Finding Inner Peace

A Wailea home makes it irresistible to "Be here now."

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Text by Heidi Pool | Rita Goldman  |  Photography by Steve Brinkman

Wailea homeIf it’s true that the right surroundings can foster a contemplative mind, then one path to enlightenment surely begins in Wailea, that sublime resort community on Maui’s southern coast. It’s here that the Honolulu architectural firm Group 70 created Maluhia, one of Wailea’s newer residential neighborhoods.

Each of the fourteen homes within Maluhia is designed and named around a specific theme. In this case, Hale Mohalu, the theme is tranquility.Wailea home

Wailea homeClean, simple lines and a muted palette evoke the spirit of contemporary Asian design. Subtle, sensory pleasures begin the moment you enter—and find yourself in a courtyard that surrounds a bubbling fountain. At left, fiberglass light fixtures textured with woven reed stand sentinel beside a recessed wall whose sandstone-like tiles, irregularly stacked, beg to be touched. Beyond the pool, a guest suite opens to the courtyard’s charms. Interior windows, inlaid with rice paper, close for privacy.

The next best thing to becoming one with the Infinite? An expansive floor plan whose uses are defined by furnishings rather than walls. A buffet separates kitchen and dining area, while a grand piano establishes the music corner. Stairs lead to the second floor’s three bedroom suites.

Wailea-Home-Peace-Tranquil-6The living room opens onto a lanai whose pool and built-in barbeque provide the perfect place for alfresco relaxation. Throughout the home, retractable panels of teak and glass allow a seamless flow indoors and out.

Design achieves harmony in the gourmet kitchen—balancing functionality and luxury. Cavernous pantries, temperature-controlled wine storage, and a room divider that cleverly doubles as a buffet encircle a well-appointed island. The kitchen’s limestone flooring is cool and invitingly tactile, and the generous use of teak imbues the room with a warmth reprised in the entertainment area beyond.

Wailea-Home-Peace-Tranquil-5The guest room pays homage to nature with rich teak floors, and an area rug whose bare-branch pattern is as spare as a Japanese ink drawing. The room overlooks a garden of fruit trees, herbs and vegetables—surprising verdure for Wailea’s dry climate.

A sink of hammered copper rests on a sleek black countertop in the bath, supported by finely crafted teak cabinetry. Honed limestone floor tiles are the color of sand.

 

Wailea-Home-Peace-Tranquil-7Bamboo—that quintessential Asian symbol of balance and harmony—is a recurring theme in the home. It appears in stone motif in a series of small, square windows, and here, in bamboo fencing that encloses an outdoor shower off the guest bath.

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