Wailuku Interior Design Studio Wins Historic Preservation Award

Gary and Jane Marshall, partner owners of Marshall Design Studio, are being honored for its rehabilitation of a 1940’s Wailuku plantation home. Courtesy photo.

By Sonia Isotov

Marshall Design Studio LLC, a Wailuku-based interior design and architecture firm, will be honored at the Historic Hawaii Foundation’s 39th Annual Preservation Honor Awards on May 31 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Center.

Gary and Jane Marshall, partner owners of Marshall Design Studio, are being honored for its rehabilitation of a 1940s Wailuku plantation home. The award recognizes the Maui-based interior design and architecture firm for its achievement in the field of historic preservation.

The project is located in the “Old Sand Hills” neighborhood of Wailuku, a neighborhood with a high density of middle class homes built during the 1930s and ‘40s.  It was the long-time family home of Masa and Florence Shimoda, who operated the Hali`imaile General Store before it became a restaurant.

Gary Marshall has been a licensed architect for more than 40 years, and Jane Marshall is a professional interior designer with over 30 years experience, claim the couple.

Courtesy photo.

According to the Marshalls, the renovations were both structural and aesthetic and included a new roof, a new electrical system, hurricane ties, the addition of termite resistant shingle siding, and other renovations including asbestos removal to bring the home up to modern standards.

Many of the homes unique features were preserved including the double hung wood single glazed sash windows and the original window and door hardware, which was solid brass.

“In my experience as a designer, this project was one of the most personally rewarding. Although I have been living and working in the Bay area for many years, I am a fourth generation Mauian,” said Marshall, in a media statement yesterday. Jane Marshall is a graduate of St. Anthony’s School, and the State University of New York’s Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She is also “one of the three certified lighting designers in Hawaii.”

Courtesy photo.

“We are thrilled that the Historic Hawai’i Foundation recognized the design challenge of creating a comfortable home with contemporary conveniences while remaining true to the architecturally significant neighborhood of Wailuku. We hope this project helps to inspire renewed interest in revitalizing the existing architecture of our unique small neighborhoods.

Her experience includes many high-end residential projects (both new construction and renovations) in Marin County California, the interior design of the historic downtown Pasadena Police Building, many tenant improvement projects in both San Francisco and Los Angeles, renovation of the Sheraton Poipu on Kauai, the interior design of Liliuokalani Gardens in Waikiki, and most recently a complete condominium renovation in Wailea.

Marshall Design Studio worked in conjunction with David Powell, a finish carpenter to complete this project. “David’s exceptional woodworking skill was exactly what our project needed,” said Marshall.

Historic Hawai‘i Foundation’s preservation awards are Hawaii’s recognition of projects that perpetuate, rehabilitate, restore or interpret the state’s architectural and cultural heritage.