LifeEdited, one of my favorite websites with its ideas for downsizing and living more deliberately, has been quiet for a few months while ramping up its next big project. Now the newest LifeEdited residence is under construction on the Hawaiian island of Maui. With a goal of minimizing the environmental impact of a home without sacrificing quality of life, this house aims for not just adequacy but luxury.

In a departure from the first two LifeEdited houses (both apartment interior fit-outs in cities), LifeEdited Maui is a standalone structure in a rural location. The climate is near-perfect for human habitation, with little need for HVAC systems, and the land enables growing a substantial amount of food on-site. But otherwise, it’s a surprising choice for a blog that frequently extols the virtues of city life – the economy of multifamily housing and public transportation, the access to jobs, groceries, and other amenities and the resulting savings in time and fuels, are absent here.

Wall framing and roof of the LifeEdited Maui house.

This is also the first time the LifeEdited team has needed to choose a foundation, a roof, structural materials, and utilities like water and electricity. Why a sloping site? Why steel construction for the lower level? I look forward to reading about their design decisions and watching this house come into existence.