Is this a new project or a remodel?? Have you started the building yet? Would love to see the progress.

Hey Melissa! This is going to be a new build. We'll be breaking the house down tomorrow, so updates will come on a regular basis! I'll be taking photos and filming tomorrow's demolition, so i'll post it up as soon as I get around to processing the footage. Check back to see our progress!

Framing is coming along. Windows and doors got delivered today! I'll be posting some update images shortly. Would really love some insight and ideas on how we should design the interior!

Wow how exciting. I remember visitng our lot when the foundation was being poured. It was a long wait and when we saw the foundation poured we felt like we were actually seeing progress. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Thanks for the comment, Lissa! I was starting to wonder if anyone was actually looking at this! We've made alot of progress in the past couple weeks, so I'll post an update now!

Oh my. It's going up so quickly. So quickly that I saw your first postings and now boom it's up. I love the most recent photos and the colors you've chosen. All the updated photos help me feel like I'm a part of this project. Keep 'em coming. I'm having trouble seeing detail in the plans but it looks like a great space. You bought all new appliances but are you buying all new furniture too? I think I read that you have some beautiful wood furniture. So are you tying into what you already have? What style is the furniture you are using? Have you chosen flooring yet? Is it wood or stone or carpet? That'll help determine what's going on top of it. Hope to see more updates soon.

Hey Anne! Thanks for the comment! We're happy with our color choices as well. We're keeping it safe and plan to accent with some great foliage. Still looking for landscape inspiration at this point. As we get closer to finishing each room, i'll do detailed shots of the plans, real photos and ask for lots of input for colors, furniture placement and design, so stay tuned! We bought all new appliances. We're going with an entire kenmore elite stainless package from the range, convection/micro range hood, refrigerator and washer/dryer. I'll post photos in an update! Appliances are being delivered to the house on Dec 20th. We're also purchasing new furniture and have been fortunate to find some great deals at design home over the past week. We do have an antique koa furniture set that my father purchased over 30 years ago. He mentioned that it was already over 30 years old when he purchased it. We have a couch, 2 chairs and matching side tables and a coffee table. They're in the process of being re-finished to retain the natural curly koa grain. We're also getting new cushions made so it should look very nice. We're going with wood in the front entryway and sitting room and in the hallway. We're going with a natural ceramic tile in the kitchen and carpet in the living room and throughout the rest of the house. I'll need lots of input over the coming weeks, so please comment back and leave your thoughts!! :-)

I'm staying tuned. If you have photos of your furniture and samples of your flooring, it'll help us see what tones you're going toward. Have you chosen counter tops yet? You can post photos of your samples. How about cabinets? Looking forward to seeing more photos.

i can post some photos of our furniture. we bought most of it at dezign home, as my girlfriend works there and we got a good discount! we'll be choosing out cabinets this weekend, which will in turn dictate counter tops. we're going with granite countertops and we're thinking a natural ceramic tile for the kitchen floor. we have a full stainless steel set of kitchen appliances so keep that in mind. will post up photos of finishes soon! they dropped our tubs in today and installed the starburst window over the stairwell. insullation and dry wall is being prepped so the inner walls are closing in within the next week 1/2.

Wow, so much progress. How exciting! This is looking like a home now. Are those interior paint color selections? The exterior paint color looks different from those paint chips? What color is your granite counter top? Looking forward to your updates.

Hi Lissa! They're actually in the process of putting on the siding. All the walls are closed up now and they're in the process of wiring electricals and lighting. Dry wall should start next week so walls are being insulated and closed up! We have a meeting with Island Home Building tomorrow to look at our cabinet and granite colors. I'll post some shots that I took today of the siding and close up shots of the roof shingle selections. Thanks for the comments!

*SIGH* This whole homebuilding thing puts a lot on your mind. So many decisions, which color goes where, which switch should do what. We're in the final month of building and we've got alot left to do. We're in the process of choosing cabinets and countertops, making flooring decisions and choosing colors. It's alot of fun, but can be very stressful at the same time! I have a couple updates on selections that I need some input on. Choosing the right cabinet/granite/ceramic tile combo for the kitchen and issues with the hallway arches. Stay tuned!

Just posted a bunch of updates from insulating the walls, completing siding, hanging dry wall and finishing the interiors. I'll need your help now more than ever with colors for each room, entry, etc. I have a few shots of furniture, wood floors, etc. that I can post. Help!

Hey Cathy! Thanks for the comment! I see you pass all the time here at the advertiser and I never had the chance to tell you that I'm a member of your community here! Thank you for the input on the color choices! We're really on the fence about using color. I'm a huge fan of bold colors and want to use color, but I'm afraid of how to use it and that it wont turn out so well. What would be the easiest way to present the rooms to get some help and input from everyone here? Room by room, rendered out in chief architect? Photos of the rooms? The rendering that I posted eariler with the odd transition from the hallway to the living room was just a test I did in cheif architect to see what an angled transition would look like. Since then, we've decided to go with carpet through the hallway and continuing to the living room. We're going with a burled cherry wood floor in the front entry/sitting room to create a warm, rich entry way and to combat against the high traffic and activity in the entrance. We also have a great antique koa furniture set that we're planning to keep in the front room, so it will have a nice, warm, rich appearance and compliment eachother. Again, i want to use color here, but dont know how to do it! >_< Hopefully everyone else can chime in and add their comments and input as well!

When I worked on my house I bought poster board and small samples of paint that I liked. I painted the boards different colors and hung them in different spots on the wall. After a few days I could tell which colors I thought would go well and which I thought would not. Remember to consider different lighting will effect color so leave the boards up during the day and night to get a good feel of the color. Hope this helps.

Ginger, Thanks so much for the input! Great idea on hanging the boards. Do you folks think it would be better to have our General Contractor, Atlas Construction, paint the walls with neutrals initially, then go back and figure out colors once furniture is set and in place? We'll need to put lots more thought into color and time is pressing as walls get painted in a few days. Help! :)

wd it be possible to see some of that furniture u're talking abt? it wd help us see your style preferences, since the photo of the kitchen above is ur architect's rendering. the finishes and color choices in the kitchen are fantastic, by the way, but they are a mix of warm and cool, and decidedly sleek and contemporary. is ur furniture of this style too?

Popeye, I will do an update with as many furniture photos as possible. My girlfriend works in the merchandising department at Dezign Home (now Rooms Hawaii) so we were able to get great deals on nice peices. Dezign recently changed branding and turned into Rooms Hawaii, on top of that, had to make room to accomodate the closing Slumberland store on Beretania, so they had a massive sale a few months ago. We scored. We chose the Guildcraft Allegra for our main sectional downstairs for a couple reasons. I like the mixture of textures with the leather arms and backing on microfiber and the colors are warm and rich. The Allegra can also be configured and broken up in a number of different ways which will work well in a space that may serve as a movie room, dining space and party space. I'll post a photo of the Allegra after I write this. For upstairs, we got a great deal on the DeCoro "Brooke" italian leather sofa and chair in blonde leather. It's a great looking and extremely comfortable. The leather and cushions are soft but supportive. I'm looking for a photo as the ones I have are wrapped up for storage. I also picked up a couple cool looking mod/contemporary chairs that can flank any room or serve as a cool corner peice. I have lots of great peices that can really make a room, so i'm happy with my purchases. We have lots of work to do on accessories but we'll probably take our time and build out each room instead of trying to rush and get it all in for our initial move in. Thanks again for the comment and I look forward to your input!

Hey Cathy, I bought your deluxe design kit at the BIA show and watched all 3 dvds. I have my style kit filled with inspiration photos, but it's so hard to coordinate the build, chase down change order details, switch placements and color selections and to be bound to a pretty tight building schedule. But no one said building a new home was an easy process! We demo'd the old house at the end of September and didnt start building until the first week of October, so it's only been a little over 3 months to soak all of this in, however, as a multimedia/web designer, I have a little bit of a handle on workflow and taking a blank "canvas" from concept to completion. This is alot tougher than designing a website, though! Thanks for bringing me back to knowing what my inspiration is. I have a particular style that I like and I know what I like when I see it, but with just a frame and no real "rooms" in place yet, it's hard to visualize what the space could be or what it will even look like when it's finished. I tried to build 3d mock ups in chief architect to visualize the rooms, but i'd much rather feel the space, walk around and swatch colors, experience the flow of the room and factor in natural lighting sources, functionality and how we'll use it in real life. Now that we finally got some walls up, the rooms are starting to take shape and I can see it coming together, but now it's crunch time to choose colors. I'll take your advice and come up with a pallette for the main areas that I am confident in and choose neutrals for the rest of the house. What would you say is a good neutral color that would work in general areas such as hallways, stairwell, etc? I dont want to go with a plain white and my fan deck has about 200 shades of white. Thoughts? Should I variate shades between rooms, or keep common areas consistent with eachother? Thanks again for taking the time to comment on my project! P.S. - Not sure if this was intentional, but maybe you could have your web developers honor the line breaks (<br>) that we're including in our comments? When we submit, everything gets squished together! Might make it easier to read. :-)

i'm back--in sync w/ u on the red accent wall behind the sofa. when i saw the piece, my first thot was a deep, burnt orange, but then i remembered ur cherry wood floors and cabinets and thot red wd tie in better, but that u really need a shade pulled from at least one other element in the room. i totally agree w/ c that w/ so many dark colors already, u really need to go w/ light neutrals on most walls to avoid a dark, oppressive feeling. that koa furniture is still throwing me. all ur other choices seem v sleek and contemporary. but ur entryway will be island? CATHY??!!

Hey Popeye! Probably more modern/contemporary... i guess just because it's koa wood, doesnt mean that it's automatically, island, eh? yeah, CATHY!!?? haha. The koa peices are very straight and it has a nice grain. No carvings of pele or orchids or anything like that. Let me find an example of that coral pattern! BRB.

Cathy, Great input. I agree with keeping the hallways simple. I appreciate the input on the color! I'll find a shade that will warm the hallway up while keeping it subtle. Makes sence as the hallway is sort of a "centerpeice" of the house, not only does it run through, but it connects the main entrance and front space with the main family room and kitchen. I want it to have a spacious feel that makes a welcome transition from room to room. It's got subtly elegant arches and recessed lighting throughout and it's also a little wider (4ft) than normal so I think i'll start with a base color there and try for some monochromatic shades for the other rooms that will compliment the hallway. I'll post up our swatches soon! - John

Hi JohnJohn! Nice job on the house... huge master bedrooms and pantry, I love it!! Thanks for sharing... as far as giving you any color advice... I got my own problems with our own house (hee hee). Being hawaiian and chinese Mom needs to decide which theme she wants and where she wants it. So far, our front entrance is chinese! Our house is pretty much done, but, now weʻre dealing with trying to match the old part of the house to the new part. Iʻll let you folks know when we decide to have a house-warming party! Love you all!! Laticia

Hey Laticia! :-) I heard your rennovation is already finished!? Awesome! Must be exciting! Yes, it's definately hard to edit your belongings! If you havent already had the chance to pick up Cathy Lee's DVDs, you should definately get them! Cathy shows you how to de-clutter, pick your inspiration, shop with focus and bring all of your ideas together, step-by-step! We were somewhat fortunate to be starting from the bottom up. This allowed some much needed cleaning and just letting go of all of that junk that has piled up over the years. Well, we chose our colors last night and sent them to our contractor. We tried to use color as best as possible by choosing colors that we were confident in and keeping with neutral tones that compliment each room. We used some of our furniture as inspiration and pulled from colors of the cushion and pillows, textures and fabrics. I'm working on a 3d rendering of each room with our color choices on the walls for everyone here to see. We ended up with about 12 different colors throughout. Most of them are monochromatic shades and variations with bright and bold accent colors for a couple rooms.

so u're working w/ a toned-down neutral palette accented by bold pops pulled from furniture and accessory colors? shd look fantastic. can't wait for photos once ur colors start going up.

Yep, the palette is fairly neutral, but has subtle tones that pull from the flooring, countertop and some of the furniture that we've already selected. I did choose a couple bold accent colors that I wanted to take a risk with. What the heck, if it doesnt work, I can always repaint it! :-)

Aloha John. Congratulations on building your new home. It's beautiful! I feel your excitement and sense of accomplishment. We're on nearly the same time line. Our house was demolished the first week in Oct/08 and as of today - interior painting done, cabinets installed and tile work, fixtures, flooring etc., to follow. The exterior paint is nearly done. It's nice to read everyone's comments, and thankfully we are heading in the right direction, plus I've learned some things too. No rush on my decisions, so long as it doesn't affect the construction progress. I'll accessorize with whatever colors that complement nature without being too eclectic. Since we have a neutral wall color, I'll use greens, espresso, black, yellow, red, sometimes go with seasonal colors. Then there's the living room furniture & window treatments - no decisions yet, at least you're making selections. But we did pick the dining table, to select a lighting fixture. No alarm system installed, I have to depend on the Samoan with the bat. Because of the beautiful mountain views from the living room window, nature has been my inspiration (so is the beach and golf) Who knows, I might just pitch a tent in the front yard so our new house stays new. Just joking of course. :)

Thanks for the comments, everyone! Yesterday we had our contractors open house where Atlas Construction can show off their work to clients and prospective clients wanting to take a look at their work. Our home was a good example of a multi-generational house that was built on a fairly tiny lot. We were able to create multiple spaces and create a place that we could entertain but is still functional. I'll be posting updates from painting, tiles/flooring and finishes shortly! Probably later today. If you are interested, come check out the house today from 10-4pm! 1316 17th Avenue Honolulu, Hawaii 96816 Ask for Rodney and tell them you're from RSVP Style and he'll show you around!

Hi John - We're sorry we missed the open house. With our Macy's event on Feb 19 and our $30,000 Style My Room contest, our office has been a flurry of activity. We've all been watching your project and would love to come by and take a look at the finished product. We're going into production of the Style My Room TV show to air the first week of June so keep us up to date with photos and hopefully we'll see your new home in person soon. Thank you for posting so that everyone can learn from your process.

Hey Kara! No problem on the open house. I'm sure you folks have been busy for the past 8 weeks with the contest and there's still alot left to do here. I havent updated since paint went on the wall and i'm due for an update very soon! Since my last update, we've had our open house, taken delivery on furniture, moved in and we're slowly settling into our new space. There are still a couple boxes here and there and the contractor is still finishing up a few punch-list items, but we should be totally finished within the next week or so. I'll need some input on accessories, window treatments and some accent furniture, so i'll be back soon. In the meantime, I have about 4 updates and several photos to share, that i'll be uploading soon. Thanks for all of your comments and congrats to the Agena family! John

We hope you'll post your update photos soon. Can't wait to see the finished project.

Hi...have you moved in yet? I was just looking through the photos and would love to see the finished home.

Hey Ginger! We've been so busy since we've moved in, I havent had a chance to post up finished photos! We've been in the house for a few months now and we're settled in. I'll make it a point to post an update of our furniture and decor choices. Thanks for staying tuned! JG