A home remodel can provide a peek into a culture as well as architecture and construction. Contractor Max Suiter learned that during his recent renovation of the Okamura family residence in Manoa. The modest home was built in 1962 by Toyokazu Okamura, whose family ran a general store in Manoa for nearly 80 years. He took over the store on East Manoa Road from his father in 1928, relocated across the street in 1954 and established Toyo’s Superette, which served as the community’s general store until it closed in 1998.

Suiter remembered going to Toyo’s as a child for snacks and jumped at the chance to renovate the family home when asked by Lillian Okamura, one of three members of the family who still live in the home.

"This family was incredibly hard-working and just all about providing for their family and the community," he said. "That’s why we had to make this a ‘new’ house but just the way it was."

The firm of Ernest Hara, an architect who designed houses mostly for nisei families, had worked on the Okamura home, and Suiter was struck by its many Japanese design elements, from the latticelike lines in the concrete block walls to the use of a variety of woods. Hara also took the unusual step of digging a half basement for the house, an uncommon feature in Hawaii, so that it has three levels yet still is less than two stories tall.

The original builders did an "awesome job," Suiter said of the craftsmanship and design of the original home. "We were so lucky to have all those elements here."

The 1,450-square-foot house on East Manoa Road was also in good condition, thanks to the building materials used.

"The redwood and cedar they used, the termites don’t like that," Suiter said. "They used a lot of stone because (termites) don’t get to that. … The old-timers had it figured out a lot better than we do."

Suiter’s renovation of the two-suite, two-bathroom home reaffirms its Japanese roots. His company, Canaan Construction Ltd., made doors that have a film applied to the surface of glass, creating a shoji screen-like effect.

"The thing it does really well is … it lets plenty of light in," said Suiter. Other doors were custom ordered from Salt Lake City-based 3 Form, which sandwiched reeds and tapa material into the glass to add a touch of nature.

The living room’s original oak parquet floor was well worn, and the cork floor in the kitchen had been covered by many layers of vinyl. Suiter restored the parquet and installed a new cork floor in the kitchen "because it’s very pleasant to walk on," and remodeled the kitchen with modern stainless-steel appliances, an island and a split-level quartz countertop to puts diners at a comfortably seated level.

The wall separating the two rooms was taken down, creating a sense of connection, while the different flooring maintains the sense of two distinct spaces, which is consistent with Japanese design philosophy.

The most Japanese feature in the home is its new tatami room, a small alcove built in the former basement. Lillian Okamura’s many visits to Japan prompted her to ask for a proper tatami room, and Suiter’s research found the rooms are traditionally lined with clear, vertical-grain fir, which he obtained specifically for the room. He also found a custom tatami maker in Tokyo who made mats that fit exactly into the trapezoidal space, an unusual shape for a tatami room.

"I didn’t get everything politically correct, but I got pretty close," Suiter said.

"I was OK with it," said Okamura, who uses the room to practice shamisen or yoga. "Japanese say ‘omakase’; that means when you put your complete trust in someone. So I left it up to Max."

The tatami room includes a "tokonoma," a small alcove for meditation. "It’s a place to rest your eyes, so it usually has a scroll and sometimes ichibana," Okamura said.

References to Hawaii are also featured in the renovation. Suiter used mountain ash wood for trim and for doors, which he designed and had built for the home.

"It was brought over (to Hawaii island) in the 1820s, and they started to grow it and it’s kind of developed into its own species now," he said. "You buy ash from the mainland and it doesn’t have some of the grays that you have here, which is really beautiful. It’s a local wood now."

Small jalousie windows, which seem old-fashioned but are still considered best for ventilation, were upgraded.

Some design choices left Suiter with the decision between hiding or revealing certain features. One of the older jalousied windows had unusually large, wide blades, which Suiter wanted to retain, but the exposed, gear-driven mechanisms showed wear and tear. Rather than replacing or hiding them, Suiter had them cleaned and refinished to give them "a 1960s, kind of Art Deco feel."

When it came to increasing the light in the house, which felt dark under its the low, open-beam ceiling, Suiter resorted to hiding the technology. He burrowed a path into the ceiling beams, placed the wiring inside the groove, then filled in the groove with putty. Dozens of small lights were installed in this way, allowing for localized and ambient lighting.

Some of the old materials had to be replaced outright, such as walls made of pressed sugar cane — that era’s version of drywall. But overall, Suitor felt that respecting the original design of the house would pay tribute to the Okamuras’ legacy. "It was a blessing and made the project like a journey into the past," he said.

The $350,000 renovation has thrilled Okamura, who initially wasn’t sure what she wanted.

"I just wanted something updated, but you could not get away from something Oriental," she said. "That’s the way we were brought up."

Canaan Construction Ltd. is at 220 Puuhale Road, No. B-2; phone 533-6565.