This Hawaii Home Offers Beachside Bliss

Newly built Laie home is the epitome of beach-house living.

Tucked away on a sandy beach in laie sits a brand-new residence built by Homeworks Construction for Donald Eovino of Eovino & Associates Inc. Dubbed Hale Kaiulani after Hawaii’s Crown Princess Victoria Kaiulani, the four-bedroom, 3 ½-bathroom abode is so much more than just a nice house by the beach.

“The idea was to create very functional spaces,” says Marshall Hickox, Homeworks Construction president. He explains that the house, which is one of three in Eovino’s Mahakea development project, is a higher-end, moderately sized home that was designed to take full advantage of the allotted space as well as the surrounding environment. “There was a lot of thought put into the elevation of the house to make sure it’ll be safe for years to come,” Hickox adds, “so it’s set back quite a bit from the beach and the shoreline.”

Built on a 12,000-square-foot lot, the house was constructed to allow for ample parking in the front and a large yard in the back, offering space between the structure itself and the beach. As the design-build contractor for all three houses of the development, Hickox and the rest of the Homeworks Construction team gave careful consideration to the placement of each house; future homeowners will be able to soak in their island views, unobstructed by neighbors.

Keeping others from seeing inside the home is important too; that’s why windows were precisely placed to ensure privacy. “In Hawaii,” Hickox says, “we’re used to being very close to our neighbors … in this case, it’s about making sure that you can be in the house but still feel that someone’s further away than they are.”

And residents, who’ll be making frequent trips from their house to the beach to the pool and back, won’t have to worry about whether their home can withstand their busy indoor-outdoor lifestyle. Everything about Hale Kaiulani — from its outdoor-rated ceiling fans to its first-floor porcelain tile flooring — was selected with beach-house living in mind. The house’s aluminum railings received an architectural-grade powder coating, stainless steel fasteners and other corrosion-resistant materials were used throughout, and interior light fixtures were acquired from an indoor-outdoor lighting company.

There are also two outdoor showers — one near the front of the home and the other by the pool — for washing away salt and sand before going inside. Not that having sand around the house is worrisome; the composite decking around the perimeter was added with beach-bound feet in mind. “It’s easy to clean and sweep off,” Hickox explains. “The sand will fall right through. You can just hose it and wash it off. It provides this really cool texture and transition from inside the house.”

Interestingly, that wraparound sidewalk was a late enhancement to the build, something that Eovino was inspired to add during the last week of construction. “Everyone’s had that experience where they stand back and they look at something and they’re thinking, something’s missing,” Hickox says of what the house looked like prior to the addition. “It was a great call. It just tied it all together.”

Clearly, form — however crucial — was not sacrificed for function. As practical as Hale Kaiulani is, it’s equally as beautiful. “When you’re designing and building a house to go on the market,” Hickox says, “it’s important to have it look unique, but it still needs to appeal to a broad amount of people.”

To achieve this, Homeworks Construction selections specialist Elyse Grable incorporated both light and dark finishes to create contrast amid the house’s modern, beachy look. In the kitchen, Shaker-style cabinets with a cherry finish are balanced by white quartz countertops. The powder room features some of the same, though its cherry-colored cabinets and porcelain white countertops are complemented by a glass vessel sink in opaque dew. Grable’s carefully curated finishes comprise natural hues and lots of chrome, especially in one of her favorite Hale Kaiulani spaces: the master bath.

Part of a considerably sized master suite, the accompanying bathroom boasts both a rain shower head as well as a hand-held shower head with slide bar — plus a 66-inch-long free-standing tub placed just below a large window. “It’s a nice feature,” Grable exclaims. “It has a real spa-like feel to it. It really just takes advantage of the views — that’s where I’d be.”