Aulepe: A Dark-Modern Kailua Renovation Framed by a Panoramic Hillside View

James Jenkins

Oct 3

2 min read

The great room opens completely to the view — a black marble waterfall island and brass pendants under vaulted beams, with the panorama held in floor-to-ceiling glass.

Kailua, Oʻahu

Before

Before: the view was always there — the room around it had run its course.

Before: the original pale stone fireplace — the starting point for the dark stone feature wall.

Before: oak cabinets and white tile counters, in the kitchen that became the dark-modern waterfall island.

Before: the dining area as we found it, closed in by yellow walls and slate tile.

The Challenge

A hillside Kailua home held one of the best views on its street — and an interior that turned its back on it. The owner wanted the opposite of a bright, coastal renovation: a moody, unapologetically dark-modern home that would let the panorama do the talking. The brief was to open the plan straight to the view, then wrap it in a confident, low-light palette — the sunlit inverse of most of our island work.

Our Approach

We led the design around the view first, opening the great room to its full vaulted height and drawing the floor-to-ceiling windows into a single, uninterrupted sightline across the valley. Where a coastal renovation would have gone bright and airy, this one goes deep — charcoal vertical slat paneling, walnut cabinetry, and black-veined marble carried across every primary surface. From there we managed the renovation end to end, coordinating independent licensed contractors from first sketch to final walkthrough. A black-veined marble waterfall island anchors the open kitchen beneath brass dome pendants; a cluster of amber glass globes warms the entry against a dark slat wall; and a dark stone fireplace with a linear flame grounds the living area. Warm wood floors and exposed beams keep the dark palette from ever reading cold, and every room is composed so the eye lands, finally, on the view.

Materials & Finishes

• Charcoal vertical slat wall paneling throughout the main living space • Black-veined marble waterfall island beneath brass dome pendants • Walnut cabinetry against wide-plank oak flooring • Vaulted ceilings with exposed wood beams • Amber glass globe pendant cluster at the entry • Dark stone fireplace with a linear flame • Floor-to-ceiling windows framing the panoramic hillside view

After

The open kitchen keeps the dark palette and the view in the same frame.

A dark stone feature wall and charcoal slat paneling give the living space its depth.

Vaulted ceilings and exposed beams keep the dark rooms feeling open and warm.

The waterfall island anchors the kitchen in black-veined marble.

Up close, walnut cabinetry and marble counters carry the same restrained, dark-modern hand.

A dark stone fireplace with a linear flame grounds the living area.

A cluster of amber glass globes warms the entry against the dark slat wall.

The Result

The finished home reads as one dark, composed volume that opens completely to its view — an open great room and kitchen under vaulted beams, warmed by walnut and brass, with the panorama held in floor-to-ceiling glass. It stands as the moody counterpoint in our portfolio: proof that the studio's range runs from sunlit and coastal to deep, modern, and view-forward, designed, led, and managed from first sketch to final walkthrough.

Common questions

Where is this project?

Kailua, Oʻahu.

What did the project involve?

Dark-modern whole-home renovation of a hillside home.

What materials and finishes were specified?

Charcoal vertical slat wall paneling throughout the main living space; Black-veined marble waterfall island beneath brass dome pendants; Walnut cabinetry against wide-plank oak flooring; Vaulted ceilings with exposed wood beams.

Who performed the construction work?

Lanikai Homes is a design-led interior design and renovation studio in Kailua, Hawaii. Lanikai Homes designed, planned and managed the project; all construction work was performed by independent licensed contractors.