In the heart of Old Bend, just steps from Miller Landing Park, the Deschutes River Trail, the Old Mill District, and Bend’s downtown restaurants, sits a home unlike any other. Desert Rain isn’t just beautiful; it is considered one of the most ambitious green homes as the world’s first Living Building Challenge certified single-family residence. It generates as much power as it uses with safe materials that blend sustainability embedded into every aspect.
“I found this spot on my bicycle,” shares owner Barbara Scott, smiling at the memory. “There was an old house situated on a knoll overlooking downtown Bend, the river & the mountains, with a ‘for sale’ sign. To decide if I should really buy it, I hiked up Broken Top & looked out, appreciating from a much higher knoll the beautiful landscape we enjoy in Central Oregon. It just hit me—do it, buy it.” She and her then husband, Tom Elliott, made a simple pact: “I had the dream and he helped bring it to life.”
After more than a decade of living on this property with sustainability embedded into aspect and proving that it works, Barbara is ready to pass the torch. Desert Rain will soon come to market, not as a showpiece, but as a working model of how a home can honor place, climate and community.
A home that runs on rain and sun
At the center of the property is a 2,236-square-foot main home, joined by a 489-square-foot guest house called Desert Sol, another 1,056-square-foot dwelling called Desert Lookout above a separate garage, and a few smaller structures. All of this sits on 0.7 acres in one of Bend’s most walkable neighborhoods.
The roofs collect rainwater that flows into a 30,000-gallon cistern buried under the garage. The water is filtered, stored, and UV-cleaned to supply every drop used on-site. Greywater moves through a wetland that nourishes native plants and gardens. Even the blackwater never goes to waste. Vacuum toilets send it to a composting system that turns it into clean soil over time. It’s a complete, closed-loop system designed for Bend’s high desert climate.
Solar panels on the roofs generate nearly 15 kilowatts of power, enough to run the homes and charge electric vehicles. In winter, radiant floors draw warmth from the sun and an efficient air-to-water heat pump. Desert Rain consistently produces as much or more energy than it consumes.
“We had to be net-zero water and net-zero energy,” Barbara says. “Every material had to be vetted. We’ve got binders of guidelines. It took seven years because it had to be right.” Everyone who worked on the project, from architects to laborers, trained in the Living Building Challenge. “They all signed off on it, and they were proud to be part of it.”
“It’s incredible to walk through this home and see how everything connects,” says Michele Anderson, one of the listing brokers with Cascade Hasson Sotheby’s International Realty. “You don’t just see sustainability here; you feel it in the light, the air, and the calmness of the space.”
The day a radio program changed everything
Desert Rain didn’t start as a quest for certification. While driving to the Grand Canyon, Barbara and Tom heard Jason McLennan on a radio program describing the Living Building Challenge, which uses a flower metaphor, with seven petals representing its performance categories: Place, Water, Energy, Health+Happiness, Materials, Equity & Beauty.
“We heard that, and we knew,” Barbara says. “We had to do it.”
By 2013, Desert Rain became the first single family home in the world to meet the full Living Building standard. It proved that sustainable housing could also be elegant, warm, and deeply personal.
Beauty is not a finish, it’s a system
Walking through Desert Rain feels like walking through Bend itself. Shed roofs rise over basalt rock. Clay plaster walls breathe. Doors and ceilings glow with reclaimed wood from the homes that once stood here. A curving “Miró wall” flows through the layout, leading from the entry to the courtyard and into the light of sunset.
“I told the architect I wanted to feel like I was outdoors even when I was inside,” Barbara says.
That instinct aligns with biophilic design, a growing movement that connects homes to the natural world. Desert Rain doesn’t just reflect that idea—it lives it.
“This home has soul,” says Jacquie Sebulsky, Barbara’s other trusted broker. “You can sense the intention in every corner—the craftsmanship, the materials, the light. It feels both personal and timeless.”
Built by hand, with care in every detail
Every product used in Desert Rain was carefully reviewed to eliminate toxins. The team sourced certified sustainable wood and replaced standard treated lumber with naturally durable cedar. The concrete mix used 40 percent fly ash to lower its carbon footprint. Even the windows arrived wrapped in recycled packaging.
Inside, finishes are simple and breathable: plant oils, waxes, and clay. The air smells of earth and wood. Visitors often describe it as feeling like a sanctuary, and that’s exactly what it is.
A downtown life on two wheels
Desert Rain was designed for people who love to move through their city. Groceries, coffee, the library, and the river trail are all within easy walking or biking distance. The garages sit along the alley, keeping the street view open and welcoming. With three dwellings arranged around shared courtyards, the property feels like its own small community tucked into the heart of Bend.
The next chapter
Barbara admits that saying goodbye is a tad emotional. “It’s been a pioneering passion,” she says, standing near an ornamental wooden gate she found on a Portland sidewalk years ago. Still, she’s ready for someone new—someone who wants to live the systems, not just admire them.
“Who’s the buyer?” she muses. “Someone who’s curious, who loves beauty and function, who wants to understand how it all connects.” Then she smiles. “They just might not know they need it yet.”
“The next owner will be part of something bigger,” says Michele Anderson. “This home doesn’t just offer a lifestyle. It offers leadership, a way to live lightly and fully at the same time.”
Why Desert Rain matters now
In a time of drought, wildfire smoke, and rising costs, Desert Rain is more than a science project. It’s proof that a home in the dry West can make its own water, manage its own waste, and still be a warm, comfortable place to live. It’s not just sustainable; it’s deeply livable.
As it prepares to come on the market, Desert Rain offers something few homes ever do: a complete blueprint for living in balance with nature.
“I want the person who lives here next to feel what we felt,” Barbara says. “That a home can give back more than it takes.”
A trusted team for the next story
As Desert Rain enters its next chapter, Barbara has chosen two people she knows will handle it with care: Michele Anderson and Jacquie Sebulsky of Cascade Hasson Sotheby’s International Realty, Bend and Oregon’s number one brokerage by sales volume. She’s known them for years and trusts their understanding of both the home and its spirit.
“They know this isn’t just a house,” Barbara says. “It’s a philosophy built from wood, water, and sunlight. They get it.”
Michele’s background in accounting and real estate investment pairs with Jacquie’s experience in design and storytelling. Together, they’ve built a reputation in Central Oregon for representing homes that are truly one of a kind—properties defined by integrity, craft, and connection.
“For us, this is more than a listing,” says Sebulsky. “It’s an opportunity to honor Barbara’s legacy and find the person who will carry this vision forward.”
Barbara has asked them to bring Desert Rain to market in the spring of 2026, giving time to refresh the property, photograph it anew, and prepare it for its next steward with the care it deserves. “It feels right,” she says. “They’ll help me pass it on to someone who will love it as much as I have.”
Michele Anderson, Broker
541.633.9760
Jacquie Sebulsky, Broker
541.280.4449