A kitchen design must feature near-universal appeal -- and superb functionality -- if it is going to be replicated through an entire series of homes. That was the challenge facing WCIT Architecture as it provided complete interior design services for the Wai‘ula‘ula luxury home collection, located on the Kohala Coast of the Big Island of Hawai‘i, part of Mauna Kea Resort, a famed 48-acre oceanfront development created by Laurance S. Rockefeller in 1964.

A single, basic kitchen design would be utilized, with minor variations, for the entire complex of single-story, one-family condominium residences. Yet the final design that WCIT’s architects created is anything but cookie-cutter. The kitchen offers a sophisticated blend of contemporary and traditional shapes, themes, colors, and materials that harmonize into a warm yet vibrant space for cooking, eating, and socializing.

The Wai‘ula‘ula complex consists of a mix of three-bedroom units (each 2,365 square feet under roof) and four-bedroom units (each 4,350 square feet under roof). The architecture’s contemporary Hawai‘i theme features double-pitched roofs and extensive interior wood trim. Each kitchen is a 200 square foot space that is open on two sides to the rest of the residence. This expansive floor plan, combined with nine-foot ceilings, creates a feeling of considerable volume.

The architects’ most important strategic decision was to place an island at the innermost area of the kitchen…located at the precise spot where the inside corner of the kitchen would have been, if those two “missing” walls had been included. This island subtly defines the psychological space of the kitchen, creating a sense of boundaries yet also providing an inviting bridge to the adjacent dining room and living room.

Next, architects selected an unusual geometric shape for the island surface. Curved on the outside, yet gently angled on the inside, the countertop makes a bold and contemporary visual statement.

Now comes the masterstroke. Diametrically across the kitchen, this unusual island surface is gracefully counterbalanced by an angled corner for the stovetop range and hood. The two angled lines of island countertop and corner stovetop mirror each other across the kitchen, creating a dynamic complementary effect.

This subtle pair of mirrored angles became the visual anchor of the kitchen, allowing WCIT’s interior designers to accouter the space with warm, traditional materials without seeming too conservative. Rather, the judicious use of woods and granite engenders a feeling of physical and cultural solidity.

Cabinets from Pacific Crest feature cherry wood surfaces, echoed in the island base and in the cherry wood trim of the vaulted ceiling. The Sub Zero stainless steel refrigerator also features a cherry wood paneled exterior. Countertops and backsplash are granite stone in a light beige that suggests a sandy beach hue. Floor tiles are complimentary beige. The stainless steel, four-burner gas cooktop and exhaust hood are from Wolff, as are the oven and microwave.

Walls are a pale yellow, matched nicely to the yellow-green vinyl covering of the contemporary wood-frame chairs. A field of more than a dozen recessed lights over the kitchen ensures vibrant illumination, in concert with three hanging lamps over the center of the island. The hanging lamps feature beige contemporary shades and black metal Asian-style fixtures.

WCIT project manager Ben Ugale summarized: “This is a kitchen that combines a grand setting with the serenity of open space.”

WCIT Architecture
(808)592-2345
www.wcitarch.com