Author’s wooden homes: a cottage on Maui among palm trees and fruit trees

Benoit grew up watching his father, who had his own hotel in the French Alps, work. The building had to be renovated every year at the end of the ski season. Since then, Pascal has maintained his love of simple authentic materials. With its substantial beamed ceilings and metal roof, it’s a sturdy, solid home.

Spouses spend a lot of time in the kitchen, cooking and entertaining friends. Tina had to work hard to find the roomiest refrigerator from Samsung, which almost always turns out to be full. Three horizontal windows with overhead hinge mounts face the courtyard.

The bar counter in the kitchen is a gathering place for family and friends. Pascal worked hard to get the dimensions of the counter right for everyone. The original stools are made from the shells of old boats, which still have some of the original paint. Round rattan lamps cozyly illuminate this corner.

Mia’s attic bedroom is used as a guest room on occasion. Tina intentionally eschewed the typically childlike theme in the decor, opting for a simpler, more versatile style.

A piece of old driftwood serves as a towel rack.

All of the windows and doors are custom-made from teak imported from Bali.

Tina had deliberately brought back from Bali a lot of light-colored cloth to make the cushions and furniture upholstery. It might seem an odd decision to some, given Hawaii’s humid climate and the presence of small children in the house, but Tina agrees to wash pillowcases and covers more often.

In the corner of the veranda, we see a makeshift bookstand made from an old canoe, sawn in half…

The two-story cottage at sunset twilight embodies the romance of Maui’s North Shore. This is the place Tina and Pascal called home after many travels around the world.