The New House - Blog #1

A Quick Introduction
For those of you who have not been following me over the years, I am an artist, I am also, what I like to call, a “Residential Refurbisher”.  I like to renovate houses, but not on the grand scale that you see on a lot of the renovation channels. I take a much lighter approach, one that I can accomplish on my own without having to hire expensive tradespeople to accomplish.

I just bought a new house in Hawai’i.  This is my second house here and my fourth property.  I purchased and refurbished two condos on the Big Island as well.  I wanted to start this blog in order to take you along on this new journey.  Why a blog instead of a video channel you may ask?  Because I am single and to do the work while filming just seemed impossible.  As an artist, I like to take still photos.  I like to take a lot of before-and-after shots, so this just seemed to fit.  
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My hope is to inspire you to do your own projects and to feel a great sense of accomplishment, along with making your home feel like a place you can be proud of, without spending a lot to do it.

​So enough about me, let me show you the new house.

The New House in Hawaii
Have you ever dreamt of owning a home in Hawaii?  In this difficult market, I waited two years for a house like this to come up, and it’s better than I could have imagined for one under $600K on the Big Island of Hawai’i.  My perfect dream home would be in Kona, up on the hill overlooking Keauhou Bay, but the price tag for those is in the multi-millions, and I just haven’t sold that much art yet, so I settled for Hilo.  This house is under five years old, right in town, at the end of a tiny lane, with a 180-degree view.

The new house in Hawai'i

The House
I bought the house from the builder who custom built the house for himself.  He lives close by so whenever I have any questions, he’s is always willing to help out.  It’s rated Superior Frame, so we should be good through most natural disasters, except lava flow of course, though we’re on a hill, so even that’s highly unlikely.

The front door

​The main part of the house is on the upper level.  The front entry crosses over a four-foot gap like a bridge, so no one can look right into the windows, while inside you feel like you are at street level.

The kitchen

The Details
All of the cabinetry, including the kitchen, both bathrooms, the entry and the main bedroom are custom made mango wood, with stainless steel countertops in the kitchen, and gray quartz everywhere else. The floors are mostly luxury vinyl barnwood, which I love because they are easy to keep clean.

The main shower

​The main bathroom is tiled, with a no-threshold shower along with a modern rain showerhead.  Not only does it work well for wheeling Mom in to take a shower, there is just something more liberating about having an open shower that I find myself in there more often, even if it’s just to rinse off my feet.

The view to the south

The Location
We may no longer have our incredible ocean view, and we’re not on a golf course, but neither are we squeezed in-between other houses in some cooky-cutter neighborhood.  Instead, we’re perched up on a hill overlooking a well-manicured school, a stream, and the tops of local-style old plantation houses.  It is very peaceful, just the way I like it.

Much more to come!
While this is just a quick intro to the new house, there is much more to come.  I need to tackle the landscaping and purchase furniture.  I am currently sitting on my office chair, using my office desk as a dining table. Mom is sitting in a wheelchair.  We have our beds, and that’s about it.

"Blue Hydrangea" watercolor

And finally, I will be focusing on my art.  Sales from my art is what allows me to continue to do what I do.  It is what I love, especially my new Colores watercolor collection.  I will be creating new pieces to go in the new house, so check the collection out by clicking on the Shop tab or buttons.
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Thank you!  Mahalo!

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