Island and Heirloom

A study in formal lines and tropical soul

This project didn't happen all at once. It unfolded over several years, one room at a time, as my clients and I came back together each season to decide what the home was ready for next. When we first met, they had just moved from Hawaii and brought the islands with them in spirit, if not in setting. The home itself was beautifully built, with extensive painted millwork and the kind of formal, traditional architecture that doesn't bend easily. With every phase, the question was the same: how do you bring the warmth, color and texture of island life into a space designed to feel buttoned-up?

The answer was not to gut, but to layer. New furnishings introduced organic materials, including live-edge wood, woven jute, leather and raw teak root, to soften the architecture without arguing with it. Wallpaper in deep ocean tones brought the Pacific indoors, paired with grasscloth that catches the light the way the sea catches the sun. I refreshed the paint throughout, updated the hardware, and gave the kitchen island a new countertop, sink, and finish. They were small changes, but they read as significant because every other choice was working in concert.

"You don't have to fight a home's architecture to change how it feels. Layer the right textures, colors and pieces against it, and the whole house starts to breathe differently."

The crowning piece hangs above the staircase: a chandelier I designed to evoke the rhythm of the ocean, engineered and handcrafted by Hammerton Studio. Hand-blown glass forms are suspended in a slow spiral, like air bubbles rising through water. It's the focal point of the entire home and one of the most personally meaningful pieces I've ever created for a client.

The heart of this project is what didn't happen. No walls came down, no rooms were reconfigured and no architecture was undone. The transformation came entirely from layering, proof that you don't need a structural remodel to fundamentally change how a home feels. Sometimes the most powerful choice is simply the right piece, in the right place, for the right reason.

The result is traditional architecture with a tropical soul, a home that honors its formal lines while carrying the rhythm of the islands its owners brought with them.