diff --git a/lib/couchrest.rb b/lib/couchrest.rb
index cffde30..7a08989 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest.rb
@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ module CouchRest
   autoload :Streamer,     'couchrest/helper/streamer'
   
   autoload :ExtendedDocument,     'couchrest/more/extended_document'
+  autoload :CastedModel,          'couchrest/more/casted_model'
   
   require File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), 'couchrest', 'mixins')
   
@@ -47,6 +48,23 @@ module CouchRest
   # some helpers for tasks like instantiating a new Database or Server instance.
   class << self
 
+    # extracted from Extlib
+    #
+    # Constantize tries to find a declared constant with the name specified
+    # in the string. It raises a NameError when the name is not in CamelCase
+    # or is not initialized.
+    #
+    # @example
+    # "Module".constantize #=> Module
+    # "Class".constantize #=> Class
+    def constantize(camel_cased_word)
+      unless /\A(?:::)?([A-Z]\w*(?:::[A-Z]\w*)*)\z/ =~ camel_cased_word
+        raise NameError, "#{camel_cased_word.inspect} is not a valid constant name!"
+      end
+
+      Object.module_eval("::#{$1}", __FILE__, __LINE__)
+    end
+    
     # todo, make this parse the url and instantiate a Server or Database instance
     # depending on the specificity.
     def new(*opts)
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/mixins/properties.rb b/lib/couchrest/mixins/properties.rb
index 400608b..1801361 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/mixins/properties.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/mixins/properties.rb
@@ -1,18 +1,24 @@
+require File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', 'more', 'property')
+
 module CouchRest
   module Mixins
-    module DocumentProperties
+    module Properties
       
       class IncludeError < StandardError; end
       
       def self.included(base)
+        base.cattr_accessor(:properties)
+          base.class_eval <<-EOS, __FILE__, __LINE__
+              @@properties = []
+          EOS
         base.extend(ClassMethods)
-        raise CouchRest::Mixins::DocumentProporties::InludeError, "You can only mixin Properties in a class responding to [] and []=" unless (base.new.respond_to?(:[]) && base.new.respond_to?(:[]=))
+        raise CouchRest::Mixins::Properties::IncludeError, "You can only mixin Properties in a class responding to [] and []=, if you tried to mixin CastedModel, make sure your class inherits from Hash or responds to the proper methods" unless (base.new.respond_to?(:[]) && base.new.respond_to?(:[]=))
       end
       
       def apply_defaults
-        return unless new_document?
+        return unless self.respond_to?(:new_document?) && new_document?
+        return unless self.class.respond_to?(:properties) 
         return if self.class.properties.empty?
-        
         # TODO: cache the default object
         self.class.properties.each do |property|
           key = property.name.to_s
@@ -25,16 +31,38 @@ module CouchRest
               end
             end
         end
-        
+      end
+      
+      def cast_keys
+        return unless self.class.properties
+        # TODO move the argument checking to the cast method for early crashes
+        self.class.properties.each do |property|
+          next unless property.casted
+          key = self.has_key?(property.name) ? property.name : property.name.to_sym
+          target = property.type
+          if target.is_a?(Array)
+            klass = ::CouchRest.constantize(target[0])
+            
+            self[property.name] = self[key].collect do |value|
+              obj = ( (property.init_method == 'send') && klass == Time) ? Time.parse(value) : klass.send(property.init_method, value)
+              obj.casted_by = self if obj.respond_to?(:casted_by)
+              obj
+            end
+          else
+            # Let people use :send as a Time parse arg
+            self[property.name] = if ((property.init_method != 'send') && target == 'Time') 
+              Time.parse(self[property.init_method])
+            else
+              klass = ::CouchRest.constantize(target)
+              klass.send(property.init_method, self[property.name])
+            end
+            self[key].casted_by = self if self[key].respond_to?(:casted_by)
+          end
+        end
       end
       
       module ClassMethods
         
-        # Stores the class properties
-        def properties
-          @@properties ||= []
-        end
-        
         def property(name, options={})
           define_property(name, options) unless properties.map{|p| p.name}.include?(name.to_s)
         end
@@ -44,29 +72,31 @@ module CouchRest
           # This is not a thread safe operation, if you have to set new properties at runtime
           # make sure to use a mutex.
           def define_property(name, options={})
-            property = CouchRest::Property.new(name, options.delete(:type), options)
+            # check if this property is going to casted
+            options[:casted] = true if options[:cast_as]
+            property = CouchRest::Property.new(name, (options.delete(:cast_as) || options.delete(:type)), options)
             create_property_getter(property) 
             create_property_setter(property) unless property.read_only == true
             properties << property
           end
           
-          # defines the getter for the property
+          # defines the getter for the property (and optional aliases)
           def create_property_getter(property)
-            meth = property.name
-            class_eval <<-EOS
-              def #{meth}
-                self['#{meth}']
+            # meth = property.name
+            class_eval <<-EOS, __FILE__, __LINE__
+              def #{property.name}
+                self['#{property.name}']
               end
             EOS
 
             if property.alias
-              class_eval <<-EOS
-                alias #{property.alias.to_sym} #{meth.to_sym}
+              class_eval <<-EOS, __FILE__, __LINE__
+                alias #{property.alias.to_sym} #{property.name.to_sym}
               EOS
             end
           end
 
-          # defines the setter for the property
+          # defines the setter for the property (and optional aliases)
           def create_property_setter(property)
             meth = property.name
             class_eval <<-EOS
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/mixins/validation.rb b/lib/couchrest/mixins/validation.rb
index 3cdb279..02c2df5 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/mixins/validation.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/mixins/validation.rb
@@ -126,10 +126,7 @@ module CouchRest
       self.respond_to?(name, true) ? self.send(name) : nil
     end
 
-    # Get the corresponding Resource property, if it exists.
-    #
-    # Note: CouchRest validations can be used on non-CouchRest resources.
-    # In such cases, the return value will be nil.
+    # Get the corresponding Object property, if it exists.
     def validation_property(field_name)
       properties.find{|p| p.name == field_name}
     end
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/more/casted_model.rb b/lib/couchrest/more/casted_model.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..ab0bbf7
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/couchrest/more/casted_model.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,28 @@
+require File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', 'mixins', 'properties')
+
+module CouchRest
+  module CastedModel
+    
+    def self.included(base)
+      base.send(:include, CouchRest::Mixins::Properties)
+      base.send(:attr_accessor, :casted_by)
+    end
+    
+    def initialize(keys={})
+      super
+      keys.each do |k,v|
+        self[k.to_s] = v
+      end if keys
+      apply_defaults # defined in CouchRest::Mixins::Properties
+      # cast_keys      # defined in CouchRest::Mixins::Properties
+    end
+    
+    def []= key, value
+      super(key.to_s, value)
+    end
+    
+    def [] key
+      super(key.to_s)
+    end
+  end
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/more/extended_document.rb b/lib/couchrest/more/extended_document.rb
index dbe3f5c..e846340 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/more/extended_document.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/more/extended_document.rb
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ module CouchRest
   class ExtendedDocument < Document
     include CouchRest::Callbacks
     include CouchRest::Mixins::DocumentQueries
-    include CouchRest::Mixins::DocumentProperties
+    include CouchRest::Mixins::Properties
     include CouchRest::Mixins::Views
     include CouchRest::Mixins::DesignDoc
     
@@ -25,8 +25,8 @@ module CouchRest
     
     def initialize(keys={})
       super
-      apply_defaults # defined in CouchRest::Mixins::DocumentProperties
-      # cast_keys
+      apply_defaults # defined in CouchRest::Mixins::Properties
+      cast_keys      # defined in CouchRest::Mixins::Properties
       unless self['_id'] && self['_rev']
         self['couchrest-type'] = self.class.to_s
       end
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/more/property.rb b/lib/couchrest/more/property.rb
index e3c86d5..06628de 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/more/property.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/more/property.rb
@@ -2,12 +2,12 @@ module CouchRest
   
   # Basic attribute support for adding getter/setter + validation
   class Property
-    attr_reader :name, :type, :read_only, :alias, :default, :options
+    attr_reader :name, :type, :read_only, :alias, :default, :casted, :init_method, :options
     
     # attribute to define
     def initialize(name, type = nil, options = {})
-      @name      = name.to_s
-      @type      = type || String
+      @name = name.to_s
+      @type = type.nil? ? 'String' : type.to_s
       parse_options(options)
       self
     end
@@ -20,6 +20,8 @@ module CouchRest
         @read_only          = options.delete(:read_only)  if options[:read_only]
         @alias              = options.delete(:alias)      if options[:alias]
         @default            = options.delete(:default)    if options[:default]
+        @casted             = options[:casted] ? true : false
+        @init_method        = options[:send] ? options.delete[:send] : 'new'
         @options            = options
       end
     
diff --git a/lib/couchrest/validation/auto_validate.rb b/lib/couchrest/validation/auto_validate.rb
index 6ccb3aa..87d18c0 100644
--- a/lib/couchrest/validation/auto_validate.rb
+++ b/lib/couchrest/validation/auto_validate.rb
@@ -107,7 +107,7 @@ module CouchRest
         end
 
         # length
-        if property.type == String
+        if property.type == "String"
           # XXX: maybe length should always return a Range, with the min defaulting to 1
           # 52 being the max set 
           len = property.options.fetch(:length, property.options.fetch(:size, 52))
@@ -145,7 +145,7 @@ module CouchRest
         end
 
         # numeric validator
-        if Integer == property.type
+        if "Integer" == property.type
           opts[:integer_only] = true
           # validates_is_number property.name, opts
           validates_is_number property.name, options_with_message(opts, property, :is_number)
diff --git a/spec/couchrest/more/casted_model_spec.rb b/spec/couchrest/more/casted_model_spec.rb
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f9ddeb3
--- /dev/null
+++ b/spec/couchrest/more/casted_model_spec.rb
@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+require File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', '..', 'spec_helper')
+require File.join(FIXTURE_PATH, 'more', 'card')
+
+describe CouchRest::CastedModel do
+  
+  class WithCastedModelMixin < Hash
+    include CouchRest::CastedModel
+    property :name
+  end
+
+  class DummyModel < CouchRest::ExtendedDocument
+    property :casted_attribute, :cast_as => 'WithCastedModelMixin'
+  end
+  
+  describe "A non hash class including CastedModel" do
+    
+    it "should fail raising and include error" do
+      lambda do
+        class NotAHashButWithCastedModelMixin
+          include CouchRest::CastedModel
+          property :name
+        end
+        
+      end.should raise_error
+    end
+
+  end
+  
+  describe "isolated" do
+    before(:each) do
+      @obj = WithCastedModelMixin.new
+    end
+    it "should automatically include the property mixin and define getters and setters" do
+      @obj.name = 'Matt'
+      @obj.name.should == 'Matt' 
+    end
+  end
+  
+  describe "casted as attribute" do
+    
+    before(:each) do
+      @obj = DummyModel.new(:casted_attribute => {:name => 'whatever'})
+      @casted_obj = @obj.casted_attribute
+    end
+    
+    it "should be available from its parent" do
+      @casted_obj.should be_an_instance_of(WithCastedModelMixin)
+    end
+    
+    it "should have the getters defined" do
+      @casted_obj.name.should == 'whatever'
+    end
+    
+    it "should know who casted it" do
+      @casted_obj.casted_by.should == @obj
+    end
+    
+  end
+  
+end
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/spec/couchrest/more/extended_doc_spec.rb b/spec/couchrest/more/extended_doc_spec.rb
index eca0dfc..0b10ba6 100644
--- a/spec/couchrest/more/extended_doc_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/couchrest/more/extended_doc_spec.rb
@@ -1,10 +1,5 @@
 require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../../spec_helper'
 
-# require File.join(FIXTURE_PATH, 'more', 'card')
-# require File.join(FIXTURE_PATH, 'more', 'invoice')
-# require File.join(FIXTURE_PATH, 'more', 'service')
-
-
 class WithDefaultValues < CouchRest::ExtendedDocument
   use_database TEST_SERVER.default_database
   property :preset, :default => {:right => 10, :top_align => false}
diff --git a/spec/couchrest/more/property_spec.rb b/spec/couchrest/more/property_spec.rb
index 9a341ed..ef44141 100644
--- a/spec/couchrest/more/property_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/couchrest/more/property_spec.rb
@@ -1,7 +1,8 @@
 require File.join(File.dirname(__FILE__), '..', '..', 'spec_helper')
 require File.join(FIXTURE_PATH, 'more', 'card')
 require File.join(FIXTURE_PATH, 'more', 'invoice')
-require File.join(FIXTURE_PATH, 'more', 'service')
+require File.join(FIXTURE_PATH, 'more', 'service.rb')
+
 
 describe "ExtendedDocument properties" do
   
@@ -36,7 +37,7 @@ describe "ExtendedDocument properties" do
   it "should be auto timestamped" do
     @card.created_at.should be_nil
     @card.updated_at.should be_nil
-    # :emo:hack for autospec
+    # :emo: hack for autospec
     Card.use_database(TEST_SERVER.default_database) if @card.database.nil?
     @card.save
     @card.created_at.should_not be_nil
@@ -52,14 +53,14 @@ describe "ExtendedDocument properties" do
     it "should be able to be validated" do
       @card.valid?.should == true
     end
-    
+
     it "should let you validate the presence of an attribute" do
       @card.first_name = nil
       @card.should_not be_valid
       @card.errors.should_not be_empty
       @card.errors.on(:first_name).should == ["First name must not be blank"]
     end
-    
+
     it "should validate the presence of 2 attributes" do
       @invoice.clear
       @invoice.should_not be_valid
@@ -84,6 +85,7 @@ describe "ExtendedDocument properties" do
   end
   
   describe "autovalidation" do
+    
     before(:each) do
       @service = Service.new(:name => "Coumpound analysis", :price => 3_000)
     end
@@ -92,7 +94,12 @@ describe "ExtendedDocument properties" do
       @service.should be_valid
     end
     
+    it "should not respond to properties not setup" do
+      @service.respond_to?(:client_name).should be_false
+    end
+    
     describe "property :name, :length => 4...20" do
+      
       it "should autovalidate the presence when length is set" do
         @service.name = nil
         @service.should_not be_valid