To live on the Hawaiian island of Kauai is to live with a tropical climate, cool trade winds and the ever-present ocean. It’s no wonder that ultra-luxury homes on the island value location, tradition and craftsmanship oversize and grandeur.
The custom-built residence at 3027 Kalahiki St. pays homage to indoor-outdoor living and the local architectural style with its low-slung rectangular shape, louvered windows and spacious lanais.
It’s on the market for $9.5 million. Lori Decker of Hawaii Life is the listing agent.
“There’s romance around what’s traditionally referred to as the plantation style of architecture,” says Matt Beall, co-founder of Hawaii Life real estate. “That style was primarily influenced by Japanese architects.”
Architect Jon Kegle of Cogent Designs worked with local artisans and woodworkers to use a variety of materials, including Japanese cypress on the exterior and cherry and Douglas fir on the interior, when the house was built in 2018.
It’s located within Kukuiula, a private community with a members-only club, 18-hole Tom Weiskopf golf course, spa and fitness area, and a 10-acre organic farm where residents can pick flowers and fruits.
Visitors enter the four-bedroom house through custom mahogany doors designed to resemble flower petals. The doors were hand-made by Italian firm Albertini. Inside, vaulted beamed ceilings, built-in cabinetry and a chef’s kitchen with quartz countertops keep the home light and airy. Wood cutouts and metal fixtures add accents throughout.
“It’s not a super-standout, look-at-me kind of mansion,” Beall says. “It’s a home built with a lot of informed taste and a real focus on details such as hardware, carvings and how the home is laid out. Zoom in on any detail and you realize ‘Wow, that’s cool.’ ”
The primary bedroom on the ground level has an en suite bathroom with a wood-mounted tub and stone floors. Each bedroom has access to a lanai with views of the ocean. (Built-in bunk beds for children have been added in one of the rooms.)
An office on the upper floor is fitted with windows for 360-degree views of the sea and mountains. The office has a cherrywood desk and cabinets as well as space for a couch and chairs. A second office faces the 2-mile-long Mahaulepu Beach and the mountains.
Sliding glass doors open the great room to the main lanai, where there’s an outdoor kitchen and barbecue. A heated pool and outdoor shower are nearby. The lanai’s wood siding features warm textured tones achieved by using a Japanese preservation technique called shou sugi ban.
The home also has a two-car garage and a Tesla Powerwall.
The house is close to beaches at Poipu as well as Koloa Town, a historic sugar mill town with traditional buildings that now house stores and restaurants.
Hawaii attracts its fair share of ultra-wealthy residents. Just 37 billionaires, Oprah Winfrey and Mark Zuckerberg, among them, own 11% of the private land on the islands, according to a recent Forbes story.
Billionaire Frank VanderSloot, founder of health-and-wellness business Melaleuca, owns a historic spread on Kauai where he operates a cattle ranch and meat-processing plants. “Pineapple is gone. Sugarcane is gone. The only thing left, really, right now is cattle,” he said in the story.
