A short, steep, and winding road separates Mount Tantalus (Puʻu ʻŌhiʻa) from urban Honolulu—but it is a world away. Designated a forest preserve in the early 20th century, the range has been minimally developed. Thick with undergrowth and canopied by ironwood, guava, pine, and a variety of Hawaiian flowering trees, it gets 160 inches of rain per year compared to Waikiki’s 30.

Interior designer Ginger Lunt knew the tight-knit neighborhood would be peaceful and beautiful, the ideal environment to live and to launch her design practice, aptly named Tantalus Studio.

Before: Exterior

Ginger defines the original home, built in the early 1950s, as “midcentury–meets–Hawaiian plantation style.” The clean, straight-line design suited her, and she appreciated the way it merged with the landscape, its various open-air elements highlighting its lush gardens and stunning views of the island.

To recreate the original charm and character of the exterior, Ginger studied old photographs. “The previous owners had a large collection of documents, drawings, sketches, and invoices from the original construction,” she says. These not only helped with the renovation, but gave Ginger a lot of “reverence and respect” for the existing design.

Subject to relentless rainfall and moisture, the home’s exterior had deteriorated and required substantial maintenance and retrofitting. The railing on the upper deck had to be completely redone, and the electrical systems were outdated. The floors, while in good condition, required refinishing, and the sliding doors and windows needed to be removed to be completely retrimmed.

“As with most older homes, the more you work on a home, the more problems you uncover,” notes Ginger.

The garden had become unruly, blocking the house—and the views." layout="" credit="Add credit" photoUserId=""/>

After: Exterior

The team painted the house white and repaired the brick patio, and while Ginger adored the garden’s “wild beauty,” they made sure that greenery left plenty of space for sophisticated socializing in the renovation.

Before: Living Room

Ginger appreciated the home’s simple floor plan and ample windows. “It really works well for my lifestyle,” says the designer, who established her studio in 2018 and works from home. “The warm breezes, birdsong, and natural light are all wonderful to work around.” Nonetheless, the spaces still needed to be streamlined.

Case in point: Though the previous owners had opened up the enclosed, ’50-style kitchen on the first floor to create a flow with the open living and dining areas, the rooms felt dim and cramped.

After: Living Room

“When I am surrounded by too much clutter and busyness, it affects my state of mind, especially when I sit down to work and design,” says Ginger. With this in mind, she designed the interior to be warm but minimal, juxtaposing a “relaxed, Hawaiian home style” with midcentury details.

She painted everything a calming white and brought in choice pieces from her existing collection of clean-lined, unobtrusive furnishings: “I was very thoughtful about what I brought with me, and tried to pare it down to pieces that I really cared about.”

Before: Flooring

The original hardwood floors, dulled by years of use, were virtually unseen, hidden beneath extensive built-ins and unstylish rugs.

After: Flooring

Editing rugs, removing built-ins, and refinishing the wood allowed the floors’ striking depth of color and warm tones to shine. “It’s one of my favorite elements of the house,” says Ginger of the downstairs hardwood, koa.

Upstairs, the floors are dark-stained Douglas fir and now, lightly refinished, they give an almost black contrast to the fresh white walls.

Before: Sitting Room

By removing screens and other distractions, Ginger refocused the sitting room on the rough, distinctive lava rock fireplace. She also emphasized its Hawaiian character with two island-themed pieces of art and brightly colored flowers from the garden.

In archival photos of the home, the lava rock fireplace was a monumental presence, but by the time Ginger moved in, it had nearly disappeared into the outdated interiors, hidden behind both the TV and fire screen." layout="" credit="Add credit" photoUserId=""/>

After: Sitting Room

The rock’s jagged surface provides a welcome textural contrast to the highly polished floor. The surfer painting on the left is by Harry Daily, and the pen-and-ink on the right is by Nick Black. " layout="" credit="Photo by Mariko Reed" photoUserId="6133438715948589056"/>

Shop the Look

Ginger’s art collection, much of it ocean-themed and by local artists, makes this home uniquely Hawaiian throughout. “I love collecting artwork, ceramics, and interesting objects, and often move them around from one area of the house to another,” she says, “trying different combinations but always trying to keep their placement and groupings thoughtful.”

Before: Brick Fireplace

After: Brick Fireplace

Painted white, screen removed, and decorated with just a few pieces of art, the brick fireplace looks fresh, and acts as the perfect textural foil to the glossy floors and the leafy view beyond. A photograph by Wayne Levin and a small painting by Peter Shepard Cole create a thoughtful vignette on the mantel." layout="" credit="Photo by Mariko Reed" photoUserId="6284810717197438976"/>

Before: Kitchen

After: Kitchen and Dining Area

Ginger made the kitchen a seamless part of the dining and living rooms. She painted it in the same clean white, focused on its windows, and hid the appliances behind a tall, simple counter.

Ginger selected furniture with an overall attractive form, knowing that the open floor plan would make each piece visible from all angles. “All my objects and artwork in the house remind me of certain people or times in my life,” says Ginger. “I have paintings by my tutu [grandmother] which I treasure—one is in the dining room of a surfer on the West Side.”

After: Bedroom

More Before & After stories:

A New, Open Plan Irons Out the Kinks of a Semicircular Home in L.A.

Confetti-Like Brick and a Secret Passageway Bring Whimsy to a Melbourne Edwardian

Project Credits:

Interior Design: Ginger Lunt, Tantalus Studio / @tantalus_studio

Also Appears In

Before & After: A Honolulu Midcentury Becomes a Designer’s Vivacious Home and Studio