My Houzz: New York Chic and Laid-Back Hawaiian Style on Maui

The first time Sarah Schmidt came to Hawaii on vacation was 15 years ago. At the time, she says, “I thought to myself, ‘I could live here,’ and I almost quit my job,” Schmidt says. It wasn’t just the welcome break from her high-stress job on Wall Street in New York City. Schmidt spent her childhood in the Bahamas, so she was no stranger to the laid-back island lifestyle. Her return trips to Hawaii sparked her love of windsurfing and a deeper desire to live more simply. In Maui she felt a connection to nature and the ocean-loving community and knew this was the place she wanted to call home.

She purchased a 1,000-square-foot cottage on 3 acres of lush land in Makawao, on Maui’s North Shore, with plans to use it as a vacation rental. But as she worked long distance with architectural designer Linda Lange and general contractor Todd Boyd, she decided to change the focus from vacation rental to full-time home. The decision was made easier by her budding romance with Boyd.

“The scope of the project changed once I decided to live in the house with Todd,” she recalls. “I really poured my heart and soul into it!” The result is a cohesive blend of city and island that is a perfect fit for the couple.

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Sarah Schmidt, Todd Boyd of Todd Boyd Homes, and Charles the cat
Location: Makawao, Maui, Hawaii
Size: 1,000 square feet (93 square meters); 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

The new house required considerable efforts to transform it into a comfortable, light-filled home. They opened up the interior space by eliminating one of the three bedrooms. Working alongside Boyd, Schmidt selected everything — each paint color, finish, appliance and piece of furniture. “It was a typical remodel at first, then next thing you knew, we tore it apart,” she says. “Todd ripped the house down to the studs: Every door was moved; every light fixture was changed; the plumbing was replaced; insulation was installed, as well as solar attic fans.”


A 500-foot-long driveway leads to the cottage, which sits on a “flag lot” in the gated subdivision. Boyd kept the roof but changed the latticework on the ground level. He also planted fruit trees around the property, including tangerines, Valencia oranges, grapefruits, avocados, mangos and a stunning white shower tree.

Lap siding: HardiePlank painted Green Blue (top) and Stiffkey Blue (bottom), Farrow & Ball





An out-of-the way corner of the great room is home to an antique desk from a thrift store in New York. The foo dogs were found at the same store, and the painting was done by a friend of Schmidt’s from college, contemporary artist Marlena Chumo.


The open kitchen exemplifies the attention to detail that was paid to the entire remodel. “Sarah was adamant about white marble countertops,” Boyd says. After an extensive search, Boyd came across two slabs of Italian white statuary marble — a rare find in the Hawaiian Islands — at Central Maui Baseyard. The finished marble was used throughout the home, from the kitchen island and countertops to the bathroom floors and the coffee table top.

In addition, “Sarah wanted the whitest white we could find for the cabinets and drawers,” says Boyd. The result is a light-filled space.

Countertop fabrication: Nvs Stone Fabrication; cabinets: Bellmont 1600s series, Icon, Pacific Source


The original structure featured vaulted ceilings. Boyd installed tongue and groove wood paneling to brighten the space. The floors throughout are Brazilian hardwood.

For a clean and modern look, Schmidt selected injection-molded polycarbonate chairs. “Because of the damp climate, I didn’t want anything with cushions,” she says.

Chairs: Charles Ghost Stool, Design Within Reach; refrigerator: Sub-Zero and Wolf


Schmidt found herself researching stoves on Houzz and fell in love with La Cornue’s, but “they were just too expensive,” she says. “I wanted two ovens, but I only had a certain amount of space. Todd and I discovered the Lacanche French ranges showroom in Manhattan. The stoves come in 25 different colors — we chose French Blue Enamel. Each one is made to order in France.”

Beverage center: KitchenAid; dish drawer: Fisher & Paykel


Light-colored walls also keep the kitchen space light and airy. The island is new. “I wanted an island that we could also eat at in case it’s too windy or buggy outside,” Schmidt says. Above the island hangs a rectangular pendant in polished nickel. That and the stainless steel kitchen sink give the room an industrial vibe.

Wall paint: Skylight, Farrow & Ball; pendant: Roark, Ralph Lauren Home; kitchen sink: Kohler


In the great room, adjacent to the kitchen, a flat-weave rug in indigo and chambray adds a touch of coastal charm. Schmidt found the couch at a thrift store in New York and had it reupholstered. The coffee table is an antique. Almost all of the furnishings were in Schmidt’s Manhattan apartment and arrived to Hawaii in a 40-foot-long shipping container.

Though the couple lost a bedroom in the remodel, they realized that outdoor living and entertaining were tops on their list. Patio doors lead to a 500-square-foot lanai, where the couple gravitates to dine and entertain friends. It features a glass window on the northwest side to protect them from Maui’s trade winds.

Rug: Cameron Stripe, Ralph Lauren Home; coffee table: One Kings Lane; sliding patio doors: Fleetwood Windows and Doors


The landscape painting that hangs on the living room wall is by artist Jason Monet. Schmidt had seen his work when she was in Bali.


She topped the side table base, by Julian Chichester, with a slab of marble.

White chair on the right: Kelly Wearstler, One Kings Lane; wall sconces: Aerin


Boyd carved out a nook in the wall to house the 50-inch flat-screen television. “We made that wall extra thick and framed it underneath,” he says. The antique coffee table is from the Bahamas.


Schmidt furnished the entire space with family pieces, artwork, colorful textiles and artifacts discovered during her travels.

Pendant: Hampton, Aerin


“That cool wooden sign came off my dad’s catamaran from the 1960s,” Schmidt says. “He kept the sign his whole life. He had it in New York and in the Bahamas at his resort on Harbor Island.” The sign was originally made by Roddy Choy. “Nai’a” is the Hawaiian word for “porpoise.”


The guest bathroom was inspired by the posh penthouses of Manhattan. The Caesarstone counter in Piatra Grey was originally intended for the kitchen island.

For a touch of drama, Schmidt painted a raw-wood mirror from Bali a vivid orange-red. The sleek wall sconce above is Robert Abbey’s Chase Bath Strip, from YLighting.


“Ikea’s Maskros pendant lamp makes a cool pattern on the wall at night,” Schmidt says.


The dark walls and 1-inch by 2-inch glass subway mosaic tiles contrast with the light colors found throughout the rest of the house, while white fixtures and accessories add a crisp, nautical touch.

Shower, bathtub: Tea-for-Two, Kohler; showerhead: Grohe; shower curtain: linen, One Kings Lane; toilet: Toto; tile: Slate Grey, Ann Sacks; wall paint: Down Pipe, Farrow & Ball


Built-ins maximize the space in the guest bedroom. Schmidt says, “It was a bay window before, with no cabinetry. Originally, our architect designed the built-in to float and the drawers were more equal in size, which was too contemporary for me. I wanted it to feel clean and timeless.”

She had the chair reupholstered in raw silk with navy velvet piping.

Hardware: Italian brushed nickel, Gruppo Romi





The red tray is from HomeGoods. “I took it to an auto body shop and asked them to spray it in glossy apple red,” Schmidt says. The amethyst vase is from her travels to the Czech Republic. The painting is by Laura Owens.


The guest room includes other personal touches. “My mom found the cool monkey fabric in West Palm Beach, Florida, and we made curtains and a tiny pillow to match,” Schmidt says. An antelope shag rug found on eBay has a bit of eccentric flair.

Wall paint: Oval Room Blue, Farrow & Ball; bed: Weego Home; linen: Pratesi


The 10-foot ceilings are painted Skylight by Farrow & Ball. “We wanted to set off the molding a bit and soften the room,” Boyd says.

The black and white photograph, titled “Morning Girl” (North Shore, Hawaii, 1959), by Grant Rohloff, was a gift to Boyd for his 40th birthday. He says, “The photo is the same one that hangs in the Paia Fish Market, and I fell in love with it long ago.”

Wall sconces: YLighting


The master bedroom has ocean views across the tall cane grass. The walls are the same shade of blue as in the guest room, but other touches vary, including the jeweled chandelier and the window covering. Schmidt came across the white duck canvas shade lined in black with the perfect dimensions and style on the online consignment shop Chairish, for $100.

Wall paint: Oval Room Blue, Farrow & Ball; chandelier: Audrey, Canopy Designs, ABC Carpet & Home


The antique 19th-century bed frame was Schmidt’s parents’ from the Bahamas. “They found it in an old abandoned house,” she says. Two Italian Murano glass wall sconces from New York flank the bed.

The wooden nightstand is also an antique. Above the bed hangs an enlarged X-ray of a chrysanthemum, from Fred Segal in Los Angeles.


“The goal was to maximize my closet space!” Schmidt jokes about her design for the closet. “I wanted to make sure the doors opened out instead of sliding across.”

Closet doors: Pacific Source; hardware: Emtek


Another tropical scenic painting by Balinese artist Jason Monet hangs in the master bedroom.


“I’ve always liked a white bathroom,” Schmidt says. “We wanted the color to flow with the Italian white statuary marble counters and floors,” Boyd adds. He made the large wall mirror to go with the rest of the room.

The sconces on either side of the mirror are from Gracious Home in New York. Schmidt found the industrial-look full-length medicine cabinet at Restoration Hardware.

Wall paint: Dimpse, Farrow & Ball; hardware: Emtek; lighting above mirror: Allen Linear Sconce, Ralph Lauren Home


The shower features 3- by 6-inch matte subway tiles by Ann Sacks in Mist, finished with a silver grout. “The matte finish reminded me of aged sea glass that you’d find at the beach, and the subway tiles are a reference to New York City,” Schmidt says. Boyd created the shower floor with 1-inch hexagon statuary marble and made the border from the leftovers from the countertop. The window overlooks the citrus trees and has an awning above to provide some shelter from the sun.

Showerhead: Rain, Grohe


Schmidt’s cat, Charles, made the big move from Manhattan and seems to be adjusting to the laid-back Hawaiian lifestyle.


Schmidt, shown here with Boyd, successfully combined her sophisticated urban leanings with an aesthetic suitable to the island scenery and lifestyle throughout the new residence. In the process she discovered a passion for interior design, which she is now pursuing full-time.

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