Large trucks couldn’t navigate the serpentine, one-lane road to deliver building materials to the construction site, so the Strojs devised a workaround: they bought an old pickup truck and made dozens of trips to and from Home Depot in Kahului. They also arranged to have shipping containers of wood dropped off at the neighboring (and more easily accessible) Mendes Ranch; they rented a U-Haul truck to transport the wood from the ranch to their property.
The Strojs moved into the still-unfinished home in 2007; it was completed a year later. Today, the minimalist design and furnishings lend themselves to the Strojs’ lifestyle. “We wanted to make things as low maintenance as possible,” Drazena explains.
The two-car garage was converted into a workspace where Robert now designs his windsurf sails; Drazena fires her ceramics at the nearby Turnbull Studios, and Miha and Jaka are homeschooled, so all four are spared a daily commute to Kahului—although, they say, it’s really not that far. “We don’t mind the drive,” Drazena says. “After a while, you get used to it.”
The Stroj residence has been dubbed “The Clifftop House” by many of its admirers, but Robert points out that it’s a slight misnomer. “It’s not really a cliff—it’s more of a slope,” he says with a smile. “But it really does feel like you’re on top of the world here.”
Resources
Bamboo Maui (flooring, cabinets, doors)
1878 Wili Pa Loop, Wailuku
808-244-2299 • BambooMaui.net
Dekleva Gregoric Architects
arh@dekleva-gregoric.com
Dekleva-Gregoric.com
Home Depot (concrete blocks)
100 Pakaula Street, Kahului
808-893-7900 • HomeDepot.com
Miyake Concrete Accessories
(building materials and supplies)
250-N Waiehu Beach Road, Wailuku 808-244-7988 • (See MiyakeConcrete.com for other locations.)
Pacific Stainless
(stainless steel in kitchen)
58500 McNulty Way, Saint Helens, Oregon 888-618-2122 • PacificStainless.com
