Simply Gorgeous

Jimmy Hamasaki’s previous home was perfectly fine. Sure, it sat on a busy and sometimes noisy corner in Kalihi. Concrete was its defining architectural element, as well as primary building material. But the 3,000-square-foot house was simple and convenient. His office was only a five-minute drive away—important, since he often worked 12 to 16 hours a day. Another plus was, since there was so much concrete, most of the home’s exterior maintenance and cleaning involved just a garden hose and lots of water.

Glass House: A wall of glass seamlessly connects the verdant Nuuanu rainforest outside with the home’s cool, clean interiors.

“I expected to live in my old house till the day I died,” says Hamasaki. He now resides in a newly remodeled, 5,400-square-foot home adjacent to a Nuuanu rain forest. “I’m a simple guy in terms of clothes and style, so that home fit my lifestyle. This one does, too, although my lifestyle has changed a little. Now, I finish work at about 4:30. I’m home in time to walk the dog, eat dinner and bug my wife.”

His simple life got a bit complicated about two years ago. Hamasaki, who is a general contractor, got a call from a friend who had found a distressed property deep in Nuuanu Valley. The home hadn’t been occupied in 12 years. So, the two friends hatched a plan to invest $250,000 in a remodeling effort, then put the home back on the market. But when Hamasaki took the short drive from Kalihi to Nuuanu and saw the 10,000-square-foot lot, that plan changed.

The Hamasaki home features fine high-end finishes on each of its 3,400 square feet, from the Alaskan yellow cedar ceiling to the African Mahogany trim to the travertine floor.

“Once I saw the property, I knew that it was no longer going to be a business deal,” Hamasaki says. “The location was super, and it was so quiet and peaceful.”

Standing under a 100-foot kamani tree, he made two phone calls: the first to his wife and the next to his real estate agent, with a purchase offer.

Although Hamasaki makes his living building high-end homes, when it was his turn to do his own remodeling and renovating, he wasn’t interested in replicating any of the dream homes he had built for others. He wanted a house that was big and roomy, but also uncomplicated and simple. Maybe something akin to his Kalihi house, but with finer finishes and without so much concrete.

Some of the wood and stone featured in the home include: red cedar, uba tuba granite, curly koa, byzantine gold travertine and african mahogany.

“The client wanted something simple that reflected his lifestyle,” says architect Dennis Lee of ManoArchitects, who designed the new home. “We weren’t trying to make any big statements with the design. Everything is straightforward, unpretentious and low key.”

The existing home’s layout was far from straightforward. Constructed in 1967, its 3,400 square feet of living area was sectioned off into small rooms, long and narrow hallways, and a central corridor that was 30 feet long, yet only a slender 28 inches wide. “When I first saw the home, I thought I had stepped into a schoolhouse,” Lee says.

Real Simple: Again, simple lines meet fine finishes — this time at the home’s entry. The result: understated, inviting elegance.

The architect, working with Lyle Hamasaki Construction, the general contractor, started at the center of the house. He designed a 1,200-square-foot great room (living room, formal dining room, kitchen and breakfast bar), which replaced the dark, dingy, mazelike interiors with the light and volume of a wide-open space. He expanded the overall footprint of the room by reclaiming more than 500 square feet of the home’s backyard—enough space to widen the living room and construct an expansive lanai. Hamasaki’s crew covered the entire great room’s floor in light, sandy-colored travertine.

To seamlessly connect the spectacularly verdant rain forest with the cool, clean indoors, Lee filled the back half of the room with large picture windows and sliding glass doors. In addition, workers put down porcelain tile on the lanai. The more durable porcelain was closely matched to the color and texture of the travertine inside, to further ensure a smooth transition from inside to outside.

Above it all, the ceiling is covered in honey-colored Alaskan yellow cedar. It is arguably the home’s most stunning architectural feature. Lee first saw the wood while visiting the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. The durable hardwood covered the arena’s massive stage and seemed to glow. It was a perfect match for the home’s African mahogany and curly koa finishes.

But just having the right color wasn’t enough. The ceiling needed to have a consistent pattern and texture, too. When the Hamasaki work crew received the shipment of the prized cedar, they laid out all the wood in the unfinished garage and matched each board to the next, ensuring a consistent look and feel. The result is a pristine yet luminous ceiling that warms the main living area. The Alaskan cedar is even carried outdoors above the lanai and around the perimeter of the home.

Falling Waters: A bamboo fountain and stone tsukubai basin provide understated visual appeal and soothing sounds to the nearby pond.

Lee then redesigned two private wings to the house. One is in back of the home, facing the rain forest. It features a hobby room, hall bathroom and master suite, complete with sitting area, picture windows facing 100-year-old trees and a palatial bathroom replete with steam shower, tub and sauna. Throughout the rooms are more travertine, Alaskan cedar, African mahogany and curly koa.

On the opposite end, Lee added a laundry area and storage room behind the kitchen. Above the three-car garage, he placed a large library and bedroom for the son. Fine details abound in this wing. Deep, rich hardwoods are ever-present. The bathrooms and kitchen all feature granite countertops.

Koi Story: With plenty of room to roam and abundant vegetation providing cooling shade, the pond’s koi have been thriving.

Another show-stopping feature of the home is the spacious koi pond, constructed with massive boulders and surrounded by an intricate Japanese-style garden. Designed by landscape contractor Danny Nakamura, the stunning water feature calls attention to itself while being perfectly integrated with the rain forest behind it. It took a little convincing for the homeowner to agree to such a bold and multifaceted landscape, something far from simple. But he’s glad he did it.

“At first, I just wanted a simple fishpond, with a lot of concrete. I didn’t want a yard. I told them I’d paint all the concrete green,” says Hamasaki with a smile. “But Danny told me that if I wanted a fishpond, I should really get a fishpond. So I did. Today, I come home and turn on the water in the pond. I let my dog run around. I feed the fish, pick up leaves and trim the trees a little. It’s a good way to end the day.”

The simple life.