"My kitchen was very '80s, as my nieces would tell me," laughs homeowner Kathy Sakuma. Kathy and her husband, Roy Sakuma, an authority of ukulele instruction, built this Aiea house in 1988. But recently things started to look outdated, plus they had a broken dishwasher that limped along for more than a year. 'When I finally decided to look at new appliances, I found out that they're not the same size after 18 years," Kathy says. "We were going to have to break the cabinets. That's when I said, Ok, so now is the time to remodel."

The crema marfil marble flooring ties in with the countertops, but doesn't compete with it.

The kitchen is sandwiched between two opposing rooms: a huge, formal living room with very high ceilings, lots of white carpeting, white furniture and substantial architectural elements, and, on the other side, a cozy family room with custom koa cabinetry and lots of family pictures and keepsakes, including Roy's 2006 Na Hoku Hanohano Award for "Group of the Year"with Holunape.

Because of the style differences of the two rooms, Kathy needed help deciding between a natural wood or white cabinets.

She was referred to Scot Shimamura, of Ridgeview Design. "I called Scot, he came over, we met and that was it," she says. "I got a couple of other estimates, but Scot was the guy I wanted. He seemed really passionate about it. Very caring."

In the end, Scot helped the Sakuma's with much more than choosing between white or wood.

Since the kitchen's adjoining rooms have more of a masculine feel, Shimamura wanted to provide a soft transition. Plus, he noted that Kathy spends a lot of time drinking tea in the kitchen and hanging out with her family. "Although the kitchen is modern, I wanted to give it a little bit of a feminine feel for her."

The original layout worked well for the homeowners, but with a few minor modifications within the same footprint, the kitchen was opened up. Shimamura explains, "The old oven and microwave cabinet was directly next to the stove, so there was no set-down area. By moving the oven cabinet to the kitchen's back wall, there is much more countertop surface around the food prep area."

Taking Shimamura's advice, Kathy steered away from a white kitchen and went with natural maple wood, with a honey-red varnish. The Montalco Cabinets, built in Canada, feature beautifully crafted, dovetail drawers and full-extension, shock-absorbing Blumotion glides. The easy-to-clean slab doors with rounded edges and curved, brushed pulls give the kitchen a little roundness, softness and a more relaxed feel than straight-cut doors.

Kathy and Roy Sakuma, one of Hawaii's foremost ukulele instructors, prepare dinner on their new cooktop. The stove's backsplash and counters are a rare blue granite with waves of teal, mauve, cream and grays that pull in colors from the outside through the kitchen window.

Since the Sakuma family is in the music business, their home is often a gathering place for family events and jam sessions. To accommodate cooking for hungry crowds, high-speed electric cooking appliances were wired up. "Because the neighborhood doesn't have gas, I think this is the most high-tech kitchen I've ever designed," Shimamura says. 'Everything is digital. All but one appliance has a microprocessor."

The 42-inch Monogram refrigerator has all the typical high-end features, but its climate-control drawer is what makes it special. The drawer's Express Chill can instantly chill a bottle of wine, while the Express Thaw can quickly and safely thaw a steak and then keep it refrigerated at a selected temperature.

The 30-inch trivection Monogram oven is also technologically advanced. Shimamura says, "It's a speed oven, yes. It cooks eight times faster, yes. But the reason I chose it for Kathy is that it cooks like a commercial-grade appliance [without being commercial size]." According to Shimamura, the oven's microwave and convection heating evenly cooks a large turkey in two hours.

The Thermador five-element, ceramic cooktop includes Zone Smart sensing. The sensors calculate the size of each pot and heat the appropriate surface area. "In some ways it's better than flame, because when you have rings of flame, you still have hot spots," says Shimamura. "Whereas with a ceramic disk, you have a flat, uniform surface. Plus, it's touch sensitive and easy to clean."

But, it was the old dishwasher that prompted the remodel. Its replacement is the Bosch Integra. "The Bosch is so quiet. You could be standing right next to it and you wouldn't know that it's running," Shimamura says. For that reason, Bosch built in an InfoLight, a beam of red light that shines to the floor to let users know it's on.

"The appliances are great," Roy says, "but I just appreciate the whole thing. Everything Ridgeview Design did is beautiful." Kathy adds, "Scot really guided me. It was all the personalized attention that I really appreciated."

GK SUPPLIERS

Designer: Scot Shimamura, of Ridgeview Design Contractors: TLC Backsplash and Counters: Blue Wave granite, from JMI Bar stools: Courtesy of INspiration Interiors Cabinetry: Sidewrap in Honey-Red Maple, from Montalco Cabinetry Cooktop: Thermador 5-element, with Zone Smart sensing, from Servco Home and Appliance Showroom Dishwasher: Bosch Integra, with cabinet overlay, from Servco Home and Appliance Showroom Disposal: Franke, from Servco Home and Appliance Showroom Faucet: Kohler Forte single control in brushed chrome, from Ferguson Microwave: Monogram 30' Advantium, from Servco Home and Appliance Showroom Oven: Monogram 30' Trivection, from Servco Home and Appliance Showroom Refrigerator: Monogram 42' side by side, with Express Chill and Express Thaw, from Servco Home and Appliance Showroom Vent: Thermador Downdraft, from Servco Home and Appliance Showroom