Home & Garden
DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM
Cynthia Fritts developed her eye for interior design through
volunteer work. Above, her living room features an eclectic
blend of Asian and Hawaiian motifs, with a mix of old and
new furnishings.
Building shelters for battered women and the homeless is a good cause, Cynthia Fritts thought when she volunteered to help raise money. She didn't count on it rewarding her with an exceptional education in interior design.
Fritts was living in Newport, Rhode Island, where her submarine commander husband Donald was completing his master's degree at the Naval War College, when she volunteered for the Newport Showhouse Guild in 1997. The project enlisted two dozen interior designers to refurbish a 19th century Italian-style mansion. The group raised $60,000 by selling furnishings and tickets for tours of the mansion.
As chairperson who oversaw the sale items, Fritts kept track of each chair, lamp and other furnishings the designers brought, and watched how the professionals employed them to transform the mansion into a showplace.
"I watched the whole process and got a sense for things looking right. I learned a lot about the dos and don'ts," Fritts said.
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The volunteer project lasted six months, and during that time, Fritts learned not only the tricks of the trade but also refined her own taste."I realized that I don't like things that all match. I find if I buy pieces that I love, they'd all fit together whether they are Asian or New England antiques," said Fritts, who grew up in Lanikai.
That eclectic style is reflected in Fritts' new Hawaii home, which is a blend of antique and modern, light and dark, East and West, with contemporary Hawaiian touches.
Designed by architect Brian Fujiwara, the two-story home stands out among its neighbors in Kahala Kua with a double-pitched roof, giving it a distinct exterior reminiscent of old Hawaii. A series of carved leaf motif sculptures near the front entry complement the red gingers and colorful ti leaves planted along the entry path.
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On the inside, curved walls and large windows make the best of mauka and makai views from 600 feet above sea level. Brazilian koa flooring gives the home a warm, reddish-brown glow. Off-white walls, pale marble floors in selected areas provide contrast and background to show off the family's diverse furnishing."Because this is Hawaii and not New England, I can't use as many colors on the walls because the color saturation would be too intense. I learned the warmer the climate, the paler the colors need to be," Fritts said. Her master bedroom -- with silvery, pale blue walls -- is the only room painted with color.
Color comes from the furnishing. Hand-woven rugs, rich wood tones, silk pillows and a collection of paintings, mostly by Russian artists, all add to an elegant yet comfy atmosphere.
"In this house I wanted a balance of light and dark and color. I don't like monochromatic rooms but too many colors can make things look gaudy," Fritts said.
She found the natural wood colors enrich the color scheme without adding clutter. The walnut-wood baby grand piano she inherited from her grandmother blends well with a dark teak bench from Indonesia, a red lacquered table from China, a deep-brown Korean carved chest and other wood pieces in the formal living room.
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In the family room, where 2-year-old son Will likes to ride his rocking horse, a contemporary koa coffee table is surrounded by antique American side tables, seagrass chairs with light green cushions and a darker green sofa.Fritts said building and furnishing a house, like any task, takes experience. Her Newport project and a house she and her husband had built later in Georgia contributed to easier completion of the Hawaii home.
She's had to make minor adjustments since moving into the house about 18 months ago. The dogs, who have free run of the house, were scratching the koa flooring, and Fritts decided to replace some areas with unpolished marble.
The garden, with a Plexiglas fence to allow for a panoramic view, is still a work in progress. Again, the dogs are to blame. Fritts is planning a stone patio to alleviate the hole-digging problem. Some plants will be replaced because they cannot stand up to the high winds.
The 3,700-square-foot home is mainly Fritts' responsibility, although she always consults her husband. She picked the site, found the architect (through their mutual hair stylist), settled on the blueprint and other design details mostly through e-mail (the family was living in Georgia through the building process).
Her husband, though, made the moulding that was added to the living room. (The moulding is one of the decorative tricks she learned in Newport.) He maintains a workshop in the garage, and likes to be useful in fixing things for the house. Otherwise, his involvement is limited to planning the garage and his upstairs home office.
"She's got a great eye for doing things. I pretty much leave everything up to her," said her husband, who's taking command of the submarine U.S.S. Pasadena. "I love coming into this house. I travel quite a bit with the Navy, and every time I come home, I feel lucky I get to live in a castle (my wife built.)"
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Suzanne Tswei's gardening column runs Fridays in Today.
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