Preserving Waimea’s Historic Spencer House
By Denise Laitinen A courthouse, hotel, restaurant, gift shop, real estate and law office, and a family home; the historic Spencer House in the heart of downtown Waimea has been many things since it was built in the 1840s. Before…
Hale Ohia Cottages’ Hidden Charms: Volcano Cottages Celebrate 25th Anniversary
By Alan D. McNarie Nestled among a grove of sugi pine trees, a mile or two from the entrance to Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, is a unique lodging experience—or rather, twelve experiences. It all began with a large residence, a…
A Place to Call Home: Celebrating the 50th Model Home
By Brittany P. Anderson While the locations have changed and more programs have joined the project, the core of Hawai‘i Community College’s Model Home Project has remained the same over the past five decades—offering hands-on learning to students, and affordable…
Habitat for Humanity
By Karen Valentine To build a community takes more than money. Habitat for Humanity West Hawaii has come up with a term that is friendlier than fundraising. Want to make friends? Engage in a Friend-Raising activity with Habitat. This year,…
A Historic Family Business and Building: How the Koehnen’s Family Roots Correspond with a Historic Hilo Building
By Megan Moseley On the bustling street of downtown Hilo’s bayfront, visitors and residents alike often stroll by a bright green building that hugs the corner of Kamehameha Avenue and Waiānuenue Street. To residents, it’s called the “old Koehnen…
Renaissance at Honomū: Successful Former Residents Return to Help Lift a Sleepy Plantation Town
By Karen Valentine A sleepy town sits with remnants of yesteryear, while locals and visitors drive by toward the Hāmākua Coast tourist attraction of Akaka Falls. Is there hope of rebirth, perhaps with the right formula of dreams and talent?…
Building with Bamboo, Local Style: One Man’s Crusade to Prove it Can be Done
By Karen Valentine There has been a lot of talk over the years about the viability of locally grown bamboo as a building material in Hawai‘i. Here we must distinguish between building homes imported from elsewhere and building homes from…
Trickey House
By Denise Laitinen Over the years, finding Robert Trickey’s house had become something of a Don Quixote adventure for me. When my quest began, I didn’t know that the house belonged to Robert Trickey or that a famous architect designed…
The Historic Hilo Kaikodo Building: A Building in Transition
By Megan Moseley On the corner of Keawe and Waianuenue Streets in downtown Hilo stands the historic Hilo Masonic Lodge Hall built in 1908, currently known as the Kaikodo Building. From the outside, the structure may catch your eye for…
Puuopelu and Mana Hale: Home of Modern Day Ali‘i
By Catherine Tarleton Two long rows of eucalyptus bow to the left, in respect to the prevailing makani (wind) from Kohala Mountain. Through the gate, down the long lane leading to Parker Ranch’s historic homes, there are horses grazing in…
The Kona Hotel
It’s hard to miss the Inaba’s Kona Hotel, which sits on the side of old Māmalahoa Highway in Hōlualoa. With its bubblegum pink exterior and double lānai stretching across the front, it invites passersby to sit and rest awhile. The Douglas…
Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy Reduces the Schools Carbon Footprint
By Megan Moseley The students at Hawai‘i Preparatory Academy (HPA) are pushing the term “going green” to new heights thanks to the construction of the school’s state-of-the-art, one-of-a-kind energy laboratory. The $3.7 million, 6,100-square-foot facility is truly unique. Replete with…
Heavenly Strength: The Inn at Kulaniapia Falls
By Mālielani Larish When Jane and Lenny Sutton first explored their property, they experienced the same awe that guests feel upon arriving at The Inn at Kulaniapia Falls. Peering over dense jungle, the Suttons spied a glimmer of a waterfall…
Sun Power: Deciding if Solar Panels are Right for Your Home
By Paula Thomas For people in Hawai‘i, where the cost of energy per kilowatt hour (kwh) is about the highest in the nation, the biggest incentive for going solar is to reduce the long-term cost of energy. The good news…
The Missionary Doctor Who Saved Maui
A trip through time at Baldwin Home Museum Sometimes visitors from the mainland know more about our Maui landmarks than we do. After living in Lāhainā for 23 years, passing up and down Front Street thousands of times, I decided to…
Puakea Ranch: Sustaining the Land, and the Story
By Catherine Tarleton The high green hills of North Kohala have evolved over generations, from forests and farms to blankets of sugar cane and rolling ranch country. As do most places here, Puakea Ranch has a story to tell in…
Where Time Stands Still: The Manago Hotel
By Fern Gavelek Named after the family who founded it, the Manago Hotel endures as a piece of old Hawai‘i attracting visitors from around the world. With spotlessly clean, no-frills rooms that are accessed by a simple key, the Manago…
A Grand Dame in Hilo
By Denise Laitinen When Lorraine Shin first set eyes on the sprawling Victorian perched atop the hill at the end of Puueo Street in Hilo, she knew the house was an absolute treasure. “You could see the beauty and charm…
This Old/Beautiful House: Maureen’s Bed and Breakfast
By Paula Thomas Tucked away behind dense jungle foliage and invisible from Kalanianaole Street in Keaukaha is one of the most architecturally interesting homes in Hilo. Known to some as the Saiki home, today it is Maureen’s Bed and Breakfast…
A Home Built Around Orchids: Love of a Flower Inspired a House Project
By Denise Laitinen When Julie Goettsch saw the orchid wall at the Kahala Resort on O‘ahu back in 1969 she vowed to herself that someday she would have a similar wall in her home. It took 40 years and a…
Be It Ever So Tiny, There’s No Place Like Home: Tiny Houses on a Big Island
By Cynthia Sweeney In 1970, the size of the average, single family home in the U.S. was 1,500 square feet. In 2009, in the country that originated the phrase “Super-size Me,” that average peaked at 2,630 square feet. After decades…
Gather Round the Yurt: Growing in Popularity, the Yurt’s Attractions Begin at the Center
By Noel Morata There’s a saying that once you’ve stayed in a round home, you can’t go back to a square and angular home. “Primarily, the appeal of yurts covers a large spectrum of the marketplace,” says Becky Kenery, the…
“A Gift, Not a Bill”—Hi‘ilani Ecohouse
Sustainable, carbon-neutral, 4,000-square-foot, two-family residence—created by stewards of the land as a model for others By Catherine Tarleton Walking beside building innovator Robert Mechielsen along the steep path leading to his current Hāmākua Coast project, we pass 90-year-old Hāmākua coffee…
Feng Shui Hawaiian Style: Expand, Grow and Manifest your Dreams with the Wood Element
By Marta Barreras Have you been faced with a need to change your life plans lately? Has the economy or other recent challenges impacted your business, your vitality or your relationships? As job loss, foreclosure and unexpected events have continued…
Art Under Foot: It’s More Than Just a Rug
By Karen Valentine Walking barefoot inside your tropical Hawaiian home gives you an appreciation for the floor covering that’s more than esthetic. The tactile sense now becomes as important as the functionality, maintenance and appearance. One option that may not…
Feng Shui Hawaiian Style: Water for Living with Balance and Prosperity
By Marta Barreras, Master Feng Shui Practitioner There is a beautiful gift that the ancient Hawaiians have passed down through generations: the ability to live in harmony with nature. For centuries, the Hawaiians of old lived with a deep interconnectedness…
Bringing the Spirit of Heaven and Earth into Your Home
Feng Shui Hawaiian Style By Marta Barreras, Master Feng Shui Practitioner E ola au “Grant me life” From the heavenly wonders of the Mauna Kea summit to the powerful creative forces of Kiluea’s molten lava flow, our beautiful island of…
