The Listing

Featured in The Listing, Ray White’s property magazine, in its September 2016 issue, our Surry Hills courtyard was the lead image for a feature called Small Space, Big Ideas, on getting the most from a courtyard, balcony or even a windowsill. The piece noted that even one square metre is enough to grow organic fruit, vegetables and herbs year round.

Our advice was to start by walking the space honestly: is it too dark or too damp, do the pavers work, are there neighbouring windows or unsightly views to screen out. From there we recommend bringing in a landscape designer early, checking a few portfolios online, confirming they offer design, installation, construction and maintenance, and agreeing the budget up front. For anyone dressing a property for sale we suggested a simple sequence: pressure clean and repaint any masonry, retile with lightly coloured, large format tiles to open the space up, then finish with pots and troughs, a single feature plant on its own or grouped in threes, to brighten a dull corner or screen an unwanted view.

It is the same thinking behind our own Surry Hills courtyard: a tight, inner-city footprint turned into a garden that earns its keep, with the original sandstone wall and its rusted iron window bars kept as the space’s quiet hero. Have a look in the Portfolio for more of this contemporary courtyard.