Home Tour: “The Local Nook” A Cozy Hawaiian Hale

Known affectionately as “the local nook,” Cece + Caleb’s cozy Hawaiian hale is seriously COOL. Mixing vintage-inspired elements, a touch of mid-century modern, with bright + airy beach vibes — it’s one home that has us wanting to move in ASAP! This dynamic duo knows a thing or two about aesthetically pleasing rooms, as the two of them are photographers, under the name of Zephyr Image.

Cece shares When we were first decorating, Caleb and I didn’t share every vision… For example, when I suggested that we paint all the walls white to keep our small space open, bright, and airy, his response was, “You mean make our home look like a hospital?” It was actually pretty challenging at first, but with the help of photo inspo it all came together and he loved it!

Much of C+C’s inspiration is drawn from their first shared love: the ocean. Their ceiling is painted sea foam green; throughout the house there are collected treasures of sea glass and sea pottery from Bali, Italy, Greece, and Malta. 

What really impressed us (on top of the space!) was that these two got married at 19 and converted their parent’s garage into this gorgeous dwelling! They share We HAD to stay on budget. From framing to drywall to plumbing and electrical… You name it! We had to learn from friends and YouTube. We frequently checked Craigslist and after eight months of searching, we scored the perfect mini-stove for only 100 bucks! Being patient and willing to do things yourself, along with opting for different routes definitely saved a lot of money, kept us on our budget, and saved us from financial stress!

The gorgeous area rug that ties the whole room together is from Urban Outfitters.

Cece is admittedly obsessed with Anthropologie and the kitchen is filled with pieces from there. To complement the more feminine style, they added the pallet wall to give the space more of an industrial flair and masculine feeling. Oh and that sweet lil’ loveseat? It’s from Pier One!

Did you incorporate any items from your wedding day in your design?

Because our entire wedding was DIY, we definitely wanted to incorporate a lot of those pieces into our home design. We actually bought a bunch of old dressers for our wedding reception and ended up using one as our kitchen counter and cabinet/pantry. The pallets we used as extra seating and furniture at the wedding make up most of our pallet wall!

With lots of brainstorming, DIYing, creativity, and patience everything can come together just so!  We also didn’t allow this home project to stop us from living and enjoying life! Rather than stressing and working on the house every day with no fun and no personal life, we chose to have fun with each and every project.

We like to pick up certain things from our travels including our style inspo. For example, we chose to have marble flooring in our bathroom after traveling through Greece together. Caleb loved all of the marble in the old ruins of Athens.

We’re completely drooling over this space inspired by a villa they rented in Bali. The open outdoor concept with flowy curtains and white washed walls definitely exudes the laid-back vibes of Balinese villas.

What advice do you have for couples currently designing their home?

I’d say to first of all, identify your style and how you truly want your space to feel. Maybe even give each other a space to solely design and call your own. Caleb’s “man cave” was actually the outside patio + garden area. This was his space he got to design on his own which got the creative juices flowing and motivation was flying off the charts. I enjoyed watching him through out the process and threw in my ideas along the way. Other spaces in the home were my zone to create and follow through with as he engaged along the way as well. This way your home is equally your home.

So, this begs the question… Can we move in?! Seriously loving all the island-inspired vibes and the light + airy quality to their home.

A huge thank you to Cece + Caleb for giving us the grand tour!

photography: Zephyr Image