Home of the Week: Inside Fashion Designer Geoffrey Beene’s $13 Million Beachfront Volcano Estate in Honolulu
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Baby it’s cold outside. But as most of America shivers this holiday season, the former Honolulu home of American fashion icon Geoffrey Beene, will definitely warm you up.
Sprawling across more than 120 feet of sandy beachfront at the foot of Oahu’s towering Diamond Head crater just a 15-minute stroll from Waikiki, this stunning, three-story, newly-renovated home enjoys breathtaking ocean views from virtually every room.
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So instead of shoveling snow or scraping ice, imagine sinking into the home’s bubbling, over-sized Jacuzzi tub, grabbing a hot toddy and toasting yet another jaw-descending Hawaiian sunset.
Beene, whose simple, elegant designs were worn by the likes of Nancy Reagan, Faye Dunaway and Glenn Close, bought the property in 1992 and used it as his much-loved vacation home until 2003. That was when he gifted it to the Honolulu Academy of Arts. He passed away the following year, at age 80.
The current owner, a well-know Orange County, Calif. pediatric physician, purchased the home in 2005. In 2014, he and his wife commissioned an extensive two-year, top-to-bottom renovation costing more than $3 million.
They replaced the fashion designer’s trademark black-and-white color schemes and playful Holstein cow-hide-printed furnishings, with a sleeker, more contemporary look.
Creamy limestone floor tiles replaced stark white throughout the entire house; walls of sliding pocket Fleetwood windows were added, as was an elevator, state-of-the-art security and a photovoltaic solar energy system.
Built back in 1988 of commercial-grade concrete and steel, the south-facing home on Beach Road offers 4,878 square-feet of living space, with four bedrooms and four baths.
Steps from the substantial, etched-glass front door lead down to a third-floor landing with a walkway leading to a spacious guest suite.
Take stairs, or the elevator, down to the main, second-floor level and there’s a sun-flooded living room, dining room and large eat-in kitchen with sleek, professional-grade appliances. And each room features those floor-to-ceiling windows with the ocean almost directly below.
On this level there’s the huge master suite with its sliding glass windows, free-standing tub and private patio off to the side for soaking-up rays. One added feature: an adjoining, below-ground safe room to ride out any scary storms.
The first floor features two more guest suites with glass doors that open on to a wide lanai filled with low-maintenance local cacti and grasses.
The home was first listed in April this year for $14 million, but was recently reduced to $12.995 million.
“This really is the deal of the century,” says broker Julianna Garris, who together with Patricia Choi, of the Choi Group and Hawaii Life, hold the coveted listing. “With this location, right on the beach here on the South Shore, the price is well under its replacement cost.
“The current list price is an exceptional opportunity for an investor to acquire this rare, prized property at a lower market cost,” she told Robb Report.
“The location is beyond remarkable. Diamond Head is right behind the house, the wide beaches, luxury retail and amazing nightlife of Waikiki are a short walk away, and it’s near the entrance to all the hiking trails through the Diamond Head State Park.”
But perhaps the real appeal for potential buyers in most parts of North America this Holiday season? No Jack Frost nipping at your nose.
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