Lake Houses.

Janet Arnett is the former campus manager of adult education at Ontario’s Georgian College. She is the author of Antiques and Collectibles: Starting Small, The Grange at Knock, and 673 Ways to Save Money.

The world according to de Visser is perfect. The sun always shines, the water is always a tranquil blue, the gardens are always in bloom.

Here’s a collection of 200 views of where Canadians experience “the soul of summer.” Yet on this tour of vacation homes you’ll notice that the furniture is always perfectly polished, the beds always neatly made, the boats gleaming, the deck chairs freshly painted…. The sets-ups are antiseptic to the point of looking contrived. If this is summer at the lake, where’s the sand on the floor, the wet towels, the dog-eared paperbacks?

Technically, the photos in this beautiful album of to-die-for waterfront retreats meet a similarly high expectation of perfection. Composition, colour saturation, focus, depth of field, lighting—de Visser knows his craft, and his work could easily claim a perfect score in every aspect. Most are shown full-page, with numerous double-page spreads to highlight some spectacular scenes. There’s architecture, trees, boats, placemats, furniture, chinaware, flowers, even a few well-groomed dogs: still life artistry, painted with light and lens. No messy people allowed.

The location of the summer homes is not disclosed, although some are easily identified as being in Ontario’s Georgian Bay/Muskoka area.

The homes featured tend towards the upscale—architect designed and designer decorated—a world where “laziness finds respectability.” Exteriors, interiors, bunkies, boathouses, and gardens all receive attention. Understated luxury and grandeur are shown in every shot. Lake homes are often passed down from generation to generation, so it is not surprising that sometimes a bit of history seeps past the interior decoration mania and we’re treated to views of a traditional tin-lined closet or a shelf of kerosene lamps.

The text is limited to short, mood-setting essays and photo captions, often annoyingly bare of details.

De Visser is the reigning master of domestic architectural photography in Ontario. This magnificent coffee-table volume is but the latest addition to his impressive body of photographic documentation of the beauty that surrounds us.