b'Small, sparse and uninvitingthis city courtyard is in direneed of a makeover.Life in the city often means compromising on outdoor living and garden space. And while any garden you do get with your subdivided or crosslease section, or terraced house is often small, it presents maybe even more of a challenge in regard to design.This particular courtyard is near the busy Newmarket shopping precinct in Auckland and is part of a terraced house complex. Facing south-west, the existing patch of grass has never done well, and is the only piece on the propertyhardly worth keeping a lawn-mower for! In fact, this is the perfect place for the use of Stevenson paving, which comes in a wide range of formats and colours. From coloured masonry paving to wetcast slabs, Italian-inspired terrazzo tiles to natural stone there is a solution to suit all budgets and styles. There are also complementary wall, retaining and garden edging products available to enable you to create a seamlessnish.Whether you want to create an additional entertaining space or a quiet havenfromtheoutsideworld,theStevensonhardscapingproductsprovide a solid solution. This courtyard is small; the main part measures just 4.5m by 4.5m with another 2m by 3m beside the gate. The gate leads to a fairly busy street while the bifolding doors and the single door lead to what is currently used as abedroom but which could be used as a second living space or home of ce. The main living area of the house is on the secondoor, with windows looking down into the courtyard. before The existing landscaping was part of the original development and consists Scrubby, pointless grass of some plain 300mm square concrete pavers, some river pebbles, griselinia plants along one side and a small gleditsia tree. A muddle of pebbles and paving Nowhere to sit and relax WeaskedlandscapedesignersJenniferONeill-JoyceofGardenstoGo and Nicky Samuel of Elan Design to add some life andto this sad air Looks barren and bleak little courtyard (see overleaf).For more inspiring ideas on using hard landscaping, check out the Stevenson website at www.stevenson.co.nz/home or call 0800 BLOCKS.| 117'