A home doesn’t have to be large, luxurious or tucked in an exclusive neighborhood for it to be loved. A home is a home when you make it a place you’re thankful to return to at the end of the day.

Aja Toscano and Roland Longstreet, one of four couples we interviewed about how they created a home they love. Photo: Tommy Shih

After I sold my three-bedroom, two-bath home that my daughter and I lived in for almost 15 years, I rented an apartment down the street from my mother, who still lives in the house I grew up in. Although it’s a lot less than half the size of my former place, I adore it. It’s cozy, quiet, has the cool minimalist aesthetic that I prefer, and I can see and hear the ocean from my living room. It’s made me realize life is better without all the furniture, household items and stuff I used to have. I prefer being in a compact, comfortable space where I’m friends with my next-door neighbor and his sweet pup. In other words, apartment living suits me.

Our second home feature is meant to help you, our readers, get answers to all kinds of questions related to home buying and selling, remodeling, real estate investments, inherited properties and more.

That’s the sentiment behind this month’s feature on homes we love. Instead of choosing the most lavish, architecturally impeccable homes on O‘ahu, home and style editor Brie Thalmann discovered diverse homes that the people who live in them cherish for various reasons. For some, it’s nostalgia; for others, it’s the special, meaningful items scattered throughout that make them happy. Luxury, after all, is attainable because you’re the one defining it.

“I felt honored to share the stories of these four special abodes and the equally delightful homeowners who inhabit them,” Brie says. “No two homes were alike, each thoughtfully tailored to their owners’ unique tastes, passions and vibrant personalities. There is much for the average homeowner to glean. Whether you fill it with treasured mementos of friends and family, adorn it with art that inspires, or lean into design styles that spark joy, your home should be a celebration of the things, people and elements of life you hold most dear.”

Our second home feature is meant to help you, our readers, get answers to all kinds of questions related to home buying and selling, remodeling, real estate investments, inherited properties and more. It’s often hard to get answers from those in the know, so we did it for you. Whether you’re a first-time homebuyer hoping to qualify for a loan, or someone who wants to remodel an existing house but is confused about the state’s permitting processes, we hope this piece helps you achieve ideal outcomes.

To round out our home coverage, we’re presenting the winners of our HONOLULU Home Readers’ Choice Awards, highlighting favorite businesses in the homebuilding and remodeling industry in 48 categories. Thank you to everyone who voted!

I hope you enjoy these and all the other stories in this issue. Our editorial team spends a lot of time discussing story ideas for the magazine, always with the hope of informing, entertaining, uplifting and inspiring the people who matter most to us—our readers.

Diane Seo is the editorial director of HONOLULU Magazine.