an Rather, dinner and a swim. That's how Don and Jane Shattuck, a retired couple, usually spend the early evenings at their country-club home in the Hill Country west of Austin, Texas. But theirs is no ordinary swim. Their man-made tropical paradise (with ferns, palms and rocky waterfall trickling into the kidney- shaped pool) is temperature- and humidity-controlled year round to create a mini-ecosystem that pampers both the plants and the people who inhabit it. The couple can control the lights, window shades and waterfall by using simple voice commands, thanks to the spectacular installation by Austin Home Control Systems and Applied Future Technologies. When they are returning home from one of their many trips, a quick call on a cell phone to an automated dial-in system can ensure that the spa room and the pool will be warm and ready to soothe their jet-lagged souls.

--Reported by Hilary Hylton/Austin