metal jhoola as per your preferance. A small water body with water lilies or lotus can be planned if space permits. Even a simple pitcher can be placed to float petals or flowers at a certain place or places.

In addition to all this you should get the walls of the courtyard painted,here you can consider experimenting with colours on a wall or walls depending on visibility either from inside or from where you plan to have a seating area in the courtyard. A wall or walls can even be clad with a stone or tile of your choice. Niches can be created if structurally feasible in a wall to place a statue or figurine and then lit up to create an interesting wall feature. Murals too can be painted on walls. If the budget permits you can consider redoing the whole or a part of the flooring of your choice. The face of door and window frames and shutters which are on the courtyard side can also be painted in a different colour as well for a more cheerful appearance.

Lighting of the courtyard should be looked into as well for sitting out in the evenings. One can consider having both wall lighting and floor lighting. For a more dramatic and interesting effect one can even have uplighters at the base of the walls to throw beams of lights washing the wall from below in an upward direction. There should be sufficient provision for electrical points in the walls to be able to plug in lamps,music systems,a laptop computer,an electrical grille or barbeque etc.

Finally,if you want after beautifying the courtyard you may even consider modifying a window or windows looking onto the courtyard from the dining room or bedroom. A large glass window can be made to increase the visibility of the courtyard from inside the house. These are a few suggestions that you can keep in mind while beautifying the courtyard in your farmhouse.

How can we get a shower cubicle made at home? What are the options?

Hema,Mumbai

Your first option would be to enclose the bath area in an aluminium framework. This aluminium framework can be powdercoated. Powdercoated aluminium frames are available in a wide variety of colours. A colour to suit your décor can be chosen. Within this framework you can go in for a combination of a fixed panel and a hinged openable door or a sliding shutter. This decision is subject to the space constraints in the toilet. Within the aluminium framework one can either put glass or acrylic. These can either be transparent or translucent. A translucent infill panel provides privacy and is easier to maintain since water marks show less on it. The second option is to enclose the bath area with frameless glass having the necessary hardware fittings. Whether you choose option one,that is,the aluminium framework enclosure,or you go in for option two,i.e. the glass enlosure,the framework or the glass respectively can either be put directly on the toilet floor or on top of a low threshold bunni approximately 4 to 6 inches high. The height for this threshold can even be as high as the skirting on the walls of the toilet. It is a better option to have this threshold in terms of maintenance,keeping in mind the need to maintain cleanliness and to prevent water from seeping out of the bath area on to the outside floor. I hope these suggestions come in handy in getting a shower cubicle made at home.

The author is an architect

Mail your questions to estatesqueriesgmail.com