Dream of a beautiful independent home you will one day build to live in? Can it have all the comforts you want and be kind to the environment too – all within your budget? Yes, indeed. Meet Chitra Viswanath, Co-Founder at Biome, Bangalore: her team has designed and built over 500 homes which are energy efficient and environmentally conscious in terms of construction as well as day-to-day functionality. They design living-breathing homes. Here’s a close look at two such homes – both replete with gardens, water recycling, open spaces, design that allows plenty of natural lighting, mud bricks made on-site, solar powered water heating, temperature control design and a feeling that makes you feel a warm buzz inside. One of these homes belongs to a scientist couple and the other to an artist couple. Their varied preferences come through in how their homes look, yet eco-friendliness remains a well implemented central factor.