After numerous stress-busting getaways to Maui, Ken Heller and Patti Magdalin decided to look for a second home there. “We’d seen several homes up and down the west coast of the island -- some very lovely -- but none of them grabbed me,” recalls Patti. “Then I walked into this one and got goose bumps. My first response was, ‘Wow.’”

Located at Maluhia, a master-planned development in Wailea, the house that wowed Patti and Ken was fully furnished, like a builder’s model home, but as different from the usual furnished model as apples and pineapples. “It seemed like the home of a world traveler,” says Patti. “It felt personal.” Adds Ken, “It had a relaxed feeling with a distinct Hawaiian flair and a Far Eastern influence, all of which was very inviting.”

In an approach that is unusual even for the high-end housing market, Maluhia developer PRM Realty Group sells houses equipped with almost everything a buyer could need or want, from posh bedding to distinctive art and artifacts. Architecturally, the homes share a contemporary Hawaiian style marked by flowing, open-plan interiors; integration of indoor and outdoor living spaces; and natural materials, such as coral-stone wall cladding, that reflect the islands’ tropical beauty. But plans for each of the 14 Maluhia houses have a distinct personality, with cultural themes and botanical motifs expressed in custom furnishings, carefully chosen collections, and handcrafted architectural details.

“We try to introduce potential buyers to something they may never have found, or looked for, on their own,” explains Lawrence Frej, Maluhia’s creative director. “We design and source everything ourselves. If we can’t find it, we build it.”

Ken and Patti’s house features a Chinese theme. “Ninety-nine percent of what’s in the house came from China and southeast Asia,” Lawrence notes. “The paintings are contemporary, nonobjective works by internationally known Chinese painters. The antique rugs are primarily from western China, along the Silk Road.” Coral-encrusted pottery from centuries-old shipwrecks and artifacts from the Asmat tribe of Indonesia add spice.

Interior designer Sheryl Seaman designed the cabinetry and some furniture. Virtually all of the custom elements were fabricated or procured by Crisscross, a to-the-trade supplier created as a partnership between PRM Realty and Sheryl’s firm, Group 70 International. Crisscross’ Asian artisans fashioned carved-wood and stone window screens, carved-wood stair panels, and embossed-metal gates that depict the house’s botanical motif -- the hala (pandanus) tree. And the home’s design fits perfectly with Ken and Patti’s personal style. “We’ve added family photos, some baskets we found locally, and linens, dishes, and silverware,” Patti says. “But we haven’t had to bring much -- everything was here.”

Hawaii has long been a crossroads for Pacific and Asian people, but objects from almost any culture can harmonize with its alluring tropical setting. Other Maluhia houses will showcase Japanese, Thai, Balinese, and far-flung aboriginal cultures. The architecture (by Group 70’s Francis Oda) embraces the environment through broad openings, retractable glass wall panels, and deep eaves. Indoor spaces flow into outdoor areas: the living room into the lanai and patio, the downstairs master bath into the bamboo-screened outdoor shower, which Ken calls “a big terrarium.” Sheryl notes, “Pretty much all the rooms open to gardens or balconies.”

“This is the way a Hawaiian house should be,” Ken enthuses. “The openness brings in the lush plants, the ginger, the plumeria…”

“The geckos,” Patti interjects with a laugh.

Ken and Patti wanted a more adventurous design for their vacation home -- something different from their traditionally styled Malibu residence. They say the house’s airy, exotic quality helps them jettison everyday mainland tensions almost immediately.

“And when I have to deal with business, it’s a pleasure doing it from here,” Ken says. “I forward my phone and fax, and no one needs to know I’m on Maui, just a short stroll from the beach.”

Maluhia’s soup-to-nuts design philosophy makes sense on an island where furnishing a house often involves long-distance shipping.

“We spend hundreds of hours putting a house like this together, then wait for someone to come in and say, `Yeah, this is me,’” Lawrence says.

“It fit what we were looking for, in ways we didn’t know until we saw it,” Ken reflects. “The house had a story, and we became part of that story.”