Backyard pools have changed drastically in the past 10 years. The fashion for a featureless spread of blue water surrounded by terracotta tiles is over.

Now pools are almost like another room of the house; close to the eating areas, incorporated within the architecture and design of the garden, or set spectacularly on a cliff, beach or river.

And they don’t have to be big anymore – in fact, the more the pool is squeezed into the shape of the house or block, the more chic they are.

Read our story today on what real estate experts think about the value of pools and then look at these houses across Australia.

Some of their pools are new and stylish and others are older and in unique settings. But all of them add value to the house, rather than detract from it.

Integrated garden design

7 Pennell Road, Claremont, Western Australia

On the cliff

41 Norma Road, Palm Beach, NSW

On the jetty

975 Barrenjoey Road, Palm Beach, NSW

Reach out and touch

6 Ella Street, Parkside, South Australia

Invisible pool fence

63 Birdwood Terrace, Auchenflower, Queensland

Pool to pier

20 Wynnum Road, Norman Park, Queensland

Another living room

7 Springfield Avenue, Toorak, Victoria

On the edge

7 Jensen Avenue, Vaucluse, NSW

Small is beautiful

57 Blair Road, Portsea, Victoria