Living an environmentally friendly, economically savvy, safe, happy and stress free life isn’t as easy as we’d like. These people however, have designed homes for themselves that make this kind of life, slightly more achievable. Check out five of the smartest homes ever created:

The Recycled Home
When design student, Lynda Elayna Spratley got tired of her long commute to college, she decided to move into a parking garage behind her college. She became one of the first residents of SCADpad, a three-dorm compound built and styled by the students and staff of Savannah College of Art and Design to prove that underused public spaces can recycled, if you will, into homes.

The Disaster Proof Home
The Archie family were left pretty much homeless when their house was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. However, with the help of the Make It Right Foundation, they now live in a disaster proof home. With reinforced walls, it can withstand winds of up to 209 km/h, there are hurricane shutters that can be screwed on to protect the doors and windows; and the whole base is bolted to 8 feet of concrete-and-steel stilts, which protect the house from flooding. Pretty impressive!

The Tiny Home
When Macy Miller fell into financial trouble during her divorce, and had to sell the house she had shared with her husband, she decided enough was enough, and built a teeny tiny, but perfectly formed little house. For $11,000. Her expenses have halfed, and since her house is built on a trailer, she can easily move if she needs to. Perfect!

The Responsive Home
When retired Marine Sergeant John Peck woke up from a coma with no limbs, he had a lot of challenges ahead of him. He wouldn’t be able to open doors, and he couldn’t even reach the presses to get food, let along eat it. To combat some of his issues, Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation designed a home to suit his needs. He can now adjust lighting and height of his kitchen cabinets with the touch of a tablet, and he has a bidet so he can use the toilet by himself.

The Mindful Home
Hilda Brunwasser has Parkinson’s disease, but she couldn’t afford home help. So instead she installed Lively, a system of sensors attached to her pillbox, key chain and more that alert her loved ones to irregularities in her schedule. Her son no longer worries as much his mam being home alone, the perfect solution!