Whether you’re thinking about a major overhaul or a mini-facelift of your outdoor living space (assuming you’ve caught the patio-improvement bug like we have) here are some of the envy-inducing€”er, we mean, inspiring€”patios we can’t get enough of.

Family Fun

This 7,000-square-foot modern cliffside home in West Vancouver was built by Cedric Burgers of Burgers Architecture features retracting glass doors that let the outdoors in. But who would want to be inside, with a 1,000-square-foot patio that overlooks the pool and view, complete with an outdoor kitchen space designed for post-swim entertainment. Talk about a stay-cation.

Modern Oasis

Architects Matt McLeod and Lisa Bovell of McLeod Bovell Modern Houses built this luxurious yet minimalist home along the edge of a steep West Vancouver site. From here, sunbathers can take in killer views of Downtown, Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge by an infinity pool that seems as though it’s suspended over the neighbourhood.

Vibrant and Dramatic

Another architectural beauty from Matt McLeod and Lisa Bovell of McLeod Bovell Modern Homes. Here, the pool is tucked beneath a dramatically cantilevered section of the house, making use of the shaded area that would have been inhospitable to any sort of plant life. With views of the cascading mountains to the east and our glass forests of downtown Vancouver to the south, we can’t help but swoon.

Vintage with a View

Designer David Nicolay reimagined a cramped vintage space in Vancouver's posh Point Grey neighbourhood as an open-concept dream home. Before Nicolay stepped in, it was starved for light; now, past the homes privacy hedge, you walk across a California-style entrance courtyard, complete with wading pool, toward a wall of glass that folds back, accordion-style, to reveal an entirely open interior. 

City Dreams

This stylish New York-inspired loft-style apartment in Vancouver’s Crosstown neighbourhood channels a cool Brooklyn vibe, complete with a roomy 500-square-foot patio where we absolutely need to have a margarita. 

Hamptons Style

This Hamptons-style home in Victoria’s suburb of Oak Bay is the perfect balance of timeless design and modernity. Each level of this home offers uninterrupted coastal scenery of the Straight of Juan de Fuca and beyond. But the backyard is the perfect vantage point from which to take in those summer sunsets that stretch into the night.

Modern Beach House

Juli Hodgson’s all-white modern beach house€”just steps from the water in Kitsilano€”inspires both photographs and conversations for passersby headed to the beach. Hodgson made use of every square-inch both inside and outside, and even managed to squeeze in a plunge pool.  

Mountainside Retreat

This revamp of a 1973 ski cabin in Whistler by Stark Architecture ties in the old with the new and we can’t help but dream of a Whistler getaway right about now.