For years, architect Brandon Jørgensen and his wife, Katy, had dreamed of moving from California to Hawaii with their children. Katy’s side of the family had vacationed on the islands for generations, and her parents spent their honeymoon on the Big Island.

It took time for the couple find the right house—they started searching, on and off, in 2016—and that was before the multiyear renovation began.

In 2020, a friend alerted them to a historic prefabricated Lindal cedar home for sale in Waimea on the Big Island. Completed in 1968, the post-and-beam house had vaulted ceilings and glass walls that filled the interior with natural light. Whether inside the living room or out on the lanai, its hillside perch offered panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean and three volcanoes: Mauna Kea, Mauna Loa, and Hualālai.

The house had not been updated since its 1968 completion, and it needed work. “It was painted baby-poop brown. It was all chopped up inside. It had no yard. I mean, it was horrible,” Brandon recalls with a laugh. “And I was like, ‘This, is it!’ I immediately saw the potential.”

Hearing this, Katy adds, “I did not have the same enthusiasm.” But after they had searched for so long, she agreed to make a leap of faith. “We made an offer the very next morning,” Katy says.

Before: Exterior

For the first five weeks the couple, along with their children, Jack and Alexandra, and their dog, Scout, lived in the 2,243-square-foot home’s downstairs guest quarters, or ohana, while upstairs they repainted walls, sanded oak floors, and made the kitchen operable.

After: Exterior

Brandon and Katy named the house Pu‘uki 1.0, a play on the Hawaiian word for a small hill, pu‘u—although the sloping site meant there was little usable outdoor space. So, they excavated a portion of the hillside beside the house for a patio and accompanying kitchen with a fireplace, pizza oven, and Argentine grill. (Brandon and Katy love to cook together.)

After: Outdoor Kitchen

Brandon’s firm, Atelier Jørgensen, is known for precise, clean-lined house designs—he founded it after training under master Japanese architects Toyo Ito and Tadao Ando. Here, he embraced a more improvised approach, working with a small team of Tongan stonemasons to build a retaining wall and arrange the kitchen without any working drawings.

“It was all kind of by feeling,” Brandon says, “which turned out beautiful.”

Before: Guest Bathroom

After: Guest Bathroom

The completed retaining wall is eight feet tall and 40 feet long, and Brandon estimates that it incorporates 100 to 120 tons of stone. This outdoor kitchen and dining area, at a cost of over $200,000, became the project’s most expensive investment, but Brandon says it was worthwhile. “This became the hearth of the home, where our family gathers,” he says.

$1,000,000 Land	$225,000 Site Work	$12,360 Foundation
$9,825 Structural	$4,231 Drywall	$4,890 Lime Paint
$43,250 Flooring	$3,227 Hardware	$11,276 Electrical
$3,500 Plumbing	$1,008 HVAC Equipment	$82,472 Landscaping
$30,973 Kitchen & Bath Fixtures	$3,750 Lighting	$51,974 Cabinetry
$9,257 Concrete	$7,351 Steel	$14,567 Kitchen Appliances
$7,610 Windows & Glazing	$8,400 Doors	$12,083 Millwork
$10,053 Tilework	$154,082 Furnishings & Decor	$426,000 Labor
$46,860 General Contractor Fee	$391,788 Architect/Design Fee	$12,700 Demolition
$10,091 Waste/Debris Removal
Grand Total: $2,598,578

Inside, the couple gave the dated bathrooms new surfaces, fixtures, and cabinetry. To create more openness, they removed walls between the primary bedroom suite and the den, and between the kitchen, pantry, and living room.

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen

The kitchen renovation came last, nearly two years after move-in. “We just went back and forth: ‘No, I don’t like that. I want to get rid of this. I want to add that,’” Brandon recalls. In particular, he wanted to eliminate the kitchen’s interior posts (left behind after the wall was removed), and he hired a structural engineer to explore using steel or large glulam beams to create one uninterrupted space.

Before: Bedroom

After: Bedroom

“But it started growing and becoming chunky,” Brandon says of the support structure. And besides, “Katy was always pushing back, saying, ‘I love the post and beam. Just leave it alone.’ And sure enough, she was right. I think the posts ended up defining different spaces within the kitchen.”

To the couple’s surprise, Brandon found wood for their kitchen (and bathroom) cabinetry on a roadside. Driving past historic Parker Ranch outside Waimea, he spotted a pile of redwood planks being burned; they’d been part of century-old water tanks that were recently disassembled.

Before: Living Room

After: Living Room

“We screeched to a halt and begged them to stop the burn,” he says. “We were in shock.” They re-milled the wood, already charred in spots and branded with tank numbers, while deliberately retaining some of the imperfections.

After: Primary Bathroom

The couple favored longevity when choosing furniture and finishing the interiors. “My golden rule is that everything you touch and interact with should be an investment,” Brandon explains. “Furniture like the Eames chairs we believe we’re going to have forever, and they can be handed down. The redwood for the kitchen cabinets—the tactility and the importance of that story—to me that’s priceless. We cook so much that that the Wolf range was a worthwhile investment, and it has a lifetime warranty and a lifetime of use ahead of it.”

After: Exterior

They did economize when possible. Instead of the luxury Fleetwood sliding-glass wall they envisioned for the lanai, the couple went with an affordable alternative at the local home improvement store. The home’s wide-plank cypress flooring came at a deep discount.

Although the interiors include several noteworthy pieces of furniture, including a Modernica custom sectional sofa and an Eileen Gray glass side table in the living room, as well as original art by acclaimed artists like Mayumi Oda (known as the “Matisse of Japan”), the home’s eclectic and accessible vibe comes from family heirlooms and mementos.

After: Kitchen

The vintage Philippine mahogany tiki bar in the great room belonged to Katy’s grandfather when he commanded a military base in Okinawa just after World War Two. In the kitchen are framed restaurant menus from Brandon and Katy’s favorite haunts, and a Hawaii Court sign that used to stand near Katy’s great grandparents’ first house in San Jose, California.

“Everything that is hung on our walls has a story,” Brandon says.

After: Tiki Bar

For Katy and Brandon’s family, the hillside house offers an ideal oasis. At approximately 3,000 feet above sea level, it’s often cooler and rainier than one expects for Hawaii, allowing them to build a fire and feel cozy. Yet a warm afternoon on the beach is just a 10-minute drive down the hill.

Rain or shine, this home’s covered lanai, extending along the living room and primary bedroom, is an ideal spot to enjoy it all—especially sunsets, which they never miss. “We just love the yin and yang of that environment,” Brandon adds. “And I think as a family, we’ve developed a deep connection with Hawaii.”

More Budget Breakdown stories:

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Their $98K Los Angeles Basement Reno Came In at More Than Double What They Planned

They Redid a Ruined Home in Italy for €380K—and They’d Do It Differently Next Time

Project Credits:

Architect of Record: Atelier Jørgensen / @atelierjorgensen

Interior Design: Kathryn Jørgensen, Atelier Jørgensen

Builder: Steven W. Melling Construction

Landscape Design: Blasen Landscape Architecture

Stone Masonry: Rock Solid Masonry