Form versus function: which should take precedence in building design? The answer to this age-old question is clear to architect and interior designer Michele D'Amico. It's always a fine balance between exterior and interior, between aesthetics and practicality. But, ultimately, D'Amico believes that functionality is key.

When Melanie Boudar was building her luxury Bed & Breakfast home in the rainforest of the Big Island’s Volcano area, she first made a map of the property and its major trees. Then she designed the house to fit around those trees, and rented a huge crane to lift the lumber over them.

Diving with giant manta rays is one of the rarest and most sought-after of undersea encounters, but off Hawaii’s Big Island it is almost a nightly experience as scuba divers and mantas come together in a thrilling ballet. The divers are drawn by the mantas, which are enticed by millions of plankton, which are attracted to the divers’ lights after riding the upward surge of nutrient-rich seawater from thousands of feet below. Read more...

Life is about the choices we make. Many are mundane and some are profound, but most fall somewhere in between. All of our choices have consequences and are not always easy.

Hawaiian Style Magazine wants to send YOU to the paradise for a luxurious six-day, five-night stay for two at The Fairmont Orchid on the Kohala Coast!