Down lights and surface lights installed into the high ceiling illuminate cooks at work. These intense power lamps hold bulbs that are self-cooling, which turn themselves off when they get too hot.

Grateful for its return to Old-Hawaii style, this Nuuanu kitchen is luminous. The original kitchen was built in the popular style of the ’20s, with high ceilings, wide-open windows with sweeping garden views and white-washed wood paneling. The energy was bright and friendly. After a ’60s remodel, the opposite was true. It was dark and dismal, until designer Glenda Anderson, of Details International, came to the rescue.

“The previous homeowners ‘modernized’ the kitchen, which took the Old-Hawaii feeling right out of the house. So, I felt we had to bring back the ’20s era to restore the kitchen’s energy,” says Anderson. She has designed homes for more than 40 years, always keeping in mind the integrity of the home.

Anderson’s first step was to install new, white beadboard, which is a wall covering of interlocking wood panels, to rejuvenate the ’20s Island feel. She covered the walls from the baseboards up to and including the ceiling. Beadboard even encases the light fixtures.
To replace the previous cabinetry, Anderson chose Downsview Kitchens Victoria No. 3, a plantation-style cabinetry in a calming white. The cabinet doors feature antique glass windows and scrolled, stainless steel handles. Reminiscent of centuries past, a row of cabinets runs along the kitchen’s ceiling. Anderson explains that cabinets at this height were traditionally used to store fine china and crystal for parties.

The sunroom’s and the kitchen’s original windows were designed to let the lush Nuuanu landscape flood inside. “With flowering, Hawaiian greenery in plain view, blues and greens were natural choices for the floors and countertops,” Anderson says. For flooring, she chose durable vinyl. Instead of rolling out a sheet of vinyl with a set pattern, vinyl rectangles were laid piece by piece like tile, mimicking tile patterns typical of the ’20s. The vinyl is softer to stand on for long periods than ceramic tile or stone. Plus, it weathers pets and spills with ease.

The final touch to the Old Hawaii-style kitchen came when the homeowners stumbled upon the blue Labradorite granite for their countertops. Sparkling blue crystals, with swaths of teal and sky tones, are set into deep aquamarine granite.

Within the nostalgic style, Anderson incorporated modern conveniences and a truly updated layout. She knocked down a wall between the kitchen and the adjoining sunroom and entryway, taking advantage of natural light and creating a flow from the back door to the kitchen. From the cooktop, where the wall once stood, cooks can now interact with party guests or watch a large-screen television on the far wall.

The cooktop work area features ample storage within reach of the cook. Large drawers hold pots and pans; spices fill a pullout rack and additional refrigerator and freezer drawers keep ingredients at hand. “With the enormity of the kitchen, we needed refrigeration close to the stove, so the cook didn’t have to run back and forth,” says Anderson. Also in this space is the homeowners’ favorite appliance, the wine captain. With wire racks that hold 48 bottles behind a glass door, they can easily see what is on hand.

To keep the baking heat away from the cook at the cooktop, Anderson placed the oven on the opposite side of the peninsula. Room on this side of the kitchen for chopping, slicing and mixing, keeps helpers out from under the cook’s feet.

“The homeowners have had as many as four people preparing meals here, without bumping elbows,” Anderson says.

From dark and dismal to bright and open, this Nuuanu kitchen’s transformation returned it to its Old-Hawaii roots, while incorporating modern appliances to make it useful. Beyond these visible improvements and updates, the difference can certainly be felt. “The kitchen feels better now; the energy and flow are uninterrupted,” says Anderson. “It feels like a home.”