Just plain smart: an accurate phrase to describe Diane and Joe Van Ryzin’s Kailua kitchen. Touring the space, which blends seamlessly with the rest of their beautiful, new home, a few other descriptors come to mind: subtle, personal, usable, comfortable. Another is: green.

Smart Space

The Van Ryzins wanted a carefully designed kitchen that reflected their sensibilities. They also wanted to build smaller, use less and enjoy their space more. Their previous home, which they would eventually put on the market, had a large footprint with an outdated kitchen and kitchenette. The first order of business would be to downsize their new home, and its kitchen, significantly.
Happily, one of the most important byproducts of a small-footprint kitchen, when designed properly, is energy savings.

Soap-stone and butcher-block surfaces make this custom countertop unique.

In order to achieve their small-footprint goal, they would need smaller appliances. To that end, the couple chose a gas cooktop by Viking, an 18-inch refrigerator and an 18-inch freezer by Thermador. “They’re probably some of the most energy-efficient appliances out there,” says Michael Fairall, of Mokulua Woodworking Ltd., the sustainable design/build firm responsible for building the Van Ryzin’s home. The couple also chose a 24-inch Gaggenau convection oven, which runs so efficiently, it lies dormant until the homeowner turns it on. “All of the appliances in the house are ENERGY STAR®,” says Fairall.

“That is telltale of now. You really can’t get appliances that aren’t. Now, it’s about how well they stand up. And these appliances will stand up very well.”

The building materials, finishes and fixtures the Van Ryzins chose for their 150-square-foot kitchen will also stand up. Terry Doyle, of Axiom Design, worked with the Van Ryzins to create their custom cabinetry, which was inspired by Craftsman-style design. Cabinetry materials were produced in Kailua, using a percentage of reclaimed mango wood. “We wanted something that was produced locally, unique and tailored,” says Doyle.

The countertop is fashioned out of soapstone, which gives a cool, nonglossy feel to this new/old kitchen. The couple appreciates the countertop’s ability to patina with age. What’s more, “Of all the stones, soap stone … has the least impact on the environment. The production isn’t as depleting as [that of] granite or other similar quarry stones,” says Fairall.

This counter piece, which separates the kitchen from the main living area, incorporates shelving to display the Van Ryzins' cherished collectibles. Mango wood panels, hand-picked by the homeowners, are featured throughout the kitchen.

Crown molding and trim throughout the kitchen is recycled, and the adjacent 70-square-foot pantry features shelving made of reclaimed wood, fashioned by Mokulua Woodworking as well. To top it off, all of the home’s fixtures are low-flow, which adds to energy and water savings.

Subtle Design

While many of the home’s visible structural elements reflect common-sense green building and design, many of the kitchen’s greenest features are hidden from plain sight. Passive horizontal and vertical ventilation throughout the home extends to the kitchen, where it’s needed most. Designed by Alwyn Trigg-Smith of Alwyn Trigg-Smith Architects and carried out by the team at Mokulua Woodworking, the ventilation system encourages the movement of natural trade winds throughout the home, dissipating cooking heat and smells without the need for a large, electricity-powered vent hood. The home’s high ceiling encourages more air movement. Finally, the narrow, streamlined, functional freezer is actually hidden in a small corner of the pantry.

In a place where the minutiae of cooking requires maximum task lighting, it would seem as if energy savings would be a challenge. But in this space, most of the lighting is achieved by large, high windows that flood the home with natural light as it reflects off the large barrel ceiling during the day. At night when the lights must come on, they’re maximized. Can lights are installed in the ceiling, in addition to more track lighting, on a ledge below the ceiling. Trigg-Smith, along with his lighting consultant and the team at Mokulua, made sure light fixtures were LED compatible—so the Van Ryzins will be able to switch over in the future.

The entire home also utilizes a solar hot-water heating system, and is designed to accommodate a photovoltaic system (PV), both from Sunetric, a Hawaii-based, full-service solar home integration company. When installed, the PV system will convert UV rays into electricity to power the home. 

Finally, a laundry station, located next to the kitchen area, is disguised as a work surface that visually divides the kitchen, living and dining rooms. The ENERGY STAR® certified washer and dryer are actually hidden underneath the surface (for more on the laundry center, turn to page 55). The entire system—pantry, kitchen and laundry center, functions as one, carefully planned area. The space utilizes modern technology and planning to maximize its use—making a small, energy-saving footprint feel comfortable and spacious. 

Personal Touches

In keeping with the kitchen's overall furniture-like feel, a high-efficiency dishwasher is integrated into custom-designed cabinetry.

The kitchen is both functional and comfortable. But for this hands-on couple, for whom the home is a living, evolving part of their lives, the space must also  be personal. “We added more wood and hid the coldness of steel,” explains Joe. “The kitchen is right in the middle of the home. We wanted it to blend—to make it look like a living space, not so much like a kitchen.”

They also chose paint colors carefully. In the end, they selected warm yellows, rich purple and earthy greens, and painted the cabinetry themselves. “If the paint is sprayed on, it looks too commercial,” explains Diane. “We wanted that old, painted look with brush strokes.” The painted shelves and drawers, fashioned by Axiom Design, hold functional kitchen items, and a custom-crafted case encloses a microwave. Custom-built shelving also adds additional storage and display space.

The walk-in pantry, with shelves custom built by Mokulua Woodworking, sits adjacent to the kitchen area. The most personal touch in the pantry is a small door, strategically placed near the front end, close to the floor (to see a photo, turn to page 52). Designed and built by Joe, the tiny, bright-red porthole, which is at shoulder level, serves as a quick depository for groceries after shopping trips. “We park and the door in the pantry is just at the right level, so we can push all of our groceries in there,” says Diane. “We use it all the time. The kids call it the gnome door.”

The door is just one of many surprising and unique custom touches that truly personalizes this kitchen. Thanks to a talented team, the space achieves all of the Van Ryzin’s objectives: It’s eco-friendly, warm and inviting, without pretension, and will serve as a place the homeowners can enjoy all their lives.