Taking the High-Low Road - Ku'u Home Magazine

Diversify your remodel by mixing high-end elements with lower-cost pieces

By: Darlene Dela Cruz

May 1, 2026

Planning a remodel with a combination of premium and affordable finishes, appliances, furnishings and materials creates realistic spaces that feel elevated, regardless of budget. Architect Jennifer Haug Price of HI/LO Studio approaches her projects with this “high-low” design principle. Her work on a Kailua family’s residence shows how to integrate high-low style into your kitchen, bath and beyond.

“What I normally do when I start out with my clients is list out the entire [project] scope as if we had no budgetary restraint,” Price says. “If you really want a custom hood or a particular backsplash [then] we’re not going to have a lot of money for other things. I find that once we start really broad, and then we narrow down to the absolute must-haves, that’s where we allocate the priority and the budget.”

Sage-green kitchen perimeter cabinets contrast artistically with wood finishes in this Kailua home.

The Kailua homeowners asked for a modern farmhouse look. As restaurateurs, they wanted a kitchen island large enough to host staff and family gatherings, as well as an area to display their growing cookbook collection. General contractor Mark Woodfield of Landmark Builders worked with Price to deliver the homeowners’ requests and found practical solutions to best use their available spaces.

“The owners love the secret door into a hidden walk-through pantry connecting to the laundry room, and [the] powder room with access to the outdoor shower and back lānai,” Price says. “I love the kitchen island and how the seating wraps around. Other favorite design features are the arched bookcases … and the open staircase bathed in natural light from the windows above.”

Jennifer Haug Price, the architect on this project, recommends creating a materials board to see how metals and colors can mix and match across rooms.

Green perimeter cabinets in the kitchen — selected in honor of the homeowners’ daughter, Sage — contrast elegantly against the white oak kitchen island. Price says she mixed countertop materials fabricated by Michelle Baker of Todd Branson Stoneworks, with a white-and-taupe veined slab on the island complementing a “more dramatic, movement-forward, full-height backsplash” topping the perimeter cabinets. This effect accentuates the white porcelain farmhouse sink and its brass fixtures and hardware.

“To maintain a cohesive design throughout the home, I advise creating a materials board and mixing similar tonal families and metals,” Price says. “I love mixing high-contrast and then tone-on-tone.

Double-hung windows and rustic bathroom cabinetry keep the modern farmhouse theme.

A bold, ocean-inspired wallcovering and matte black fixtures add visual interest to the home’s grounded and neutral palette.

Visualizing specific zones for cleaning, refrigeration, cooking and other activities is key in high-low design, Price notes. It’s also important to have very detailed drawings ready for pricing, permitting and execution.

“Without plans, things can go awry quickly, which costs more money in the end,” she says.

This story appears in the May/June 2026 print issue of Ku‘u Home magazine.