Before Debra Schonewill joined the Kapalua Resort in 2006 as its interior design director, she spent a significant amount of time appreciating Maui from the water. When not running her own firm (Schonewill International Inc.), she would sail up and down the waterway that churned between Maui, Läna‘i and Moloka‘i.

“Whenever I would sail past Kapalua, I couldn’t help but think that it was one of the best examples of disappearing architecture,” Schonewill recalls. “The way that the villas rose and fell with the lay of the land, moving with the gradual slopes—it’s beautiful.”

And while Shonewill considered herself lucky that the original architects of the Kapalua Resort had such vision, she didn’t realize that it would quickly become her task to transform the 260 upscale rental properties (each of which is privately owned) to Gold Villa status. In 2005, Kapalua executives felt the resort needed a new standard of living to match the four-star service offered at the recently renovated Ritz-Carlton Maui, as well as at the soon-to-arrive Ritz Carlton Residences, both of which share Kapalua acreage.

“We evaluated every unit and decided what the individual villa owners needed to do to attain Gold Status,” said Schonewill. From there, the process was placed in the hands of dozens of local designers, each noted for successful creation of that Hawaiian “sense of place.” For each of the three Villa categories—Bay, Golf and Ridge—each designer drafted various plans that owners could choose from, with differing degrees of customization. The common theme was elegance and refinement.

“We wanted to limit the overuse of certain cliché Hawaiian design themes,” said Schonewill. “Perhaps a Hawaiian printed throw would be placed on a lounge chair, but never would an entire sofa be covered in tropical print. When you have floor-to-ceiling corner windows that suspend an inhabitant over the ocean, why would you need to draw attention to a bed?”

Various elements followed suit: owners could have one hula girl lamp—not four. Absolutely no whitewashed wicker. A single bamboo or rattan chair was acceptable as an accent piece, but Schonewill insisted on leaning towards the hardwoods for conceptual design mainstays. Lighting went from track to recessed, canned lights with decorative dining room fixtures or floor lamps. The vibe was to be homey, not hotel. A guest, after all, was staying in a home owned by an individual; not a marketing company.

According to Schonewill, everything from flooring to switch plates were changed in the upgrade process. Stone or porcelain tiling replaced vinyl or ceramics, leaving cleaner lines. Where the units themselves are spacious, the designers were keenly attuned to placement of furniture, planters and lamps to emphasize the view of the outdoors.

The only major architectural adjustments were in the kitchens and bathrooms, where low ceilings, fluorescent lights and bulky vanities were removed to open up the spaces. Products from “green” companies were used to comport with the overall vision of Kapalua—sustainability. Welbourne shipped all their furniture in blankets instead of wasteful materials; Koliana in Seattle uses premium lyptus hardwoods in all their cabinetry, a recycled material. All fixtures are low-flow; all appliances energy-saving.

Another theme woven through the 80 completed Gold Villas (thus far) is that the design team treats each unit like a magnificent private home—that happens to be a rental. Accordingly, says Schonewill, they couldn’t use polished chrome anywhere, which is a very hot bathroom element at the moment. Housekeeping would have to spend the majority of each day buffing the fingerprints out of them. Instead, frameless showers trumped the modern with ultra-modern. The fiber content of the textiles used throughout, and the wood used in cabinetry, had to be cleverly chosen with one eye on the wear and tear factor, and another on functionality. Yet the big picture needed to be soft and homey-looking.

One issue that Schonewill faced within the first few weeks was discouraging the desires of so many villa owners to embrace a single (currently trendy) theme, namely Balinese decor. “A lot of people asked to do the Indonesian-Bali thing.” she says. “Yet I don’t see it as very Hawaiian. Visually, it works well, because of the colors and textures that the style monopolizes, but I felt the need to encourage people away from a straight-out Bali design. You need to be careful or the home will look like a showroom. It begins to look very impersonal.”

While full-fledged, single-themed design plans were nixed, Schonewill was eager to help clients cherry-pick all their favorite aspects of various styles. The results, owners were more often than not surprised to learn, left a blending of styles that really spoke to them. The themes chosen ultimately echoed their ties to Maui, and the eclectic, international, cozy and functional lifestyles they enjoy there.

On lush land that was once home to Hawai‘i’s most fruitful pineapple plantation, today Kapalua Resort’s own “gold standard” for its villas successfully marries authentic Hawaiiana with contemporary good taste. The result places the emphasis where it belongs: on the land, sea, and sky of an enchanting tropical island.

“The lasting impression of this place,” says the property’s cultural advisor Clifford Nae‘ole, “is that there is a lot going on under the surface—more than what you immediately see. The Kapalua visitor wants to peel back the layers, expose what the resort, and true Hawai‘i, is all about. It is for people who ask questions.”