Via Laulima, LLC

Highly recommend Via Laulima. Dave and Wendy are so great to work with, and they do everything with such excellence and care. They’ve helped us with various parts of our home, and we’ve recommended them to our friends—the jobs they’ve done for them have been incredible as well. They bring great vision and ideas (they see what I definitely can’t), work with your budget, work with the contractors and advocate for you to make sure the quality of everything being done is up to snuff. They care and they’re good at what they do, and that’s the best thing I can ask for from anyone who’s working on something in my home. Will definitely continue to go to them anytime we need something designed, and would recommend everyone to go with Via Laulima as well.

Wendy represents a great mix of professionalism (organized, careful) and personal (gets to know the client, listens to concerns, empathetic). Her management of the creative and contracting processes made the project fun for us. And though the project stretched out for several months due to the pandemic and a few post-demo surprises, Wendy helped to manage it through to completion for a product we are very happy with.

We worked with Wendy and Dave to design our new kitchen. They were relentless to create the perfect layout to suit our families needs as well as ensure it complimented the rest of the house. Wendy and Dave were very hands-on throughout the entire project from start to finish, were regularly in contact with both my husband and I as well as our contractor to ensure the project went according to plans. They are extremely easy to work it and we couldn't be more happy our choice to use them for our project!

My husband and I toyed with the idea of hiring a designer vice just going with a contractor and we are SO happy we chose Via Laulima. Dave and Wendy are a great, professional husband/wife duo with backgrounds in architecture and design. When we bought our house, we knew we wanted to expand the kitchen space, expand the master bathroom, and increase the master bedroom closet. Our big hang-up was that we didn’t know the best, most efficient way to accomplish those things. Our house was also just severely outdated so we wanted to refinish the other bathrooms and vault the family room ceiling. Ultimately, we decided to use a designer because of the attention to detail and consideration of the “big picture” that we didn’t think we would necessarily get with a regular contractor. Dave and Wendy listened to our ideas, walked through the house, then provided 3 or 4 layout options for the downstairs and same for the upstairs. After the initial layout proposals, we expressed our likes and dislikes with each option and Dave and Wendy took them into account to give us revised options. What they ended up designing for our kitchen and master bedroom was beyond anything we could’ve imagined. Our favorite part of the process was the design portion. We sent a bunch of photos pointing out tiles, colors, fixtures, styles, etc that we liked and were given a vision board with links to everything. Even if it wasn’t what we ultimately went with, it was a great jumping off point and everything was chosen with our budget in mind. For the most part though, the stuff they chose was right on the money. Via Laulima also offers a service where they serve as a consultant during the construction process. Since my husband and I have little to no experience with construction, it was great having an independent party come in and critique the contractor and make sure everything was up to their standards. It really set my mind at ease that Dave and Wendy’s vision was being carried out. They did a pretty good job of managing our expectations with regard to timeline. Looking back, I wish that we would have placed an order for kitchen cabinets as soon as the design phase was over. The lead time for them can be very long, and in our case ended up being a major driver in the move-in date. The entire process from Dave first coming out to the house until the final prints were drawn up and ready for the contractor took about 4 months. We didn’t really have any idea going into this how long it would take, but it definitely took longer than we thought. However, if you believe in the idea that “good things come to those who wait”, look no farther than Dave and Wendy. They listened to our desires and our vision, but also voiced their opinions if they thought there was a better way to do something. At the end of the day, we ended up with a home we absolutely love.

Dave and Wendy were outstanding to work with! They were comprehensive in their approach to gather information about our project, our overall wishlist, and our budget. They met with us a number of times, discussed different options for different spaces and walked us through many of the decisions. The plans that they developed were very detailed and the finishes were all selected before our contractors even started! They even created 3D drawings so that we could envision our new spaces. We are so thrilled with our addition!

Hiring Via Laulima for our project was the absolute best decision we made and led to our basement renovation being a fantastic experience. Wendy and Dave provided the highest level of professionalism, excellence, and care throughout the entire process. They did a phenomenal job assessing our wants and needs and then delivered compelling and functional design options within our budget. They’re extensive knowledge and experience inspired confidence from start to finish and they went above and beyond to answer our questions and keep us informed all along the way. From soliciting bids from and selecting the best contractors to handling any challenges that popped up throughout construction, Dave and Wendy navigated the process with ease and always worked for our best interests. Via Laulima met and exceeded every expectation and delivered our project without there ever being a concern of exceeding our initial budget. Our previously unfinished basement is now a beautiful in-law suite for my mother. It includes a full kitchen, family room, huge bedroom, bonus nook, storage room, closet space, and a bathroom that legitimately feels like a spa. Essentially, they’ve turned our basement into a home within our home and it’s exactly the type of space I’m proud to have for my mother who reminds us at least weekly how much she absolutely loves it! Dave and Wendy are talented, honest, considerate, and work tirelessly to deliver an exceptional experience and product. We’re so glad to have had the opportunity and privilege to work with them.

We purchased a ~3,000 square foot home in December 2014 that required an end-to-end interior and exterior renovation and remodel. We also opted to add a ~750 square foot addition. Recognizing this was the most significant investment of our lives we immediately set out to identify a firm that could offer a suite of services including design, architecture, and project management. As chance would have it, friends of ours had recently added a residential addition designed by Via Laulima, who they strongly recommended. Our first meeting with firms owners, Wendy & Dave (“W+D”), could not have gone any better. W+D were incredibly enthusiastic and came prepared with a series of open ended questions for us that served to form a mutual understanding of how we planned to use each space, design preferences, long-term plans, project budget, and most importantly, how they can help us through what we were certain would be, at times, an incredibly frustrating process. Suffice it to say, we did not feel that other candidates interviewed during the same time frame were nearly as organized, engaged, or enthusiastic and made the decision to retain Via Laulima immediately. Subsequent meetings took place where different design concepts, finish details, and addition layouts were presented and discussed. W+D set agendas for every meeting to maximize efficiency and each time it was clear they’d invested significant time to prepare, including researching design and finish detail options, township building code, and modeling certain building and design concepts. Keeping the planning phase of the project on track was a direct result of W+D’s preparedness. Once detail and construction designs were finalized W+D hosted a walk through for general contractors interested in bidding the project. Each room was discussed and questions were answered. W+D handled all subsequent dialogue with interested contractors as well as the solicitation process. A final meeting took place where each proposal was reviewed along with a capabilities assessment based on impressions of resources and project experience. Via Laulima truly went above and beyond anything we’d expected during the construction phase. W+D were seemingly on site every time we showed up to inspect the work performed. They proved to be our eyes and ears throughout the entire project, alerting us when input was required, decisions needed to be made, or conversations with the contractors on site were required. A project of this magnitude could have easily gotten off track but for W+D relentlessly serving as our advocates. Via Laulima was with us every step the way over the course of our project and has been the subject of multiple recommendations to friends and family. You would be wise to consider them for your project! Dustin and Sheena

Selecting the Via Laulima team was one of the best decisions we made. They are extremely knowledgeable, accessible, visionaries, supportive, assertive and active throughout the process. Our contractors noted that their plans are the most detailed and transferable they've ever had! They are 5 stars and more for sure....the best! (Come see our house to see!)

It feels like 5 stars isn't enough to adequately describe our feelings about Dave and Wendy at Via Laulima. Can I double the rating some how? :) Their level of professionalism is unmatched, and their ability to help define the true spirit of our renovation: it wasn't necessarily about the walls, the finishes, or the mechanics of a renovation... they took our often-random-ideas and words and carefully considered the intent of the things we were saying rather than what we were actually saying. It's true design when you can help someone see what they've been saying by interpreting it with the most sense and great imagination. Beyond that, they're incredibly diligent, always prepared, and intensely calculated on driving forward a vision of a home. I love that they've considered our home first...and carried the intent of our ideal of "a home" through planning and execution. Our home has been passed through a few generations of our family (same last name on every deed) -- my great grandparents were the first to build and live in the original home. I'm so thankful that Via Laulima was able to not only preserve our family heritage, but helped us with our current family's legacy as we live our lives there. Every morning, and many times through out the day, I take a deep breath and stand amazed by the home we get to live in. Dave and Wendy crafted a daily experience for us, and I'm forever grateful for it.