The master bedroom takes up the entire second level of the home. Along with the ensuite, it includes an office tucked into the house’s structural poles and a private living area. Ceiling-to-floor glass doors open up to give a seamless sweep from the interior to the lanai to the spectacular view beyond.

The Makena house appears to float on lava rock. The living area opens directly onto the lava rock infinity pool with its naturalistic waterfall. Faux lava rock was also used in landscaping around the property.

Natural colors and materials coupled with visually interesting fixtures make even the smallest alcove stand out as unique.

Makena is a place where the ocean and the sky meet the land. When Fred and Mary Constant remodeled their Makena oceanfront home, their first priority was to connect to all the drama right outside their door—the black rock, Pacific waves and stunning sunsets.
Fred Constant has been coming to Hawaii for the past 35 years; in the 1970s he owned KPOI radio station and, at one point, he laughs, he lived on a sailboat on the Ala Wai. But in 2002, he and Mary bought their own quarter-acre of paradise on the oceanfront in Makena on the island of Maui. They loved the secluded feel of the place, which sits on old lava flows jutting out into the ocean. The feeling of privacy and spaciousness is further enhanced as the home is situated in an undeveloped natural area reserve.

The renovations included a new guesthouse, which nestles high up among the property’s tropical foliage. With its Japanese-styled platform bed and rich mahogany floors, this space takes on a more Asian-inspired design.

People have been living on the property since the 1850s, Constant says, and when he bought the property as a holiday home, there was an ’80s-era pole house sitting on the land.
“When we found it, the interior was a real hodge-podge, so we decided to completely take it back to the poles,” Constant says. “We liked the concept of the house; it’s a five-sided house and it has a really local and Polynesian feel to it compared to so many houses that have that Italian, everything-is-the-same look … that’s not my feeling of Hawaii.”

About that same time, the Constants had just finished building their home in California’s Napa Valley where they own the Constant-Diamond Mountain Vineyard. There, they worked with architect Howard Backen to create a space of what Constant calls “stunning simplicity.” Their Napa home features a large central pavilion that covers the living areas, and glass doors open wide to a long, covered porch and the panorama beyond. The Constants wanted to apply the same simplicity to their Makena home and Fred Constant had fun taking a hands-on role in the design and construction.

“The location is special and that’s what I wanted to take advantage of,” Constant says. “We wanted a very casual beach home rather than a formal house.”

The site looks out onto Molokini, Lanai and Kahoolawe as well as some incredible sunsets. The house sits just 25 feet from the shoreline and is surrounded by ocean on three sides, but is protected from the waves by a buttress of black lava rock. There are fantastic snorkeling waters just off shore.

The home’s entryway traverses a koi pond with lava-rock stepping stones and the front door opens straight onto the Pacific Ocean beyond. “It’s a wow experience,” Constant says.
Indoors, the area space was maximized by moving an interior stairway, which took up a lot of precious space, outside. This adjustment allowed for a more flowing floor plan in order to take advantage of the sweeping views. Floor-to-ceiling glass doors cover four sides of the pentagon—and when the doors slide open, the house becomes one with the Makena shoreline and ocean breezes.

The Constants’ remodeling objectives included creating a place where they could relax, entertain guests and occasionally catch up on a bit of work. Back in Napa, the couple’s kitchen often hosts local chefs, so a gourmet kitchen was also a must. The Makena home’s first level features a gourmet kitchen complete with a La Cornue range, along with bar seating and dining and living areas.

The second floor is where the couple can unwind. It is given over completely to the master bedroom and ensuite with matching his and her bathrooms. The master suite also includes a private living room and entertainment area where the couple likes to relax, watch a movie or enjoy a glass of wine.

Throughout the interior spaces, natural materials blend with the home’s surroundings. Wood is predominant, with rich swaths of redwood, mahogany and ipe. The floors in the living area are large flags of Mexican limestone.

A breezeway leads to the new guesthouse, which the Constants added out the back. They’ve dubbed the Asian-influenced space the “treehouse” because it perches amid the property’s tropical greenery. Just off the main living area, they also added a saltwater infinity pool, which spills over into a naturalistic lava-rock waterfall. And remember those large poles running through the center of the two floors? Constant turned this potential problem into two creative design solutions. On the first level, the poles became the site for a 7-foot-high circular aquarium. Stocked with the same species of fish that swim just off shore, the aquarium is another way in which the outdoors come inside. Upstairs, Constant used the poles to encircle a U-shape office area.

“You’re the captain of the ship when you’re up there. There’s a 270-degree view of the water—it’s a wonderful place to work,” he says.

“It’s an incredibly relaxing place,” Constant says of his Makena home. “You can always hear the sound of the ocean and these views and the privacy are hard to find in Hawaii anymore. You really feel like you are one with the ocean.”