the liljestrand house by ossipoff in hawaii: tour continues with bedrooms (part 2)

The magnificent Liljestrand House tour continues. In the last post, we showed the house at street level, and saw the living room, the dining room and the magnificent kitchen. Part Two of the tour is the bedrooms. The final post is the downstairs rec room and the beautiful landscaping.

First we need to exit the kitchen through a little hallway room.

I am not entirely sure what this room is and forgot to ask. Potentially a bar. It kind of has that bar feel and has entryways into the kitchen and into the front hall area. Or maybe an off the hall mud shoe room. I have always wanted one of those. (Bob sent me a clarification -- this is a bar. Of course it is.)

As you exit the kitchen, you pass by some tall beautiful cabinets. Pop them open, and viola!

A beautiful stereo set with built in cabinets and record storage. Bob showed us an old fashioned playlist.

Bob explained how his parents stacked up sets of records that they liked to hear in order (like for a party), and put them on the spindle to drop in one by one. Bob has the records stacked in the order his parents liked to enjoy the music. The record stacks are in little drawers immediately behind Bob. You can kinda see one pulled out.

And down the hall we go. Look up towards the ceiling on the right. You can see long drawers sticking out. These are really open air vents designed to take advantage of the Hawaiian currents, essentially for flow. The whole back side of the house is open to the ocean view, and catches the breezes. This side helps with breeze flow.

First room on the left is a TV viewing room with a traditional shoji screen door all hand-crafted by the Japanese woodworkers.

Balcony connects all the bedrooms.

Small powder room adjoining.

The Jack and Jill bedrooms are next. These are two bedrooms that are connected by a shared bathroom. Each room had built in bunk beds for the children (a room for two girls and a room for two boys). When the kids moved out, the bunk beds were removed and the rooms reconfigured for studies or guests which is what we see today.

Desk with memories in one of the bedrooms.

The Liljestrands loved to travel and collect.

Built in drawers in one of the kids' rooms.

The children's bathrooms were not over the top. Pretty practical. In general I really loved that the children were not overly spoiled. Not only did they share bedrooms, but all four shared a bathroom which is a far cry from today where it is practically standard for each kid to have his own room with an en suite bathroom. And, without saying too much, given the location of this home and attention to detail, I have a feeling if Mrs. Liljestrand had wanted more bedrooms and bathrooms, she certainly could have had them.

Outstanding mosaic tile.

Magazine layout from the House Beautiful July 1958 Pace Setter home article showing what the boys and girls rooms really looked like.

Here is the second bedroom today.

The Master!!! 

The best for last. This may be the best master bedroom I have been in. And that includes any McMansion out there. Let me point out why. First, wrap around windows with views of the harbor and sliding glass doors.

Custom furniture including a king-size platform bed.

Daybed with cool little desk made of the same Mokeypod wood found throughout the home.

View of the kids bedrooms' balcony from the master.

A view of the master looking in from the balcony. The paneling is redwood, painted white and kind of rubbed off. The ceilings are made of Canec which is a sugarcane material, the residual that remains after the sugar is extracted. Look at the angle of the bed slightly turned towards the view and the small desk just behind it. This home has small desks tucked everywhere.

View of the day bed from the sliders.

 Reading nook right next to the master. Another custom Monkeypod table.

The master bath is opulent, even for the day, but oh so tasteful. The light above is an element we used in our new bathrooms too.

Toilet tucked away discreetly.

Fabulous sink area. No wasteful double sinks.

Bath with a tropical view.

I don't have notes on the bathroom counters. They look to be Formica but could have been polished wood. (An email from Bob: these are polished monkey pod. How beautiful!)

I love this burgundy mosaic shower.

View of the bath and the sink.

Bathroom cabinet with trays, probably for Betty's cosmetic items.

 Mrs. L's dressing and makeup table.

 

Good light to put on makeup.

Mrs. Liljestrand's pull down ironing board was adjacent. Extra long board for gowns and short board for sleeves. She also had a wall pull down ironing board in her laundry room. I have been pining away for a pull down ironing board my whole life and she had two. Smart lady.

Tucked behind Mrs. L's dressing table is a cozy little office for Mr. L. Ship shape and tidy. The pins in the bulletin boards are hypodermic needles. A little doctor humor perhaps.

Poor picture of a neat raised relief map of Hawaii. And an encyclopedia below. Remember, before Google?

Loved the custom cabinet handles and hardware throughout.

Bob told a story about the railing outside the bedroom. Mrs. L. had a vine (perhaps Wisteria) that covered every inch of this beautiful rail, and drooping onto the patio below. Bob eventually oversaw the removal of the vine and the restoration of this railing which, as you can imagine, was trashed by the vine. But I bet it looked really pretty. Back in the day.

Bedroom view. Waikiki.

Another bad picture of a picture taken by me of a picture. This is Howard Liljestrand and Vladimir Ossipoff. Bob said they remained friends ever after the home was built. Architects and clients can't always say that.

A press release for an exhibition by the Honolulu Academy of Arts featuring Ossipoff in 2007:

At the forefront of the postwar phenomenon known as tropical modernism, Vladimir
Ossipoff (1907–1998) won recognition as the “master of Hawaii modern architecture.”
Born in Russia and raised in Japan, Ossipoff was instrumental in transforming the built
landscape of Hawaii from a territorial plantation outpost to a modern U.S. state. While
prolific, with more than 1,000 completed projects, he was critical of overdevelopment
and recognized the need for sustainable design as early as the 1960s.

I like this little film clip for the exhibit as well which features both Ossipoff and one of his daughters speaking.

Related Posts:

• Liljestrand House Hawaii by Ossipoff Part 1
• Liljestrand House Hawaii by Ossipoff Part 2
• The Liljestrand House by Ossipoff Part 3
• Mid-Century Modern Oahu, Hawaii? Seriously?