Catherine Conrad spent a decade perfecting the gardens at her Honolulu home. Overlooking the ocean, the estate has granite pathways that wind around a Carrera marble fountain. An antique pergola cost about $40,000.
Her favorite view of the garden is at night, when the cypress, monkeypod and flowering tacoma trees are illuminated, she said.
“The lighting creates this into a magical fairy land,” said Conrad, 76, a retired interior designer and longtime gardening enthusiast. She spent a total of about $12 million renovating the garden and the circa-1941 home on the property.
In 2020, the gardens were recognized by the Smithsonian’s Archive of American Gardens.
Highlights of the garden include a Carrera marble fountain and an antique pergola. The estate has views of local surfing spots.HIEP NGUYEN/SLICK PIXELS HAWAII
Now Conrad is putting the estate on the market. Located in the pricey Diamond Head neighborhood on Oahu’s southern coast, the property is asking $34 million, said listing agent Anne Hogan Perry of Compass. The home is one of the most expensive on the market in Hawaii.
Conrad combined two parcels to create the 0.8-acre estate. She bought the first lot in 2007 for $7.55 million, then paid about $4 million for an adjacent parcel around 2009. The four-bedroom, roughly 5,200-square-foot house has ocean views, said Hogan Perry, and the estate also has a cottage where Conrad’s sisters and their children stay when they visit. Conrad is a fitness enthusiast, and the property has a stand-alone Pilates studio.
Inside, the renovated house has intricate woodwork and beveled-glass windows. HIEP NGUYEN/SLICK PIXELS HAWAIIThere are about 100 french doors made of walnut.HIEP NGUYEN/SLICK PIXELS HAWAIIConrad extended the home’s balconies.HIEP NGUYEN/SLICK PIXELS HAWAII
Conrad, whose father was in manufacturing, grew up in California and Illinois. She loved playing with Lincoln Logs and Legos; “even as a little girl, I was a designer,” she said. She moved to Hawaii with her ex-husband more than 50 years ago.
There is a standalone Pilates studio.HIEP NGUYEN/SLICK PIXELS HAWAII
When she bought this estate, the land was steeply sloped, Conrad said. To shore up the lot, workers selected lava rocks by hand, then carried them on-site to build walls. “It turned out so well, and it’s just so rewarding and so uplifting to look at this place,” Conrad said of the estate. “A lot of times I just walk around and…you have to stop because it’s so pretty.”
Conrad expanded the eat-in kitchen, where she likes to enjoy a glass of wine with dinner while watching television.HIEP NGUYEN/SLICK PIXELS HAWAIIConrad’s rabbit has a small house of its own in the wood-paneled library. HIEP NGUYEN/SLICK PIXELS HAWAII
Conrad lives on the Diamond Head property with her two dogs, cat and rabbit, which has a small house of its own in the library, she said.
She is reluctant to sell the estate. “I’m at the stage where I have to sell it because of my age,” she said. “It’s too big of a place for me. I don’t want to sell it—I don’t. But I have to.” She also has a horse ranch on the other side of Oahu, where she plans to live while she looks for a smaller home in Honolulu.
Diamond Head has some of the most expensive homes in Hawaii. In March, a home about 3 miles from Conrad’s traded for $65.75 million, said Hogan Perry, who represented the buyer.
The infinity pool has a swim jet for exercise. HIEP NGUYEN/SLICK PIXELS HAWAII
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