A delightfully designed Kaneohe kitchen

This Hawaii family of four built their dream house, complete with a sleek new kitchen.

When Gabe and Kara Izumi were gifted Gabe’s family home for their wedding, naturally, they were thrilled. The Kaneohe house, which was built in 1951, was just right for them—that is, until the birth of their first child. Attempting to raise an infant in the single-wall abode during a particularly scorching summer proved to be a bit too intense for the couple. “We realized the house wasn’t really doing the job,” Gabe says. He and his wife considered remodeling, but after meeting with a few contractors and not being able to come up with a renovation plan to suit their needs, “We decided to build our dream home.”

The couple had their ideal dwelling built on the existing lot from the foundation up, then secured Homeowners Design Center to design their new kitchen. A friend had worked with Homeowners Design Center for a recent remodel, and the Izumis were impressed with the results. “Everything looked great,” Gabe says. “It was good quality, and they said the service was good.”