Burnette sought to maintain the property’s natural vegetation and rocky ground surface.

Using another service, Outback Power, Pendl can see how much energy he's drawing from (or sending to) the grid when his 450 watt wind turbine and 800 watts of solar panels are operating. This all being said, the trailer isn't yet fully integrated with smart technoly: climate control and HVAC are still a separate system. "Another nice addition down the road would be to add smart tires to the trailer so that I can monitor and adjust air pressure from afar," Pendl says. "I take the Airstream on some pretty bumpy forest roads—the high desert of Nevada for Burning Man included—and it'd be great to quickly see an adjust tire pressure for better traction."

The Lai family—Mayuko, baby Shota on her lap, David, Maya, and Yumi sitting on a cushion on the deck—relaxes in their indoor-outdoor living space, made by opening the glass sliding doors to connect the living room and engawa deck.

The most sustainable element of all is the Lais’ intention to make their first home their last home as well. “Some people have this mentality of getting a starter house, then upgrading from there,” David says. “We just wanted to find a place to live in and then stay there forever.” Eventually they imagine passing the home down to their children.

A variety of drought-tolerant plants cascade down a 10-foot-wide vertical garden wall near the entrance to the property.

Lambert pours wine in the kitchen, which is defined by a low concrete-block wall and serves as the home’s central core. The seating-area chairs are from Herman Miller.

Michael and Tamami brought greenery to the master bath courtyard, which is lined with Eco Arbor Designs deck tiles, in the form of succulents in a ceramic Peanut planter by John Follis for Architectural Pottery from Vessel. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

The knotty cedar cladding from Crenshaw Lumber was pretreated with an ebony stain from Timber Pro UV—twice on both sides—prior to being brought to the site, where it was left for eight weeks so that it could adjust to the moist seaside air before installation. “Cedar siding swells or shrinks when it gains or loses moisture while it reaches equilibrium with the content of the surrounding air,” says Michael. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

Across the path is the resident's favorite spot from which to take in the aquatic tableau: a rock garden and sitting area created by landscape designer Tory Polone. Chairs rest near the a hidden grade-level gas fire pit—an on-demand campfire.

Earth tone tiles back a Kohler sink at this energy efficient home in Davis, California. The backsplash is from Heath Ceramics, the sink is Kohler, and the custom millwork is by Schmidt's Cabinetry.

“For me, an idea can come from anywhere,” says Tim, an artist who has an interest in product design, and often incorporates found items into his work. “I really enjoy the challenge of finding an object and responding to it.”

David Hernandez and Jack enjoy the house’s walled garden.

The house rises to nearly the height of the neighboring structure. The plantings on the bridge, which connects the guest pavilion with the master bedroom and media room pavilion, will eventually grow in to create a privacy screen. Photo by Coral von Zumwalt.

The architects designed the large dining table, which is framed by the open kitchen, the wood-burning stove, and the garden beyond.

Their daughters, Annapurna, left, and Siddartha, play with their dog, Anouck, beneath the kangaroo paws in the entry garden courtyard.

On the lower roof, cedar decking and flower beds define one of several outdoor gardening spaces. Part of her ongoing research into the livability of cities, Fitzgerald aimed to create landscaped areas that were “aesthetic, aromatic, educational, and productive.” The deck is bordered by an expanded aluminum mesh railing and black metal corrugated panels.

Russell-Clarke tends a small garden.

The aesthetics of both devices and the app to which they speak come from fuseproject, the design firm responsible for the Jawbone Jambox.

A second-floor balcony overlooks a landscaped garden and a 1,000-square-foot detached garage.

The app contains a database of around 5,000 plants, with information on the ideal growing conditions for each.

The garden sensor communicates with users' Wi-Fi routers and delivers information on fertilizer quality and sunshine levels to the smartphone app.

According to Aramburu, people spend an average of $300-$400 a year on plants.

Jestico + Whiles created this five-bedroom villa for a family near Prague, Czech Republic, outfitting it with the latest smart-home technology.

A signature feature is the natural oak stairs, whose treads appear to be suspended between the wall and a transparent railing.

A skylight emphasizes the division of the upper level into master's and children's wings, and draws natural light deep into the core of the ground-floor kitchen and dining area.

Floor-to-celing glass overlooks a deck and the garden beyond. The facade is a combination of light-gray stucco and cement panels.

For their full court "Simply.Connected." push, Bosch brought to CES a holistic smart home system that can be governed centrally via a single platform and smart controller. Lighting, shades, smoke alarms, windows, and other features work in concert to deliver efficiency, convenience, and security.

The kitchen features button-free appliances, and carbonated water on tap.

The triple-glazed windows provide plenty of natural light.

Katherine Lambert, a partner at Metropolitan Architectural Practice (MAP), and her business associate Christiane Robbins, painstakingly restored a 1950s redwood-and-glass house in Napa, California, originally designed by Jack Hillmer of Telesis.

But onto the real question: The pavilion is a definite delight to the eyes, but does it make the wine more tasty? “Absolutely!” Warner and McCabe assert. “Each pavilion is elegantly unobtrusive and offers a rustic yet refined experience evocative of picnicking with a bottle of wine under an oak tree. In this way, the pavilions serve to bring the visitor a greater depth of understanding and appreciation for the place where Quintessa is made and the process that creates its uniquely sophisticated character.”

To install Charles Willson’s prefab house, Stillwater Dwellings lifted the structure over an existing barn on the one-acre property. Willson, who is often on the road, wired the house with the latest in smart technology.

At night, the exterior screen provides privacy when the house is illuminated.

Stepstone's narrow concrete pavers add a graphic touch to the garden.

"The building form was intentionally asymmetric and clad in hand-stained, split-face shakes and metal," says Campos Studio.

The architects inserted skylights in an artful pattern in the rooftop.