| September 2018 7
Custom Cabinetry • Doors • Windows • Countertops • Closet Systems
326-9585 • Fax: 326-2742
73-5573 Kauhola Street, Kailua Kona, HI 96740
www.roylambrechtwoodworking.com
than strangers. He pulled out a cocktail napkin
at his bar and said, let’s design your house. We
completed the house in 1996.”
All the woodwork in the home consists of
solid koa sourced from McCandless Ranch in
South Kona. The centerpiece of the home, the
enormous cocktail bar features a solid granite
countertop measuring 23 feet around with
no seams. Mike hand cut and milled the koa
himself for the bar, cabinets, doors, frames,
trim, archways, bathroom vanities and
more. The boxes for the koa kitchen cabinets
are made of marine-quality plywood threequarter
inch thick and clad with a special
laminate veneer.
When it came time to source the granite for
the home, Rusty’s budget was starting to
wear thin. Fortunately, a friend from North
Hollywood owned a granite company.
“Jacob flew over to my house in Kona and
measured everything,” said Rusty. “Then he
went back to his shop in LA, fabricated all of it
and packaged it in giant crates. He even sent
his crew over to install it. I think I wound up
paying only $13,000 for all the granite.”
The home’s spacious interior includes 8-foottall
doors and six-inch-thick walls. One of the
beams is an incredible 45 feet long. For the
interior entry, Rusty came up with the idea of
building half walls made of smooth lava rock
and concrete for a vintage Hawaiian look. A
pair of 700-year-old ceramic fu dogs stand
sentry at either wall. “They are for good luck
and they guard the house,” said Rusty.
In addition to his collection of Hawaiian art by
Frank Oda, Tip Freeman, and Ted Mundorff, Rusty
displays his Uncle Bob’s World War II memorabilia.
An acclaimed fighter pilot, Captain Robert M.
DeHaven downed 14 enemy planes in the Pacific
and later became Howard Hughes’ personal pilot.
“I have a Japanese battle flag that he acquired,” said
Rusty. “It’s a silk ‘rising son’ flag with the names of
the soldiers in the battalion.”
Outside the front door, two large wooden
tikis came from the venerable Captain Bean’s
dinner cruise boat. Rusty recalls being able
to see Captain Bean’s from his lanai every
night as it cruised down the coast. On the
makai side of the property, Rusty grows about
two acres of Kona coffee he calls Heavenly
Splendor.
“Mom loved this place and called it Heavenly
Splendor in Hawaiian,” said Rusty. “I had a
plaque made for her house right before she
passed away.”
/www.roylambrechtwoodworking.com
