Big Island Real Estate Photographer, PanaViz has photographed many aspects of the 3,200 acre Mauna Lani Resort over the years.
Here, we showcase a glorious home within the Mauna Lani Estates. This home is a gracious showcase of resort life.
The simple luxury of this property is a fresh approach to relaxed resort life. The beautifully-crafted tropical design sits in harmony with surrounding fields of lava and the lush Mauna Lani landscape.
The spaces of the home flow from interior to exterior, and a Hawaiian respect for nature and the land ‘Aloha aina’ is evident in the thoughtful use of natural materials, natural light and natural ventilation.
Mauna Lani Resort
Mauna Lani Resort encompasses approximately 3,200 acres with over 3 miles of accessible oceanfrontage. Named one of the top luxury, eco-friendly resorts in the world, Mauna Lani is home to two upscale oceanfront hotels; the 350 room Mauna Lani Bay Hotel and the Fairmont Orchid Hotel, two 18 hole championship golf courses, Hawaiian spa and fitness club, tennis courts, a property owner’s beach club, Ancient Hawaiian fishponds, historic petroglyph fields, shopping, fine and casual dining.
As part of the Mauna Lani Resort community, this home gets to enjoy the amenities offered by the resort. It is conveniently located to the Mauna Lani Beach Club, golf course and numerous shops & restaurants.
COMPLEX AMENITIES:
Golf community centrally located
Private homes with pool & hot tub
Located within a mile from the Mauna Lani Beach Club
How to Photograph a Home for Awards Submissions – Our Approach
Maui based architect Marc Taron of Arquitectura reached out to Maui Real Estate Photographer, Dave Tonnes of PanaViz to photograph this custom home with the intent of submitting it for awards consideration. And it was a winner!
Sculptural Maui Home
How to Photograph a Home for Awards Submissions
Listen to your client. We find out elements are important to the the architect, design team and owners.
Photography Tools. Use appropriate architectural photography tools to capture these elements. For this home, we used a drone, elevated pole photography and standard interior/exterior photography equipment.
Trust the Photographers Eye. We try to capture all the elements that are important to our clients. But at the end of the day, Dave trusts his instinct and captures scenes and images that make sense to him. These images usually end up being the “hero” shots that end up getting published.
Take Your Time. We do not hurry these shoots. Images are captured over a period of time. Sometimes it takes a few days if weather is a factor. We spent and entire day, from dawn to nightfall, photographing this home.
Give Your Clients Lots of Image Choices. We gave the team a vast selection of images (130 images!) to choose from for their awards submission.
Get Ready for Exposure. If a home does win any awards, your images will be featured in magazines, newspapers, and end up on the covers of industry magazines.
The Story of the Award Winning Home by Maui Architect Marc Taron
The owners, Neil and Suzette Felder wanted their new home to be unique and creative, and to preserve the ocean view from off their property. They selected Marc, who is known for designing high-end homes with indoor-outdoor features that capture incredible views.
Dramatic and Different
Neil and I both wanted something very different, and it is. That was the vision.
Suzette, Homewoner
They ended up with a daringly different home which also harmonizes with its coastal surroundings.
An aerial view of the property shows off the home’s most enviable asset— its frontage to Keawakapu Beach.
Because the property is not subject to the confines of an association’s design guidelines, Taron was able to extend his creativity beyond the limits of some of his other projects. Taron’s first drawings were innovative, but not quite over-the-top enough for the Felders.
I was like, ‘All right, gloves are off, baby,’ and that’s when I started really coming up with something out of the norm.
Marc Taron
The Felders wanted to share the ocean view and have it become part of the home’s design.
At the top of the Felders’ wish list for their home was the ability to see the ocean through the house from the street.
Beachfront Home
“That’s really something,” Taron says, noting that many beachfront houses block the view due to their size and privacy barriers.
It’s clearly not Hawaiiana-style, but with its curves and simple forms, the house seems to blend into the lot.
Marc Taron, Architect
A tile walkway stretches across the reflecting pool, leading the homeowners from the mauka side of the property into their home.
Entering the home is an experience itself. From the garage, the Felders can walk along an elevated walkway into the second floor of the home or descend an open staircase to the lower level; or, they can ride a glass elevator.
Walls of windows supplied by Maui Windows & Doors allow the interior of the garage and the home itself to appear on display.
Taron designed the house to be modern, sculptural and open. The garage is at street level, and with its two walls of glass windows, the Felders’ Porsche appears to be on display.
From the street, an open stairway with LED lights beneath each tread leads to a tiled walkway over a reflecting pool. This is illuminated at night by a flickering starfield below the water’s surface, as though a reflection of the night sky.
Along the retaining walls, waterfalls pour into the reflecting pool, adding to the ambiance.
Inside, the home is completely open. The walkway leads into the great room, an open concept comprised of the kitchen, dining and living areas that extends to the second story of the home.
I look at the house itself as a piece of art, and that’s why it was important for the ocean to be a part of that artwork.
Neil, Owner
The two-story great room has two stories of windows, letting the owners see the ocean from anywhere in the home.
The Home is Super Open
The kitchen’s upper cabinets were color-matched to the green in the Amazonite quartzite countertop.
Kitchen and bath designer Cindy Tervola of Tervola Designs used a color palette drawn from the kitchen’s Amazonite quartzite countertop, a stone that Suzette really liked.
The modern kitchen has two-tone, flat-panel European cabinetry, mixing light green upper cabinets that were color matched to the countertop with high-gloss white lacquer, including matching panels for the Thermador appliances.
The master bath has both an outdoor and indoor shower, and the husband and wife each have their own floating vanity with under-cabinet LED lighting. Hers is shown here.
Through Fleetwood doors from Pacific Source that can be pulled completely open, the great room extends outside to the pool deck and lawn before reaching the beach and ocean beyond. The pool deck is partially shaded by a cantilevered lanai from the second floor, which also inspired the design of the home’s makai-facing exterior.
A support system was necessary for the cantilever lanai, and rather than use a column, Taron designed a sculptural, artistic arch that makes a bold statement. The arch extends from the pool up through the lanai to provide support, and then continues past a guest bedroom — which creates shade for the room — and crests above the roofline. Taron mimicked the shape of the arch throughout the home’s roof, with additional curves to represent a set of rolling waves.
The arch, which supports the cantilever lanai, has the added benefit of providing shade for this guest bedroom.
“It was ingenious,” Neil says of the structural arch, noting that it allows the rest of the area to remain completely open.
The owners spend most of their time on the ocean front side of the home.
Oceanview from the bedrooms.
The Felders spend most of their time on this side of the house, closest to the ocean but set back enough to enjoy the view from any part of their home. They never tire of it.
I’m always amazed at how beautiful it is. It’s so unique. It’s just beautiful.
Suzette, Homeowner
Awards and Publications
The hard work of the entire team was recognized. The home won accolades and generated many headlines and magazine stories.
Coastline Stone and Tile, Inc. (tile for interior and lānai) 1765 S. Kīhei Rd., Kīhei 808-879-0635 Rob@CoastlineStoneAndTileInc.com CoastlineStoneAndTileInc.com
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Dave Tonnes of PanaViz has photographed all sorts of very cool Hawaii homes. This particular home is very unique, and we wanted to share it with you.
Dave’s wife (me) and our daughter tagged along on this shoot. We were given a personal tour by the owners, who lovingly built this home.
Hobbit House with the Ko’alau Mountain Range Behind it
This magical home has become colloquially known by locals as “Hobbit House.” It is a whimsical abode that evokes Middle Earth in the midst of tropical Hawaii.
Close to Waimanalo Beach
It has a very desirable location, right across the street from Waimanalo Beach, which is consistently ranked as one of best beaches in the United States. It is located in South Western part of Oahu.
Hobbit House Exterior
It really is a storybook-style home with nooks and crannies with interesting detail all throughout.
This home was artfully designed by the owners, who themselves hand crafted many parts of the home.
Gorgeous Shingles
I particularly loved the cedar shingles arranged in layers on the roof to resemble waves. The home owner pointed out the shingles, and joked about his state of mind when he was putting it in!
The rustic 25-foot Ohia posts in the central foyer were flanked by lava rock.
Entry
Indonesian hardwoods, and a cantilevered staircase taking full advantage of ocean views.
Kitchen
The kitchen had so many interesting details, such as shells and rock fossils embedded in the counter-tops.
Living Area
One of the Bedrooms
Another one of the bathrooms
One of the bathrooms
Fruit trees flourish in the garden, and there’s an outdoor hot tub nestled in the lush foliage, along with a koi pond and water feature built into a rock wall.
Interior design photography can some times take a back seat in a big project. As an architectural photographer, I capture the big picture. I take aerial photographs that show the location, layout and overall structure of a building.
Then I focus on the facade and exteriors. I take photos from different elevations, vantage points and at different times of the day.
Then I move on to the interiors. I take photos of living areas, the kitchen and bedrooms and more. I keep the verticals vertical. I try to showcase the life that will be had in a space.
My photography shows the vision of the architect.
The team or person that makes a place hospitable and inviting is the interior designer. They pick the furniture and furnishings. They select the lights and fixtures. They procure and install works of art. They showcase the creativity of known and unsung artists. They select products that only live in obscure catalogs.
Focusing on the Small Details
We work with many such designers, and try to take some time to photograph the little details of their work.
Product Design Photography
Product Design Photography
We especially love it when they win industry awards with our photos. Cheers to the interior and exterior designers out there!
Hawaii Architectural Photographer, PanaViz provides photography services to hotels, resorts, commercial and residential real estate and luxury condominiums for lease in Hawaii and beyond.
Our clients include architecture firms, developers, interior design firms, architectural design firms, marketing agencies, retails chains, hospitals, interior decorators, senior living communities, healthcare organizations, and schools.
