When Josett and Brian W. found the house they wanted to buy last August, it was only after they’d toured many homes on Oahu. The place they liked was in Ewa Beach and had been built in 2003. It had good bones and plenty to recommend it.
But the kitchen felt cramped and dated, and the couple knew they wanted to make some major renovations, so they began looking for a renovation firm.
“We did a lot of online research, checking reviews and speaking with a couple contractors,” Josett recalls. “We did lots of comparisons with availability of materials and lead times for them, which helped to sway our decision.”
Ultimately, the couple reached out to three companies for estimates but received responses from only two; one never responded at all.
According to Josett, the company that was most responsive was AOK Cabinets & Stone, a kitchen and bath renovation firm in Kapolei.
“Owner Kai He was very helpful,” she says. “Most importantly, we felt Kai was superior to anyone we spoke with, as far as timeline and quality of his cabinets and countertops — and just being an all-around nice guy to work with.”
With great excitement and plenty of assistance and encouragement from Kai, Josett and Brian began to design their own renovation. They’d toured many homes and spent hours looking at Pinterest boards, gathering ideas for their dream kitchen.
Renovation began the first week of December. As it turned out, the greatest delays were caused by the unavailability of cabinets and materials, especially the kitchen appliances.
“Once the cabinets arrived, Kai’s team had the kitchen pretty much done in a week,” Josett says. “They are super-efficient and do very high-quality work!”
In addition to the kitchen, the AOK crew also renovated the master bathroom — and completed both projects by the first week of February.
Inviting, luxurious
The new kitchen is a stunning showpiece filled with complementary colors and textures, boasting tons of storage space and plenty of working surfaces. Cabinets are sand and sage green, and there’s also plenty of open shelving. Luxury vinyl flooring by Pacifica Pillowed Bevel in blended umber provides rustic warmth to the scheme.
Countertops are all Silestone quartz, except for the handsome slab of live-edge acacia on the wine-and-coffee bar along one wall. An enormous pantry includes plenty of pullout shelves and drawers, and Josett says it will definitely be put to good use.
“I think the wide-open space is a plus, having gotten rid of the small peninsula and freestanding pantry,” she adds. “We’re going for a minimalist décor scheme with lots of local flavor sprinkled in.”
As the couple prepared to move into their new home with their labradoodles, Oskar and Hazel, they were delighted to sing the praises of AOK Cabinets & Stone.
“We can’t say enough about what a great experience it was to work with Kai, Rocky and Jin,” Josett says. “AOK far exceeded our expectations. We will not hesitate to use them for future projects, and recommend them wholeheartedly to our friends and anyone who asks.”
AOK CABINETS & STONE
Contact
808-888-2898
Address
91-314 Komohana St. Unit 1, Kapolei
Web
aokcabinetstone.com
aokhawaii.com
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