In the West we’re positively spoiled when it comes to gorgeous scenery€”here’s a collection well-designed rooms that make the most of it.

#WindowsOverWalls.Designer Nigel Parish created more floor space by cantilevering a portion of the main and upper floors, as well as the dining room, which extends 15 feet past the foundation. Photo by Ivan Hunter.1. Designer Nigel Parish (our Designer of the Year 2015 award winner for interiors) cantilevered this dining room 15 feet past the foundation to create a panorama of forest canopy. More gorgeous views of this home here.WesternLiving_BowenIsland2. Architect Cedric Burgers created this airy seaside retreat on Bowen Island and made sure to take full advantage of the Straight of Georgia scenery.`WL1106_Bowen2-copy3. Two amazing views in the same house, Cedric Burgers, you’ve outdone yourself! See the full home tour here.Fipke_01-copy4. We love how the master bedroom in this Arthur Erickson Eppich House (restored by architectural firm Battersby Howat) looks out onto a reflecting pond filled with green. 05014_00_N16-copy5. Homeowners of this stunning vacation house called in Seattle architects Olson Kundig to help them reimagine the site. The result was an open concept loft-like retreat where you can see False Bay from just about any angle.False_Bay_Residence_TB_N9_web6. Here’s another angle of False Bay from inside the Olson Kundig house.4301-Woodcrest-Road-West-Vancouver-360hometours-29s7. No wonder this modern Japanese-style house made it onto this year’s West Coast Modern Home Tour—originally built in 1962, this living area is just one of many rooms that enjoys floor-to-ceiling window views of the surrounding forest and the creek it’s perched over in West Vancouver. See the full home tour here.Everest-Labb-Pender-cabin-3 (2)8. Designer Everest Lapp’s 600-square-foot cabin sits atop Oxbow Ridge on Pender Island with an interior that exploits some roll-your-eyes-beautiful views of forest and ocean.Friesen-Wong_059. It’s easy to feel connected to nature when your dining room sits open to acres of forested hillside. Check out more views of this modern home in Vernon, B.C.Screen shot 2015-08-26 at 3.08.04 PM10. Imagine waking up to this? West Vancouver homeowners loved their beach house suite so much (interior design by Mitchell Freedland) that they practically moved in. Full home tour here.Echo-Island_01-copy11. This family vacation home on B.C.’s Sunshine Coast was built for relaxing, with Bifold doors that open the ground floor to the shoreline. Find photos from the rest of the home here (designed by a past Western Living Interior Designer of the Year winner, Alda Pereira).Scott-Wilson_03-copy12. The main feature of this bespoke Vancouver home is actually its rooftop deck; the homeowners are habitual entertainers, hosting parties for 50 or so all summer long. However, the music room (a gathering point during more inclement weather) isn’t too shabby either. Check out the full tour here.ian_5433-683x102413. The second-floor great room—kitchen and nearby living room—is the home’s showpiece, cantilevered out from the base of this modern Naramata Bench home.`WL1106_Sturgess1-copy14. You can’t beat a West-facing wall of windows, particularly when the home sits on 300 feet of frontage on Kootenay Lake. More views where that came from. 

If you’re a sucker for photos galleries of beautiful homes, check out our collection of 11 Rainy-Day Retreats.