Questions for Kimo:

In Honor of Earth Day(every day is an opportunity to be responsible).  I heard about this product a couple of months ago and it took me some to find it on line. I enjoy gardening and also finding more ways to reduce my impact on the environment.

Here's one option, regardless of where you live, to reduce your contribution to land fill waste. Composting is no longer the realm of country farmers, now everyone can do it easily and conveniently. I'm planning on purchasing this product in the near future and will be writing a review once I have an opportunity to use it for a while. A friend of my father has a major composting operation that requires forklifts, acres of land, and a whole lot of stink but this option appears to be a great alternative that almost everyone can use and odor free, as well.

How it works:  Basically you add organic waste, including meat and diary, into the machine and it initiates"hot composting" conditions: mixing, air flow, heat, and moisture . The energy released destroys odors, pathogens, and seed germination. and after a couple of weeks voi-la you have compost. I'm not sure what the volume of compost you would have after a month but the volume of organic garbage should be drastically reduced. Here's the web site so you can check it out for yourself.   http://www.naturemill.com/  

To view a video on the topic:

http://www.naturemill.com/video_histChan.html

If you are a resident of Hawaii you can purchase it locally here:

Ocr Inc.
59 589 Ke Iki, Suite B
Haleiwa, HI 96712
Phone: (808) 779-1109

Be Green & Peace,

In continuation of my previous blog celebrating Earth Day and the inspiration the natural world provides-I have assembled similar natural tones in this collection of swatches collected from last weeks hike into the Waianae Valley on Western Oahu. Greens and browns with highlight shades.

The Lau a Limu photo is of wild coffee leaves and moss covered lava rock that carpet this particular part of the forest floor.

The second Photo is of the pealing bark of the Eucalyptus tree. I particularly enjoy the variations in blue-greens with the contrasting red-browns in the bark. 

In Honor of Earth Day, I decided to create some color palettes from nature's bounty here in Hawaii. These pictures I took while hiking in the Waianae Valley on the western shores of Oahu last weekend. Hawaiian decor often brings the out of doors in and vice versa, creating home environments that takes full advantage of Hawaii's natural beauty. The colors come directly from the photos. I prefer five color, palette schemes to the traditional three. Especially when it comes to painting exteriors. With interior space I spread the five colors in various combinations through out the home. You may print these swatches and bring them to your local paint store to have them matched.

Questions for Kimo: My Realtor showed me a property designed by Ossipoff, who is he? My Realtor could only tell me he was a renowned architect in Hawaii.

I love discussing Ossipoff, Hawaii's Master of modernism:

Vladimir Ossipoff (1907-1998)was Russian born, raised in Japan and educated at Berkley, California. He is widely regarded as Hawaii's master of modernism and is accredited with over 1000 completed works . After settling in Hawaii in 1931, Ossipoff began a prolific architectural career that spanned 67 years; essentially defining tropical modernism as we understand it today.

He defined modern Hawaii

Ossipoff used his understanding of both western and eastern building techniques to amalgamate the environment into his modern design aesthetic. Essentially utilizing Hawaii's diverse micro climates in his designs, bringing the out of doors in and the in-doors, out; taking full advantage of the natural settings, views, and culture to create functioning habitats in harmony with nature way before 'Green Building' was coined. He was also known for his "War on Ugliness" which was his personal crusade to rid rigid, poor and aesthetically lacking design from both the private and public sectors. Ossipoff designed everything from homes, schools, churches, to corporate HQs, private clubs, and airport terminals. My personal favorite is the Outrigger Canoe Club in Diamond Head.

The Outrigger is a classic post & lintel construction that opens almost entirely to the out of doors. A Hau tree canopy covers the roof with a dense green vegetation that is both a natural cooling agent for the building and an aesthetically pleasing living element as well.

photo by stephen reid

The glass doors in the Dinning room can form intimate dinning space's or open up to form one large area open to the ocean. If on the rare occasion bad weather should make an appearance closing the outer doors keeps the Dinning room always functioning. 

What's all this flack I read about the super ferry and is it true that it's forbidden to sail to Kauai?  

Well,  your first question is a complicated one with too many facets to easily explain in a single blog. However, I can awnser the axillary question.  

Yes, currently the Super Ferry is only servicing Maui at the present time. Although, I would'nt use the word forbidden, which implies a totality that does not exist as of yet. Will that change in the future? Quite possibly. 

 Kapiolani Park, Waikiki at sunset                               photos by Kimo

My view 

Here is my personal view of the situation. Kauai is a beautiful island, just one of eight beautiful islands that encompass Hawaii nei (all of Hawaii). Unfortunately, traveling inter island does create an environmental impact on all of the islands. Past experience shows that the devastating effects on the indigenous species of Hawaii nei by invasive flora and fauna will most likely continue. Shipping barges and aircraft will continue to service the outer islands and continue polluting. Human beings will continue to drop garbage and harmful agents into the sea and land whether intentional or not. Marine animals will always be indangered by power boats and other fast moving vessels.

The Sickness 

It is endemic of modern societies to use and dispose, use and dispose in a cycle that inevitably harms the Aina (land). There is not one solution that will save the unique beauty of Hawaii for future generations, it takes a paradigm shift. Changing our consumer ways not just for us here in Hawaii but for all cultures everywhere is what is needed to save us from ourselves. I applaud the protesters for wanting to maintain a healthy balance in the Islands but is the villain the Super Ferry or consumerism.

A system that worked before 

Little concern has been displayed for the devastating effects that western culture has inflicted upon the Hawaiian people. As a culture who lived in harmony with their environment, little has been adopted by our local governing bodies to emulate their traditional practices of living Pono (to make right) with environment mainly because modern society has a consumer based mentality that thrives off disposable goods and fossil fuels.

If people are truly concerned about the effects of the Super Ferry on the environment, they should start paying attention to how they are personally participating in the fouling of the planet and lead by example not by condemnation. In time the Ferry will either function or it will not. In time Hawaii will be hospitable to human habitation or it will not.

 The real question is whether people actually care about creating the world they wish to see, or not.

 "Be the change you wish to see in the world"- Mahatma Ghandi

Peace,

Please direct questions to JDS@RealEstateDesignOnLine.com

Questions for Kimo: Is investing in China's Real Estate markets still advisable and where can I go to find out about investing in the markets there?  

Your first question is a complicated one especially since change is a constant and acceptance toward foreign investment is being tempered by Bejing's concerns for a more moderate and controlled growth in it's red hot real estate boom. There have also been whisperings of a Real Estate bust in Shanghai due to heavy foreign investment in that particular market. What does that mean for future investment, now I'm not an expert on foreign investment and I can't say for certain but lots of people are making lots of money both foreign and local and that will probably continue.  

It's hard to describe this frenetic energy that envelops Real Estate in China until you go there and see it for yourself. There are many investment vehicles to choose from but before you start throwing money at Chinese Real Estate Investment Funds or buying Condos you should understand that China is not necessarily immune to bubbles and busts.

If your seriously thinking of investing, I would suggest attending the GRI (Global Real Estate Institute)conference in Beijing in June 08.  

This particular conference is not your typical event where endless numbers of speakers address the multitudes in didactic oratories, rather it is an intimate environment of discussion groups where you can speak and interact directly with both international and Chinese developers and fellow investors as well.   Here is an example of some of the discussion topics at this years conference in Beijing.  

• where to allocate money  
• are foreigners welcome  
• commercial real estate, what are the investment options  
• business or leisure, economy or high end  
• foreign investment and local developer, fad or trend  
• choosing partners

Next years conference will be held in Singapore and will constitue investing in Asian markets as a whole. If traveling in June is too soon, I would suggest attending next years conference instead.

For expert advice on investment in China I suggest contacting HIREC: Hawaii International Real Estate Committee. Some of it's members are licensed Real Estate professionals in both the US and China.

e-mail Lawrence Van Hoey at larr@rmi.net for additional information.

Questions for Kimo: How many Realtor's does it take to change a light bulb?

Awnser: All of them!  

Hey, that isn't funny, at least I don't think it is.

Well, here's the gas about the new CFL's that we've been hearing about in Hawaii lately. If you haven't heard CFL stands for compact fluorescent light and due to their remarkable energy efficiency the state has whole heartedly endorsed the product as a cost effective way to save energy.

Now it is true that we will save a lot of money and electricity but there is one major concern about the use of such bulbs, that is not widely known by the public. CFL's contain trace amounts of mercury. Unfortunately, breaking and or disposal of these bulbs creates a health risk, especially amongst pregnant women.

Please click on the following link to understand proper disposal of such bulbs.

CFL Fact Sheet 

It is important to note that you should handle their disposal as you would a hazardous waste. As a matter of safety it has been advised that these bulbs remain out of areas frequented by children, infants, and pregnant women so as to lessen the risk of mercury poison in the case of accidental breakage.  

 Inform your family and clients of the warnings, CFL's should not be taken lightly.

http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf

Aloha All,

Here's the finished product of my latest interior decorating/staging project. It's a classic Hawaiian beach bungalow. It was a top to bottom make over and it's been on the market a little over two weeks. The property is incredible and has many fruit trees including: 2 variety of mangoes, 2 papaya, star fruit, Ka'u oranges, 2 variety of tangerine, Hawaiian lemon, white guava, and a very rare La'amea tree. It also has many flowering bushes including: pikake(Indian jasmine) hibiscus (Red & yellow), white ginger, 2 varieties of haliconia, and both yellow and red O'hia ali'i and an herb garden. It has a lava rock koi pond and fountain and lovely views of the ocean, mountains and garden. You can watch the wales go by, as well as, spinner dolphins. The weather is a constant 80-85 degrees and sunny almost every day. A short drive to hiking and state reserve lands with a multitude of outdoor activities  from surfing, snorkeling and kayaking to golfing, tennis, and mountain biking.

Please Contact Lawrence for the TMK. His cell is 808 926 7667 and e-mail larr@rmi.net please tell him Kimo  sent you.

Best wishes,