In Close Harmony

Years before the 400-foot-tall luxury residential building rose high above the corner of Ward Avenue and Kapiolani Boulevard, prospective buyers got a peek inside from the third floor of INspiration Interiors at the Honolulu Design Center.

Symphony Honolulu developer OliverMcMillan opened its real estate sales office within Thomas Sorensen’s Honolulu Design Center, a few blocks down on Kapiolani Boulevard.

Sorensen was impressed by the plans for Symphony Honolulu’s grand terrace, which includes a well-designed outdoor space that feels intimate and private, with many other amenities. He decided to buy into the building, in a makai-facing, corner unit on the 41st floor. It offers views of the still-developing Kakaako neighborhood, the ocean and Diamond Head.

The view from Thomas Sorensen’s unit looks toward Diamond Head, with the Honolulu Design Center and many other businesses and residences — developing and existing — in sight.

“I like the end units; they have spectacular views,” Sorensen says. The Neal S. Blaisdell Center campus across Ward Avenue — a much lower building, by comparison — gives Symphony Honolulu residents an unobstructed view toward Diamond Head. “It’s light, it’s open … it has fantastic views.”

Sorensen likes the three-bedroom unit’s floor plan, and that the master suite is separated from other areas of the home. INspiration Interiors furnished each residential unit’s closet systems, and Sorensen opted to further upgrade his walk-in closets with custom drawers and shelving systems from INspiration’s wardrobe and closets line. He had automated solar-powered blinds from Window World installed throughout the condo’s floor-to-ceiling, low-e dual-pane windows.

Sorensen of INspiration Interiors has an eye for sleek style and modern design.

The kitchen includes European cabinetry with full-extension soft-closing drawers and hinges, by Studio Becker, along with a suite of Bosch Energy Star® stainless steel appliances. The long island countertop provides enough seating for six people.

“The kitchen is a nice, big, entertaining kitchen,” Sorensen says. More formal dining is available in the open-concept kitchen at an Italian-made table with a clear glass top.

The kitchen is equipped with Bosch Energy Star® stainless steel appliances, polished quartz countertops and cabinetry from Studio Becker.

While Sorensen likes the residential units, he was most impressed by the building’s seventh-floor grand terrace, which has a stylish veranda, an infinity-edge pool, two spas, daybeds, guest suites, private dining areas and a fitness center.

The condo is furnished with select pieces, most of which were designed in Denmark and Italy, available at INspiration Interiors’ showroom in the Honolulu Design Center.

Where To Get It

All furnishings from INspiration Interiors.

Sofa: Eilersen Cocoon in mocca brown with nine coordinating pillows in multi color velour fabric, from Denmark.
Coffee Tables: Mater Bowl Tables with sustainably harvested natural mango wood and steel legs, from Denmark.
Dining Table: Miniform Otto Table in clear glass and walnut base, from Italy.
Dining Chairs: JLM Moller Chair 79 in solid walnut with black leather, from Denmark.
Dining Tall Cabinet: Naver 2750 Buffet in natural walnut veneer frame with white Corian, from Denmark.
Bar Stools: Catalan MIDJ Counter Stools in chrome with ecoleather bloom ash grey, from Italy.
TV Cabinet: BDI-Tripe Wide Cabinet Corridor in chocolate walnut, from the United States.
Area Rug: Natuzzi Affresco rug, from Italy.
Appliances: Bosch Energy Star® Stainless Steel.
Countertops: Polished quartz.
Cabinetry: Studio Becker