Part one of the tour was the living room, dining room and kitchen. The kitchen was magnificent. And Part two of the tour was all the bedrooms with the creme de la creme being the master. Our final section of the tour is the amazing downstairs rec room and the landscaping. Here we go!
Bob Liljestrand, the son of Betty and Howard Liljestrand (the original builders and owners of the home), gave us the tour. The stairs down to the rec room were carefully constructed and quite aesthetically pleasing.
Bob said the railing on the right was added when Ossipoff's own mother slipped on the stairs at a party. Aren't these the prettiest stairs you have ever seen?
You are confronted with a large space that runs the span of the house. It contains various seating arrangements, a billiard table and a ping pong table and has both an indoor lounging space and another area that opens up completely to the outside.
Desk area and recliner chair right next to the stairs. Do you love the bright yellow and orange on the cabinets. Pure Ossipoff.
Polished deep brown concrete floor.
Notice how the beams are painted different colors. The bright yellow and orange theme is again all Ossipoff.
There were several of these little lounge seating nooks. Apparently, back in the day, Ossipoff had alternated the back brick colors in bright colors (brown, yellow and orange). After Ossipoff's death they got toned down to brown and orange. Bob thinks that was his fathers doing as his Dad was never sold on the bright wall colors. We would love it today. Ossipoff was ahead of his time for sure.
A bar is tucked away at the end with a piece of fabulous art.
More guest seating or sleeping. And the art again. Ah, the art.
A model was constructed for the Ossipoff exhibit, of the Liljestrand House. The model is tucked under what would have been another fireplace if Ossipoff had constructed it. For some reason, this wasn't finished. It probably wasn't necessary and Ossipoff was never particularly proud of his poorly venting fireplaces (says Bob).
Another little private office tucked at the end of this space. Bob and Trudy (the House Manager) use this space to run the house and also curate its contents and papers.
An array of all the publications the house has been in.
This is the book, Hawaiian Modern: The Architecture of Vladimir Ossipoff (Honolulu Academy of Arts)
, that Dean Sakamoto served as a primary editor on and in which the Liljestrand House is prominently feature. Dean was on the tour with us which was interesting as well. I looked for the book on Amazon but, alas, it is out of print and carries a steep price.
The secret basement room with every single piece of paper, drawing and correspondence related to the creation of this home cataloged and kept very dry. Bob says that one of the reasons this home is great for architectural students is that the students can review and study the creation of this home from inception to completion via the detailed paperwork Bob's parents preserved.
Gratuitous cat shots. I always have to get a few in. One kitty lives at the house and one was visiting with Trudy (House Manager).
Now for the fabulous outdoor shots.
Here is the back of the house. Upstairs are the bedrooms, and downstairs is the rec room.
Traditional kidney shaped pool with beautiful blue mosaic tile.
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| Photo by Albert. |
Upstairs balcony area.
Patio off kitchen goes on forever. Look at the view. The house easily can seat 30 people for dinner at various tables on the first floor.
Looking from kitchen to living room area. Nice wide eaves, easy to walk between areas of the house from the outside without getting wet.
Corner deck seating coming to a sharp point.
Under corner deck.
Chimney. Cool material!
Million dollar view.
Diamond Head in the distance.
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| Photo Credit to Albert. |
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| Photo by Albert |
Vladimir Ossipoff ran a constant war on ugliness in Hawaii. In everything he designed and built, he won.
Dean Sakamoto put together a retrospective of Ossipoff work for the Honolulu Academy of Arts. You can see his thoughts on Ossipoff here.
Wow, what a house. And what a privilege to walk through the home with Liljestrand's son Bob leading the way and having Dean Sakamoto, the curator of the only Ossipoff exhibit, trailing behind. It was only towards the tail end of the tour that I figured out what Dean's role in all of this was.
And now I can spell and pronounce Ossipoff and Liljestrand with nary a double check.
To tour the house, to learn of other ways that you can
use the house, or to help support the Liljestrand Foundation, please
contact (808) 537 3116 or email LiljestrandHouse@aol.com. Many thanks to Trudy for arranging our visit and for Bob's detailed and fascinating tour.
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Its simply stunning! Thanks for the virtual tour.
ReplyDeleteThe actual tour was just delightful. Glad to have conveyed that!
DeleteI dooo love those stairs. What a gorgeous house. What a treasure. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI was drawn to the stairs and kept wandering back to see what other angles would look good in photos.
DeleteWow! What a great tour to be able to get. Thanks for sharing. My fiance and I are going to Hawaii in August (honeymoon) - if only we could score a tour like that. :D
ReplyDeleteYou never know! August is a great time to visit Hawaii.
DeleteKudos to you (and Albert) for the photography. The views are magnificent--and very envy-inducing.
ReplyDeleteI have been in many mid-century houses. The Liljestrand House will forever be a favorite.
DeleteThat is such an interesting house, with so many unusual features. It's absolutely gorgeous.
ReplyDeleteMany of the unusual and practical features come from Betty, the mistress of the house. I kind of admire her and her design sensibility.
DeleteThis may be the most amazing house I have ever laid eyes on. I love everything about it. The outlook from the guest bedroom is sensational and the under the house area is fantastic - rumpus etc. Thanks you so much for taking, and showing us all these amazing photos Rebecca. I have thoroughly enjoyed it. : )
ReplyDeleteWhile attending the Universtiy of Hawaii summer session in 1967, I had the pleasure and honor of living with Dr. Liljestrand, Eric and Wendla in this exquiste home on Tantalus Drive. (Mrs. Liljestrand spent a good part of that summer on the mainland.) I would attend classes in the AM, return home to study, grocery shop and clean the house. I worked a few hours each week at Dr. L's Aiea clinic/hospital. My favorite room was the kitchen with all the stations, especially the sewing closet and pantry. I learned to bake my first pecan pie for the family from Mrs. Liljestrand's recipe. The pictures of their home bring back so many memories. The photos of the furniture, art, vinyl music space, colors and modern home architecture still stand up in time today in contrast to our present homes of this new century. My bedroom that summer still contained all the built-ins and bunkbeds. I remember they also had a ground level trampoline for their family...I thought it was so neat to be able to walk from the grass onto the trampoline and jump with the views of Diamond Head and Waikiki in the distance. Coming from Cleveland, Ohio, living in a100+ year old Century Home built by my ancestors, made this summer on Oahu and 3300 Tantalus Drive, a cultured study in modern Hawaiian architecture and Island living. Thank you for giving this landmark home it's due in today's published and digital media.
ReplyDeleteMarcia, thank you so much for your comment. I could really imagine how even a young college student was able to really appreciate living in this beautiful home. It was such a pleasure to visit and photograph. What a treasure. I am glad it is being preserved.
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