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A Modern Oahu Compound Is Crowned the 2019 House of the Year

Richard and Elizabeth Grossman spent $16 million to build this 7,465-square-foot waterfront home on Oahu. Video: Adam Falk/The Wall Street Journal

For the second year in a row, WSJ readers selected a home from Hawaii in the annual WSJ.com poll

Heavily adapted From WSJ (source) | By Jessica Dailey Jan. 30, 2020

The Wall Street Journal’s 2019 House of the Year winner proves the power of the mantra “location, location, location!”

But that zero-edge saltwater pool doesn’t hurt either.

For the second consecutive year, a home from Hawaii scored the top spot in WSJ.com’s House of the Year poll. Each year, readers choose from among 52 House of the Week winners to determine which home is the best of the best. In 2019, 133,631 votes were cast in the poll.

This year’s winner—a sleek, oceanfront estate on the island of Oahu—wasn’t the only Hawaiian property to make a splash in the annual competition. Five homes from the Aloha State landed in the top 15, including a stately villa atop a mountain in Maui and a Lanai home that was built with materials from around the world.

“At $21 million, our House of the Year winner is the second-priciest home of the 52 contenders. Perhaps its “mana”—or the spiritual energy which the owner believes infuses the home—will bring good fortune in 2020. ”

— Kerry Barger

… Just show us the winner Dave …

Alright alright! This hot modern Hawaiian compound on the island of Oahu was the reader pick for the 2019 House of the Year and — just color me severely impressed —

Hover over images for descriptions and say WOW over and over again:

San Francisco-based architect Jim Jennings designed a modern 7,465-square-foot home of plaster walls, lattice teak screens and brushed stainless steel near Lanikai Beach on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu. Landscape designer Wendy Harper designed the home’s grounds and zero-edge pool.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

The double-height living space features sliding glass walls that disappear into a pocket to allow for indoor-outdoor living. Pamela Banker Associates designed the interiors; all of the furniture is custom made to fit the scale of the home. The wood bench at right, designed by George Marshall Peters for Pamela Banker Associates and fabricated by Harris Rubin, rises up and conceals a large-screen TV.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

Each end of the living space is anchored by a stair tower, enclosed in a bleached ash wall with cutouts that allow for glimpses into the space. Tinted skylights over the stairs give a blue cast to the space. The dining table chairs are custom made by Anthony Lawrence Belfair with walnut tapered legs and covered in green linen fabric by Peter Fasano, with a custom embroidery by Lesage Interieurs.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

The kitchen features Bulthaup cabinetry in a bleached oak finish, Gaggenau and Miele appliances, and stainless steel countertops.The bar is lined with Jamaica Stools by Pepe Cortes for Knoll, and Hans Wegner elbow chairs in bleached oak surround a custom table. There are polished concrete floors and cedar-paneled ceilings throughout.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

Mr. Jennings also designed a 1,877-square-foot guest house. A living space features a built-in entertainment center made with Bulthaup bleached ash cabinetry. The sofa is custom by Pamela Banker Associates, as is the coffee table which was designed by George Marshall Peters and fabricated by Wainlands.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

In the main house, a charcoal artwork of waves by Robert Longo hangs by a custom table made of metal laminate, produced by Seamus Fairtlough of Restored by Fairtlough. Chairs are Gigi stacking chairs by Marco Maran for Knoll. A slot in the wood ceiling traces the movement of a sliding wall that can divide this open area into two additional bedrooms.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

In one of the two master bedrooms hangs a large photograph by Richard Misrach from his “On the Beach” series. The custom bed designed by George Marshall Peters and made by Fairtlough features a TV lift concealed in the footboard.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

The master bathroom is lined with gold Jerusalem limestone. The fixtures are by Dornbracht.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

The master suites on the upper level have sliding glass walls that can open to a large lanai to create a pavilion overlooking the ocean.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

A bedroom in the guest house features a cathedral ceiling to accommodate a large fan. The painting at right is by Hawaiian artist Mary Mitsuda. The headboard and bedside tables are from Bielecky Brothers, and the fabric on the bed is from Quadrille.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

The pool is designed with a shallow “beach” area near the integrated spa. The landscape is planted with native vegetation and coconut palms.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

The outdoor tables, chairs, umbrellas, and loungers are from San Francisco-based furniture brand Henry Hall Designs.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

Poured pavers throughout the landscape are made of basalt and coral that was found on the property and repurposed.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

A carved granite bench provides the perfect perch overlooking the Mokulua Islands.

Hiep Nguyen/Slick Pixels Hawaii

— How this magical oasis came to be —

It was a simple problem that led Elizabeth Grossman to her future home: She couldn’t find a house to rent in Honolulu that was suitable to host her family—she and her husband, two of their children from previous marriages and their significant others, and their close friends—for the holidays. A broker suggested they look in Lanikai. “I said, ‘Where the hell is Lanikai?’” she laughs. Her grandmother had lived part-time in Maui, so she’d been visiting the Islands her entire life, but she’d never heard of the small beach town on the windward side of Oahu.

In 1999, Mrs. Grossman, a retired managing director at Soros Fund Management Co., and her husband, Richard Grossman, a surgeon and founder of the Grossman Burn Center in Los Angeles, drove into Lanikai. She looked at him and said “Oh my God, we have to live here,” she recalls. “It was like some sort of vortex. I just felt peace.” Being newlyweds, her husband happily agreed.

It took a few years to find what they wanted, but in 2004, they purchased a 0.8-acre waterfront property, a quarter mile from Lanikai Beach, with views of the Mokulua Islands, for $6 million.

“... Make sure that every space has a relationship to the ocean, to the lagoon, to the Mokululas”

— Mr. Jennings

Want to read and see even more? Jump to the full piece, its serious amazing!