It’s an important part of an architect’s art and business to educate clients and, at times, implement their less than inspirational decisions. But the virtuosity of an unleashed artist can work architectural wonders for a homeowner with ambitious stylistic goals.

Teak columns, carved in what Liaw calls a strongly feminine shape, frame the view from the lanai. Fish fountains in the pond were designed by Liaw, and fabricated in Indonesia.

An exquisite example is one of Hawaii Loa Ridge’s newest homes, designed by architect Tamya Liaw.

Her unfettered artistic abilities were requested by a pair of newlywed homeowners who live in Taiwan. During an enchanted honeymoon in Bali, they fell in love with Balinese design. The wife, Ms. Lin, describes the ambiance there as “soothing and relaxing; it really matched the environment of Hawaii,” where she and her husband were planning to build a vacation home. She found Liaw through a mutual acquaintance and gave her free rein.

“What I appreciate about what Tamya does, is that she doesn’t copy,” comments Lin. “She went to Bali to research designs, and examined books and magazines with photographs of designs I liked. But she comes out with a combination of a slight modern and traditional Balinese touch that is her own original design. I think she’s a very creative architect.”

(Left): The husband’s study is connected to the home by a bridge, giving him plenty of privacy to read and relax. (Right): The living room is full of custom-made wood carvings, including the wood panel that cleverly covers an unsightly A/C vent.

The house sits atop ponds, as in a traditional Balinese garden, privately aloof in a lofty, cliffside neighborhood, tiptoeing on the 18-percent grade to catch the east Honolulu view. Even among unwieldy McMansions, Liaw achieved intimacy. She took advantage of the property’s prime location, building up as high as possible and completely opening the home’s 180-degree ocean-facing walls with a surfeit of windows and pocketed sliding glass doors.

“This is a Balinese tendency, to connect the indoors with the outdoors,” says Liaw, who designed a 1,200-square-foot, wraparound coral stone lanai. “Balinese design is very much in harmony with nature, but then they make a very clear distinction that this is manmade, and that is natural. This geometric shape is manmade, but what’s inside is natural.”

The living room is dominated by an Indonesian daybed, behind which stands an enormous, masterfully-carved, teak wall partition, one of the many Southeast Asian antique art pieces in Lin’s collection.

The core of the property design, the study, fully abides by this maxim. Separated from the house by a pair of rectangular ponds—a staple of Balinese homes, according to Liaw—the study’s ocean-facing walls feature floor-to-ceiling double windows. “My husband likes to read and not be disturbed, so I wanted his study room to be isolated,” says Lin. “So we had this idea that he would walk over a bridge.” On the backside of the study, another rectangular pond stretches to the feet of an enormous stone Buddha, haloed in the azure of the spectacular sky and Pacific Ocean.

To evoke the Balinese indoor-outdoor style throughout the house, Liaw designed a bamboo weave ceiling, framed by gleaming Douglas fir rafters. The rafters were repeatedly sanded to mimic the appearance of mahogany, and then routed along the edge for a sophisticated touch. Liaw credits her general contractor, Jeff Daniel, for his hard work installing the ceiling, among many other design goals, with quality construction.

(Left): Synergy between the architect’s design and the homeowner’s antique accent pieces completed the Balinese motif. (Right): Liaw’s passion for detail is evident in the wood rosettes covering the holes where the bolts go into the rafters, and at the peak of the ceiling where an intricately carved teak panel covers the joints.

The home’s design is a case of happy client and satisfied architect.

“The best way to let an architect do a good job is to just trust her totally,” says Lin.

Liaw couldn’t agree more: “She let me do whatever I wanted! Everything I brought to her she said, Wonderful, wonderful. So, I’m very happy.”