A lagoon room with a view

On O`ahu’s eastern flank, the Ko`olau Mountains reach out like ancient brown-green earth fingers towards the aquamarine waters of Maunalua Bay. A  small road, Paiko Drive, follows one narrow peninsula that juts into the Paiko Lagoon Wildlife Sanctuary.

Here, in this quiet sunny spot, coastal birds and migratory fowl flutter and chirp as humpback whales -- wintering in warm Hawaiian waters -- breach off shore. At the end of Paiko Drive, a one-lane unpaved coral rock path leads to the peninsula’s sole structure: a low, flat-roofed, wood frame house encased in white coral walls.

In 2006 the home’s owners, Garrett Saikley and Robert David Carpenter, decided to reconfigure the great room. When originally built, this space never fully realized the spectacular ocean and mountain views because of blocking walls that kept the house hot inside and disrupted the sense of harmonic flow.

Inspired by the openness of the Outrigger Canoe Club, Saikley and Carpenter knew they wanted to rebuild their home in a way that completely embraced the natural setting. And what a setting it is, with water on three sides and the nearest neighbors visible only on the far side of the lagoon.

As the lone residence surrounded by a Department of Land and Natural Resources bird sanctuary, the house presented unique challenges owing to state conservation requirements, building codes and limited access for construction vehicles.

When Saikley and Carpenter learned their house did not conform to certain FEMA flood and setback requirements, they saw an opportunity to transform the structure into one that would fully open to the sea and sky and mirror the softness of its coastal environment. They wanted a modern, flexible home with a classic air that would be comfortable whether there were two people inside or 200.

No small order, Saikley and Carpenter teamed up with kitchen and interior designers Rick Cowan and his sister Tiare Noelani Cowan, president and vice-president respectively of Archipelago Refined Island Interiors (Honolulu).

Carpenter, himself an interior designer and owner of Residential Design Concepts, explained they selected Archipelago because of the company’s expertise in designing kitchens, the one room around which they wanted the entire house to revolve.

Starting with a redesign of the original home’s great room, the Cowans decided to raise ceiling heights to 18 feet and add sliding African mahogany doors and clerestory windows, letting in light and air while affording panoramic views. In inclement weather, the doors are closed while the clerestory windows can remain open for ventilation.

Explaining interior design elements, Tiare said, “We used a woven textured wallpaper with the look of lau hala (woven pandanus) with indirectly lit ceiling coves to accent the home’s Hawaiian character.”

A smooth finished Filipino white coral stone is used for wainscoting and custom made pillars inside. The same coral with a rougher finish is used for the exterior, giving the house the feel of a contemporary reef home which offsets the tropical light and complements the surrounding blue lagoon.

This embrace of the home’s uniquely Hawaiian Island setting, with its generous use of natural stone, coral, sapele wood and travertine and ipe decks, achieves a look Carpenter calls “modern but not trendy.” It’s reminiscent of classic mid 20th century buildings like Vladimir Ossipoff’s Outrigger Canoe Club (1963).

Because they entertain frequently, the owners wanted a kitchen large enough to accommodate up to 250 guests and a catering staff, but intimate enough to sit and enjoy morning coffee. Accordingly, 42-inch wide granite countertops wrap the kitchen on two sides and two independent cooking stations with a generous center island and bar overlooking the kitchen allow for guests to chat over martinis while drinking in the ocean view.

The master suite features a sitting area/library, a small bar, a front loading washer/dryer behind custom cabinetry, walk-through master closets and two master baths – one with a dark marble shower and vanity, the other green, white and peach marble with a soaking tub and walk-in shower. Sliding mahogany doors open onto a full view of Koko Head crater and create the sensation of sleeping on the protected deck of a luxury liner anchored in an exotic port.

A hallway with sliding glass doors leading to two guest bedrooms connected by “Jack & Jill” bathrooms achieves openness, while the mauka bedroom extends onto an expansive lānai overlooking the lagoon.

“It was important that our windows also serve as doors and walls,” Carpenter said.

Beneath the master and guest suites, a separate entrance reveals a private one bedroom, two bath unit with full kitchen offering privacy for visiting family and friends.

With plenty of room for guests and 365 degrees of mountains, sea and sky, fewer walls means being able to enjoy living in a coastal bird sanctuary from all of the bedrooms, kitchen or any of the home’s six full baths.

Stepping onto the main länai, subtle landscaping like potted dracaena, plumeria, coco palms and a shock of temple fire pink bougainvillea give the deck tropical accents that are set off by the area’s rugged kiawe (mesquite) trees.  

At Saikley’s request, a Badu SwimJet system was installed for swimming stationary laps in a small pool beside a water feature planted with taro, cannas and Hawaiian marsh grass. A second soaking pool was designed for rolling directly into after sunbathing on the deck and is the perfect place to view birds, whales, stingrays and the white owl that frequents the sanctuary.

For Saikley and Carpenter, the predominant theme of their home is harmony with its lagoon environment and maximizing the natural elements of the property – wind for ventilation, sun for solar energy, and lighting and views that create a natural ambiance throughout the house.

Reflecting on their home, Carpenter conceded the house itself is not that big, but insists it “lives in a very big way.” As for working with Sutton Construction, Archipelago and the entire construction team, Carpenter called it his most positive home designing experience to date. Given the chance, he said, “I’d do another project with them all tomorrow.