Open House Pick of the Week: This $2M Mānoa Home Has Really Nice Floors
This week's open house pick is a fully renovated home in Mānoa, which offers convenient and efficient living.
A few years ago, I visited a home in Mānoa that had been on the market a few months. It held appeal for multi-generational families with lots of living area and a nice-size yard. Well, that home was purchased in April 2012, and the Chows fell in love with its similarity to San Francisco homes, the high ceilings, and the seclusion of the flag lot and larger parcel in Mānoa.
“We knew we wanted to do a partial renovation, but it turned into the whole house. Looking back, we're happy we evaluated and changed every part of the house. The house is a more cohesive product, we see quite a few houses where one owner does part of a renovation, the next owner does another, and often times with different budgets it ends up not matching,” the Chows say.
The 3,220-sq. ft. home was renovated by architect Darrell Welch in 2013, now more of a modern home with an artistic entry, high ceilings, a spacious living room, a media room, a kitchen with expansive granite counters, air conditioning, a new roof, Ethernet and security camera, and a full bath in all four bedrooms.
One thing that all readers will appreciate: Welch insulated an exposed beam in the roof that acted as a heater for the whole house. The Chows added higher awning windows so hot air would rise and escape from the house. They replaced all the windows and took advantage of the general wind direction, then added awnings to bring cool air in. So, in times like the past few weeks, where it’s been oppressively hot, the Chows don’t need to use the backup air conditioning because the natural air flow keeps them cool.
I could keep going on what the Chows did to make their home more livable, with more convenient and efficient features, the more stylish rooms, LED lighting, and added security. They even configured the media room so families could entertain, with the kids watching movies while the parents talk story ― but with a line of sight to be able to check on them without walking all the way over. The materials used are unique, even a special granite from Brazil called “Molokai.”
You can see what it looked like before, here (free sign up required). For more information, click here, but it’s probably better if you see the house yourself this Sunday, Sept. 21, from 2 to 5 p.m.
Happy house hunting!
Money talk: $2,018,000 fee simple
Contact: Shu-Hui Ko, Sue Ko, Realtor, 808-384-4610, suekuo8@gmail.com
