As new condominiums sprout up all over Kaka'ako, many people are willing to sacrifice space in favor of convenience and a toehold in an up-and-coming neighborhood.

Tracy Wong, a commercial insurance agent who moved from a single-family home in Nu'uanu to a two-bedroom apartment in the luxurious Ko'olani on Waimanu Street, said when she first moved in, her unit was all bare white walls.

"You literally have boxes up to the ceiling of just stuff," she said, "and you think, how am I going to have all this stuff here where I'm actually going to live? I absolutely hated it."

Two years later, though, Wong's 1,160-square-foot unit seems tranquil and spacious, thanks to thoughtful use of careful design and whimsy to maximize the room she had to work in.

As she started to decorate, Wong didn't want to buy more things, so she started working with what she had.

She started in the bedroom, with a red decorative pillow that became the inspiration for a room that she now calls a haven.

Moving into the common room, using colors, texture and layers — a technique she learned from friend Cathy Lee's RSVP Style workshops (see sidebar) — Wong painted one wall wine red, added touches like gold accent pillows and textured paintings, and hung woven curtains that always let in the city lights. When she was done, she had a day room that calls attention to the richness of design rather than the size of the room.

That's part of what she learned from Lee.

"When you move into a condominium, you're really limited in terms of the space, so I had to have closet systems. But even in the tiny spaces, like the bathroom, she talks about being able to create it to have it a personality," Wong explained. "It can be functional, by adding shelf space, but also have a really pretty feel, even though it's a small space.

"Literally you're downsizing, but what I like here, and what a lot of the neighbors like, is that it's real convenient. My office is two-and-a-half blocks away on Pi'ikoi Street, so I walk there, and I walk to the movies a lot," she said.

STARTER STRATEGIES

James Duca, 32, also moved to Kaka'ako for the convenience. Whether the General Growth Properties associate walks or bikes to work, he says it's just a five-minute commute from his one-bedroom condo in the new Keola La'i building on Queen Street.

Unlike Wong, who was downsizing, for Duca, the 672-square foot unit is a starter home and he was one of the lucky 63 "gap group" buyers who were able to buy below the market price in the area. At $275,000 to $375,000, those 63 one- and two-bedroom condos went at less than half the price of many comparable units in the newer Kaka'ako buildings.

Two months after moving in, Duca calls his sparsely furnished unit "a work in progress."

What furniture he does have is multifunctional. His focus is in saving space — and in saving up to add pieces to the home as he goes along.

His bed covers a storage space. Rather than adding a dining table, stools pulled up to the granite kitchen counter provide an eating area. He even has a futon couch. His laptop computer eliminates the need for a desk.

In a building that boasts a gym, pool, Jacuzzi, barbecues, meeting space and a spacious lobby, Duca isn't concerned about the size of his apartment, but rather feels lucky to have a piece of the growing community.

"You feel like you have the best of everything," he said. "As people realize it, more people will be interested in moving in. It feels like there's plenty of room to grow. Life is pretty easy," he said.

UPSCALE LUXURIES

Life is easier at Hokua, the luxury building on Ala Moana, where multimillion-dollar units make space less of an issue.

Real estate agent Eve Shere's two-bedroom unit is almost 2,000 square feet, and on top of that, there was storage space to use when she and her husband downsized from their home in Manoa.

"When our daughter moved out and we knew (Hokua) was coming online, we knew it was time. It was a complete getaway from all the maintenance of homeownership. We just wanted to come here," Shere said. "There is no other building that gives you location and space like this."

Shere did the decorating herself, with some help from a friend.

Aside from the two bedrooms, Shere had one large living space and an open kitchen to work with. Without partitions, she created distinct living, dining and work spaces that flow into each other and take nothing away from the ultimate piece of beauty: walls of glass with a panoramic ocean view.

While the living area features neutral-colored leather pieces, the glass theme continues with the dining table and Shere's desk, where she manages to get work done despite the spectacular view.

As in Duca's bachelor pad, Shere also has seating at her kitchen counter, and like Wong, Shere used colored walls, bold artwork and "pieces of whimsy," like a collection of plates, to add further dimension to the room.

RANGE OF OPTIONS

At 909 Kapiolani, where many of the units are still vacant, a tour demonstrated the disparity between the units, and the variety of options available in the new Kaka'ako condos.

A 601-square-foot model unit, priced at $520,000, used conventional showroom style to soften the unit's boxy effect, using light colors to create an open feel, featuring only essential pieces of furniture, such as a sofa and bed, and keeping the decorating touches to a few pieces.

Two empty, top-floor penthouses at 909 Kapiolani, priced at $2.4 million to $2.6 million, had a smaller interior living space than Shere's Hokua two-bedroom, at 1,469 to 1,774 square feet, but they boasted almost equally large lanai, allowing for some potential indoor-outdoor decorating.

For Ray Padilla, owner of a 1,333-square-foot, two-bedroom "penthouse" two floors lower, location and ocean and mountain views are more of a priority than interior design.

His unit's furniture included a sofa, big-screen TV, bed, red-and-blue floral beach chairs and one fuzzy "moon" chair — the latter three placed in front of a window overlooking Honolulu Harbor. The focus: comfort, and emphasizing the world outside Padilla's windows.

Colorful Padilla's personality filled up the empty space, however, as the 64-year-old retired public health nurse and real estate investor (he owns two other properties in California) expounded on the benefits of living in Kaka'ako.

"Three years ago, I saw this in the news and it was impressive because of the location, next door to the Blaisdell, a (few blocks) to the shore and to the Ala Moana shopping mall. I was dreaming about living in a penthouse here," he said.

Now that he's moved in, it's the outside that impresses him. "It overlooks Diamond Head, I have a full view of the mountains, and the city is in the middle of progressive construction," he said.

Outside, there's always life, he said. "This place is active in the daytime and in the nighttime; young people are always at the theater and hanging out and eating," he said.

"It's the best place to live."

Small but stylish

RSVPstyle owner Cathy Lee's goal is to teach people how to design with style, regardless of budget or square footage.

The www.RSVPstyle.com Web site is filled with tips and videos, but Lee offered a few suggestions for condo owners who have found themselves "space challenged, yet style motivated":

1. Be organized and edit accessories. "If you don't have a lot of space, the last thing you want to see is a lot of clutter," Lee said. Get a closet organizer (or build your own), add some baskets and bins and put away everything that you need to have but don't need anyone else to see, like extra blankets, pillows, books and tchotchkes.

2. Dual-purpose everything. "What you want to do is find pieces that are not only attractive, but also functional," she said. A sculptural bench or interesting stools can be decorative and serve as extra seating. A coffee table can be used for storing the remote control, books and coasters, or even for stashing little ottomans underneath.

3. Keep your color palette cool or neutral. "Light colors and cool colors tend to recede, making the room feel bigger and breezier," Lee said. "Neutral colors also give a calming, open feel, while lots of reds and deep dark tones will give the illusion of a cozier space, which you may not want if you have a small setting." Bolder color can be used to great effect on an accent wall or in decorative pieces.

4. Mirror, mirror on the wall: "We all know that mirrors can give the illusion of a bigger space, but if you want to add a mirror, again, make it dual purpose and have it (be) beautiful as well," Lee said. Some options include using a wooden frame that ties into some of the other finishes in the room, or buying a mirror with a large and interesting shape so it functions as both a mirror and a focal point.

5. Don't be afraid to go bold. "Lots of little pieces of artwork on the walls can make a room feel smaller and more cluttered. Opt instead for a big bold piece and give it room to breathe," Lee said. "A lot of people think small rooms, small-scale art, but (large pieces) create interest and a focal point."

6. Texturize. "Try a single color, tone on tone, but add personality with textures you layer. Cream on cream with chrome and white and glass and acrylic would be extremely hot. It would just be one color, but the shades of white and cream and the reflections on the mirrors and glass and chrome could make the room feel exciting, glamorous, spacious and layered." For example, she said, a fur throw rug, a beige sofa, acrylic lamps, a glass coffee table and a silky beige window treatment, all light neutral colors, could create a "white hot" room.

— Treena Shapiro