Open house pick of the week: Judd Hillside

If you get a chance this Sunday, take some time to check out the open house at 1908 Judd Hillside Rd. It’s a gorgeous, five-bedroom, 6.5-bath property that brings modern Hawaii living and Renaissance style together in a rarely available part of Manoa.

The home was built in 1994 by award-winning architect Spencer Leineweber, who specializes in historic preservation and restoration, so it has an heirloom quality about it even though it looks brand new. The family added European touches throughout, such as French limestone, a fireplace mantle made of 17th century antique stone, balconies reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, and English garden.

The downstairs area opens to the pool and “barbecue lounge,” a cooking station and bar with an incredible view of Honolulu. The kitchen, remodeled in 2010, has so much counter space that most people attending the broker’s open this week naturally congregated there — just close enough to the buffet to keep socializing and grazing, but just far enough to be out of the way.

We were fascinated by the upstairs living area, where most of the bedrooms are located. The layout is almost maze-like, with bedrooms and bathrooms connecting to each other but separated enough to give everyone privacy.

There’s also a separate guesthouse above the garage, a gigantic 1013 square foot studio with its own full kitchen, bath, laundry … and balcony with a view.

If nothing else, this house is something to see so you can dream about the possibilities. The street is narrow and they’ll have valets to help with the parking, but you can also park on a nearby street and walk.

Happy house hunting this weekend!

Money talk: $5,500,000 fee simple

Contact: Maria Hsu, Coldwell Banker Pacific Properties, 808-256-5555, MariaH@cbpacific.com