6 organic homes in the desert

Joshua Tree, California

The Bonita Domes is an enclave of reinforced adobe structures in the Mojave Desert near Joshua Tree National Park. This 2014 property comprises a main dome with two bedrooms, two baths, a kitchen with breakfast nook and a living room; a studio; two sleeping pods; a shower house; and an ornately carved wooden meditation temple.

The 2-acre lot includes a pool and spa, a firepit, an outdoor kitchen, and desert landscaping. $1,799,999. James Bianco, Coldwell Banker Realty, (760) 808-0650.

Ribera, New Mexico

Windhorse Farm, an equestrian estate 40 minutes from Santa Fe, spans 33 acres on the Pecos River. The spiral-shaped pueblo-style home has five bedrooms, an open main area with terrazzo floors, viga-beam ceilings and flagstone kiva fireplace; an eat-in kitchen and a meditation dome with a view deck. 

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Outside are a courtyard with fountains and ponds, an artesian swimming hole, a guesthouse, a four-stall barn, a covered arena, irrigated pastures, historic ruins and wildlife. $2,375,000. Kitty Hudson, Santa Fe Properties/ Luxury Portfolio International, (970) 685-8988.

Carefree, Arizona

Designed by architect Gerry Jones, this 1983 modern pueblo house blends into the Sonoran Desert foothills and encompasses a giant boulder that juts into several rooms. The three-bedroom home features a living room with kiva fireplace, beamed ceiling and wall of windows framing city and desert. 

The 1.57-acre lot has multiple stone patios undulating around the rocks, including one with an organically shaped pool, fire pit  and sweeping views. $3,500,000. Debbie Sinagoga, Russ Lyon Sotheby’s International Realty, (480) 703-2299.

Pioneertown, California

This retreat with a two-bedroom home, storage barn and garage sits on 10 acres in the Mojave Desert’s Morongo Basin, walking distance from a saloon with world-class live music. The 1990 ranch-style house has passive solar, eclectic interiors, 20-foot ceilings, a cone fireplace, a stone-clad feature wall, glass sliders, and a primary bedroom with loft

Outside are a pool with a redwood deck, desert landscaping, sculptures, wildlife, and a 1,000-year-old Joshua tree. $3,700,000. Frank Sullivan, Coldwell Banker Realty, (619) 249-2673.

Palm Springs, California

Alohaus, a four-bedroom double A-frame home by architect Charles Du Bois, is in Vista Las Palmas, in the Colorado Desert’s Coachella Valley at the edge of the San Jacinto Mountains. The 1958 Polynesian-inspired home features an ornate carved-wood door, concrete floors, vaulted shiplap ceilings and clerestory windows; a living room with a stacked-stone fireplace; and a glass-walled dining space.

Out back is a hedged-in patio area with a pool, a lawn and palm trees. $2,498,000. Scott Histed, Bennion Deville Fine Homes, (760) 218-1751. 

Marfa, Texas

The small West Texas city famed as an arts hub is in the Trans-Pecos area of the Chihuahuan Desert. This 2020 two-bedroom property, four minutes’ drive from Marfa’s major attractions, features two corrugated-steel houses, each with standing-seam metal roof, polished concrete flooring, wood-clad interior walls, bedroom and bath, compact full kitchen, and patio screened by breeze-block walls.

The xeriscaped lot includes a carport and insulated utility shed. $465,000. Lauren Meader Fowlkes, Kuper Sotheby’s International Realty, (432) 295-2849.

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