HGTV’s Renovation Aloha: Timelines, Traditions and Tropical Touches

HGTV’s Renovation Aloha – Season 2, Episode 7 – “Toughest Clients Ever” takes a heartfelt turn as Tristyn and Kamohai tackle their most personal project yet: renovating the Oahu home where Kamohai grew up… for his own parents.

With three decades of memories packed into a tiny galley kitchen, a timeline tangled up in holiday deadlines, and the unique challenges of designing in Hawaii (hello, shipping costs that cost more than the item itself), this episode delivers big on family feels.

We dish on the design choices, debate the second-floor primary suite for surfing grandparents, and admit to more than a few pangs of tropical lifestyle jealousy. Plus—our take on why this is HGTV’s most heartwarming flipping show.

🎧 Listen now at https://designingbesties.buzzsprout.com and follow us everywhere you podcast.

Love and Kisses,

Rhonda and Shari

Find us at https://designingbesties.buzzsprout.com, Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).

Transcript

20 - FINAL AUDIO - RENOVATION ALOHA S2 E7

[00:00:01] Shari: Hi there, I'm Shari, and this is my BFF Rhonda.

[00:00:04] Rhonda: And welcome to Designing Besties. This podcast is for women.

[00:00:08] Shari: and brave men

[00:00:09] Rhonda: who eat, sleep, and breathe interior design and recognize their addiction to HGTV.

[00:00:14] Shari: Whether you're rearranging your living room for the 12th time or here to justify another HomeGoods spree, you're in the right place.

[00:00:21] Rhonda: Let's talk design, disasters, and all the beautiful chaos in between. 

This week we are dishing on Renovation Aloha Season 2, Episode 7.

[00:00:30] Shari: On this episode called "Toughest Clients Ever", Tristyn and Kamohai renovate the home where he grew up in Oahu. His parents, Sandy and Kamoa, bought the home 35 years ago, she's been wanting to renovate for 30 years.

If you've ever watched this show, you know that Tristyn and Kamohai are all about family and they're super excited and nervous to do this renovation for his parents.

[00:00:51] Rhonda: I really related to growing up in such a tiny house. I don't know what size house you grew up in, Shari but we were a family of four in 800 square feet, two bedroom, one bath. My brother and I shared a bedroom until I was like five or six years old. And when my brother was born, he slept on the couch when he got out of the crib.

So that's how tiny it was. And that's what made me relate to this. Like they, they were talking about, can you imagine one bathroom with all these people? Right?

[00:01:20] Shari: can't imagine. I grew up where we just moved all the time.

I don't think my mom, it was just my mom. I don't think my mom owned a home until I was in high school.

So this idea of 35 years in the same place is just, I can't relate to that. It was so different for me, but it's so beautiful to watch on the show.

[00:01:39] Rhonda: I agree, and I would call this my jealousy episode because I was feeling pangs of jealousy as I watched this through different topics. Like you said, living in the same home for 35 years. We see that on movies all the time where the girl brings her husband or boyfriend home and there's still her Johnny Depp posters up on the wall. It's just like it was when she was a teenager.

Which we know isn't very realistic. But I am a little jealous of people who can come home. Is really the place they grew up. Like they remember being little kids there. They remember being, teenagers there. They remember going away to college and coming home for Christmas or whatever.

Whenever they said their parents were in the same home that entire time, I did feel this little pang of jealousy. And when they were resistant to tearing out the kitchen. Initially I rolled my eyes like, oh, come on, I'd have no trouble taking a sledgehammer to that hideous faucet. But I kind of got it, all of their memories are there and tied to, you know, this is where I bang my head when me and my brother had a fight. And this is when such and such happens. So I could relate a little bit to the hesitancy and in changing that.

I can see that a little bit, but clearly it was time.

[00:02:45] Shari: Yeah, and speaking of the kitchen, we found the person who does not want an open floor plan, Sandy, she wants the kitchen updated, but she likes the galley style and it being separate from the living space.

[00:02:56] Rhonda: I actually wrote that I love the kitchen redo. They didn't rip down walls. It was so lovely and modern. Large overhaul of these rooms, but they kept the kitchen in that one area, and those cabinets I thought were just beautiful, 

[00:03:12] Shari: Yeah, and it's something we talk about a lot as we are watching. Sometimes you see a design and you think, ugh, like, why did they do that? But they're designing for clients and the client is overjoyed. That's the whole purpose.

This episode was a little different from all their other episodes, because in all those episodes, they're buying a rundown home, they're renovating it, and they're flipping it. And believe me, all of those homes have open floor plans. But in this case, they're designing for his parents and she absolutely said here's what I want. And you're right. It turned out beautiful and it's absolutely what she wanted. And in any world, like that's a win.

[00:03:49] Rhonda: I agree. Especially when it's your mother, right?

[00:03:50] Shari: Yeah, designing for friends and family would be my nightmare, but it was so touching to see Kamohai's conversation with his dad and how he was honored to do it. I had tears and it's not often on HGTV that I'm tearing up, but I had tears.

And to have that big family and you can just see that they're so close.

And I'm thinking that would be so nice. And then there's a part of me that induces a lot of anxiety over that. 

[00:04:14] Rhonda: I completely agree with you. I was watching that thinking, oh, isn't that wonderful how they all get together? They all seem so supportive. He mentions that a lot of his cousins are who he uses for trade, right? And I just thought oh, that just looks like such a lovely family. It's this lovely large family with these kids all growing up together with their cousins and playing in the crick. I guess they call it something different in Hawaii, but in Pittsburgh we call it a crick. 

[00:04:38] Shari: He actually called it a river at one point 

[00:04:40] Rhonda: So yes, my jealousy episode. I am jealous of large families that get along. Now, again, this is reality tv, and in my mind as I'm watching this. Thinking, oh, I would love to be part of a big family. I did the same thing you did. I thought, okay, so there's plenty of issues here that they're not gonna present as part of this show.

[00:04:58] Shari: And where is the fight over who gets to host Christmas? Because mom and dad can't.

[00:05:03] Rhonda: Oh, 

[00:05:04] Shari: No, Christmas is at my house. No, it's at my house. No, it's at my house.

[00:05:08] Rhonda: Or I'm never hosting Christmas again. It was a disaster last time. You guys were all jerks, you know?

[00:05:12] Shari: You can tell I'm a huge Bravo fan when I wanna see the drama. And the only drama in this episode really had to do with them being so nervous and excited about designing for his parents 

[00:05:24] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. 

[00:05:25] Shari: and the timeline. 

[00:05:26] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Did that feel fake? 

[00:05:28] Shari: Did it feel fake to me? No, it felt real.

[00:05:30] Rhonda: Oh, no, it's, I just thought, okay, we every show, you know, the producer has to come up with some sort of design drama, right? oH my God, what if we don't have Christmas here? I remember watching this like, so what, like go have it at someone else's house.

[00:05:44] Shari: It's the reason I don't take design clients in the fall, ' cause I don't wanna work against deadlines that I may have no control over because of supply chain, especially post covid, and I don't wanna deal with that. And people being anxious about the holidays.

I did wonder as the timeline was counting down. It's not just, can we host Christmas here? It's, do you have time to decorate for Christmas? Do you know where your Christmas stuff is? I started to think early on, there's no way that they were gonna make that deadline. I.

And then even to make the new deadline, because the parents say like we are, we're moving in. They give them a date. And I can imagine parents being like that. Like this is the date we're doing it no matter what. And they had to pull that all nighter. It felt like to me they were up against the wire.

[00:06:25] Rhonda: I felt like it was manufactured drama. You gotta have something with these, you know, HGTV shows, every single one. There's some issue, some drama you have to throw in. And this was the Christmas party and the parents moving in the next day, you know, the rent, the rental's done. You know, they've gotta move in. Also, I would nitpick the fake Christmas party. I'm sorry. I just, it just, they kept saying it over and over again. I was like, enough on the Christmas party and I could see it coming a mile away. They're not gonna make the Christmas party. Who's gonna tell mom and dad we're not gonna make the Christmas party. 

[00:06:59] Shari: What I thought was interesting is they didn't film telling mom and dad they're not making it.

[00:07:04] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Which made me even think that all along that was made up. But you know, again, I know you lean towards the... 

[00:07:10] Shari: believe everything they show me.

[00:07:12] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. 

[00:07:12] Shari: Well, I did wonder because they said they're pulling this all-nighter, but then on Reveal Day, Tristyn shows up and she looks gorgeous, like she just stepped out of a salon. Now I'll say like, she's a beautiful woman no matter what, but she was all done up. I just thought if I had pulled an all-nighter, would I have been able to get my stuff together and like show up looking done.

[00:07:35] Rhonda: Yes. and who, who knows. I would love to talk to a producer and say, you know, was that filmed like a week later, right? They don't have to do the filming the next day, right. The reveal.

[00:07:45] Shari: No. true. true. 

[00:07:46] Rhonda: Like the parents could have moved in and they just need to hide all their stuff.   

[00:07:49] Shari: And there are people who've done HGTV shows that say that the filming schedule

really can interfere with their schedule for getting things done because they have to do those confessionals. 

So that was kind of interesting. Going back to Tristyn though, very beautiful woman, but wow. Does she have a resting bitch face? I can just imagine the contractors shaking in their boots when she comes in and she's not happy.

[00:08:12] Rhonda: Yeah, she's only four foot 11, so maybe that's her compensation. 

[00:08:17] Shari: if she walked in with that face. it's her brother who's like the lead contractor . 

[00:08:21] Rhonda: okay. 

[00:08:22] Shari: the one she's often talking to. That's her brother,

[00:08:24] Rhonda: Hmm.

[00:08:24] Shari: and he had gotten a promotion, so he had a bigger role.

[00:08:28] Rhonda: Oh, okay. Yes. I think I saw another episode where they were worried that he was taking on too much or something like that.

[00:08:33] Shari: I do have a Hot take though. All the fans are gonna hate me right now. I am not the biggest fan of Tropical Island Design.

[00:08:39] Rhonda: Oh, Shari if you lived in Hawaii, you would be

[00:08:42] Shari: maybe 

maybe 

[00:08:44] Rhonda: it belongs in Hawaii, wouldn't you?

[00:08:45] Shari: Tristyn called her design elevated beach and I agree it certainly fits the location and his parents like this is really the way they live. It does make me wonder though, how they're gonna do on Rock the Block in Utah, which almost couldn't be more opposite in terms of climate and design.

And I think shows like this, and this season's the White Lotus, which was said in Thailand affect the zeitgeist of interior design.

[00:09:11] Rhonda: Woo. That's a good take. I do watch White Lotus looking at those lamps on the bedside tables and I'm like could that fit in my house? Could I make that work because 

[00:09:21] Shari: Yeah And on previous episodes, Tristyn has brought in a friend who does custom wallpaper. And she does it in designs that Tristyn refers to Hawaiiana So it's native to that region and it's beautiful. When I see it and I see her finished design, it all works. It's sort of like when I see a design that has a lot of color and I look at it and I think, oh, that's so beautiful, but what I do to my house, no. I've tried to put color in my house and I'm just back to, you know, neutral Nancy. I just can't do it.

[00:09:49] Rhonda: Yes, there is a phenomenon, I'm not sure if that's the right way to describe it. But whenever I travel, I tend to want to start bringing those design elements. Like when I go to Hawaii, I am looking around and suddenly I would love to have a big Hawaiian quilt right on my bed.

The times that I've made the mistake and brought something like that home, it just doesn't work. I remember in France, they have all these linens, these beautiful, just yellow and blues. I mean, they're just so lovely. Napkins. Table cover everything, right?

And there I am buying a couple hundred dollars worth of it. And one of the ladies on the tour with me said are you gonna take that home? Is that gonna fit in your house? And, No, it didn't. It didn't. 

[00:10:26] Shari: Oh that how the Pink Flamingo ended up in your bathroom?

[00:10:30] Rhonda: Stop. stop. starting to peel. 

[00:10:33] Shari: You were taking a tour of Miami Vice sound set. You're in Florida and you're like, I need a pink flamingo in my house too.

[00:10:41] Rhonda: I am not gonna tell you the story of why I selected a flamingo, but it's something like that. Not Miami Vice and not Golden Girls, but something similar.

[00:10:49] Shari: Oh gosh. Okay. Like off camera, I need to hear about it.

The thing is though, what they do have in common with Utah, going back to this Rock the Block competition, you do have a lot of outdoor toys you gotta store. In Hawaii, it's kayaks and surfboards. And in Utah it's ATV's skis, and snowboards.

I think that what they have in common is this whole outdoor lifestyle, and I do think that Tristyn and Kamohai are going to do a really great job of making a family home, which is gonna play big in Utah.

[00:11:19] Rhonda: Yes.

[00:11:19] Shari: And the storage and how you deal with all of that stuff and how you make sure you have all those play toys. At the same time, I don't think they're gonna actually win. but 

that's for another show.

[00:11:29] Rhonda: Yes. Good, good. Okay. So back to Oahu, Hawaii. I'm someone who, again, back to my jealousy, I live in a fantasy of I could live there. I would be very happy there. I could probably even have a tiny home, which is a discussion for another podcast. But, I have this fantasy of living in Hawaii as doable. But in reality, this kind of drives home, this show overall, not this specific episode, but the show overall is just how expensive. How ridiculously expensive. And the fact that his parents even had a home. I think he mentioned they got it in a lottery or 

[00:12:05] Shari: His mom talked about that the government had a lottery of a hundred, maybe 102 homes that they would sell for a cheaper price. It was open to native Hawaiians and they were one of the winners. They got the home for just over a hundred thousand and homes were 

[00:12:25] Rhonda: Yeah. 

[00:12:25] Shari: over 200,000 at the time, and that was 

[00:12:27] Rhonda: Yeah. 

[00:12:28] Shari: years ago. 

[00:12:28] Rhonda: Yeah. That's still a lot of money. That's still a lot. Yeah. Yeah. For a working class family. Right. So yeah, I do have, again, this idea of just how wonderful it would be to live in paradise, but you can see how fast things get run down, right. That weather is relentless. 

[00:12:44] Shari: Salt water and how long it takes to get things and how expensive. Tristyn mentions in the intro that it can cost more to ship than the actual item itself.

[00:12:54] Rhonda: Yeah, you gotta think everything's gotta come from somewhere, right? Everything's gotta be shipped in. 

I did enjoy seeing people who actually live in a tropical paradise, a vacation destination. I live in Las Vegas, Nevada. This is a vacation destination and. Every time I go anywhere and say I'm from Las Vegas, I always get the, what's it like living there? everyone assumes, everyone assumes I either work or live or that I go there every day.

 we grocery shop in in casinos. Yeah. It's hard to explain like. I don't have anything to do. My family doesn't have, you know, my, my husband and I don't have anything to do with the entertainment business here in Las Vegas. And so, uh, we're completely disconnected from that. And really the only time we go down, to those venues is when someone comes to visit.

You gotta go down there, you gotta find parking. Parking you don't have to pay for it didn't used to. It's crowded, It's so crowded. It surprises me how crowded it is.

so. 

[00:13:50] Shari: drink and shop, I am in my happy place, and there aren't many places where you can be holding your martini and going from 

[00:13:59] Rhonda: True. That's true. It's probably not a good idea, but Yes. Anyway, so when I see a Hawaiian family, I think that same thing, like what is it like living there with the tourists, dealing with the traffic, dealing with bad behavior. Whatever it is that that they have to deal with. Or, are they like me where they're completely disconnected from the tourist industry. They live their lives like normal human beings and don't really have to deal with traffic and all the other things that come with being a tourist 

destination 

[00:14:26] Shari: to know.

[00:14:27] Rhonda: Yeah. Of what it is like to live in Hawaii, right. 

[00:14:30] Shari: My guess is the positives outweigh the negatives. I think about in the show, Sandy showing up to the design appointment right after she had been out surfing and I just thought, oh my God, I wanna be a grandma and just to finish surfing. Like I was impressed, and then my anxiety kicks in and I'm just like, oh, what if she got attacked by a shark? I mean, I've been to Hawaii several times. Of course, what's in my head is, are there sharks around? Are there sharks? I've been scarred by jaws at an early 

[00:14:58] Rhonda: Got it. Yes. All of us have. So back to the design. One of the things I did take issue with, why would you make the principal bedroom for your elderly parents on the second floor?

[00:15:11] Shari: I didn't even think of that. When they were going through and saying what they wanted, they're gonna need more square footage, they don't want to impact on the actual land space, I was thinking, how are they gonna do that?

And when I saw that it was a second floor, I thought that is so brilliant. But I'm, I would just say I get it that they're older, but she was just out surfing. It's not happening soon, and now they have so many. I learned this with my mom. They have so many of those little chairs that you can just put onto your staircase 

[00:15:37] Rhonda: Okay. 

[00:15:38] Shari: up and down pretty easy if that becomes an issue for you.

[00:15:41] Rhonda: Hmm. I just thought, why wouldn't you know, if I were doing it, if it were me, if I were Tristyn looking at the design, I'd have put the principal downstairs and then put the kids in the play place upstairs. Like I'd have reversed it just to keep them. Again, as they get older, as they break a hip, who knows? And there was no handrail on the stairs. I remember seeing no handrail on the stairs and I thought this feels like an accident waiting to happen. But you know, hey, just for the next five years. Maybe the next five years they do great. Because like you said, clearly this is a physically fit couple, but I'm just thinking down the road, You want this to be their forever home and will they be able to live in that home forever? 

[00:16:16] Shari: Watching this episode his parents seemed so young to me and so physically active that it never really occurred to me. I was simply ooing and aahing over a retreat where I can just get away from everything and everyone.

[00:16:30] Rhonda: Mm-hmm.

[00:16:30] Shari: That's my dream. And to see that and to have two lanais, one on the front, one on the back, and their own little mini kitchen, I could get up in the morning and make my coffee and never have to speak to another soul.

That was so gorgeous. So gorgeous. And again, I'm not a big fan of the tropical design, but I felt like that captured more of the sort of modern piece. It was so beautifully well done, but it still had what looked like a native quilt on the bed. 

 It still captured the essence of whose who his parents are, and I, yeah, I can't say enough about how much I loved that primary suite retreat.

[00:17:09] Rhonda: I love the tile, I love the cabinet, I love the flooring. I just 

[00:17:12] Shari: Mm-hmm. 

[00:17:13] Rhonda: lovely, design. I agree with you there.

[00:17:15] Shari: But we do both live in one Story houses and we like the idea that we live in one story houses.

[00:17:20] Rhonda: Yes, your last house, you had that upstairs Common area and I just loved, loved, loved, like the idea of waking up and making your coffee and sitting on your couch and you know, reading your paper. 'cause you had a little balcony, right. You had the view I just, I just had this sort of lovely idea of that whole, I don't know why I, of not going downstairs yet, right? Just sort of starting your day up there. It just seems so 

[00:17:42] Shari: I, I'm not even a grandmother, but the going up and down the stairs, it just made me determined I would never have another house that had two stories. And then my mom ended up buying a two story when she is older and has a pretty advanced condition that affects her ability to do physical things. And I argued with her about how are you gonna do that? 'cause the primary was the only thing upstairs, and she just ended up moving into a bedroom downstairs when my stepdad died. She literally was never up there.

[00:18:10] Rhonda: Yeah, I do think so. Again, my family comes from Pittsburgh and all the houses in downtown Pittsburgh are two story two or three or four stories and I think that kept my grandma young for quite a while is walking up and down the stairs all day.

I do think it kept her a little more fit than normal that in walking the hills of Pittsburgh to go get the bus.

[00:18:30] Shari: I'll tell you though, this is the most heartwarming house flipping show on HGTV for sure.

[00:18:35] Rhonda: Yeah. Agree.

[00:18:35] Shari: It really is, I think more about the family and bringing the whole family forward, like pulling them up than it is about even flipping houses. Because some of the houses they buy to flip, they're from families who then become part of the whole renovation.

They bring them back to see it. It's, it 

[00:18:54] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. 

[00:18:54] Shari: again, most heartwarming house flipping show on HGTV.

[00:18:58] Rhonda: Yeah, I do notice that he always knows the person who's the realtor for it or the person who's selling it, or even if they don't know, they go next door to meet the lady next door, and pretty soon she's there with them doing the blessing, right? I bet if you live there, there would be a definite structure on how you do things there. And that almost always probably involves family. Someone you know, someone in your family. Probably be hard for a brand new person to come in and start working. I don't know.

[00:19:24] Shari: Well then he talked about his hanai, like people who are your adopted family.

[00:19:28] Rhonda: Oh, yes, yes, we call it framily But yes, I prefer the Hawaiian word. It's much more 

[00:19:35] Shari: Hanai 

[00:19:36] Rhonda: pretty. 

Yes. 

[00:19:37] Shari: In a lot of ways. This is your typical flipping show, but really what's different is this whole idea of how it's about family more than it is about flipping the materials being not as easy to procure on a timely basis. I think that adds that drama and I think a part of that's real, even though you think it's all produced. It's as much a show about family as it is about flipping.

 (RERECORD - SHARI - GET RID OF THE BUMP IN LAST PARAGRAPH) 

[00:19:58] Rhonda: No, I agree with you. There's certain elements I think about when I watch this, like when they were clearing the house out, right? And I'm thinking, oh my God, what must the dump fees be in Hawaii? Right?

You and I live in an area where that's really not such a big deal.

But in Hawaii, that's gonna be a big deal, right? Where you're gonna put all this garbage, like this torn out kitchen and these, I mean, I'm just thinking that must be a huge expense there. And then he said there's two places on this island to do trusses. Like, we're stuck. we have to use what they have.

And anytime you try to order tile. I'm sure they have a Home Depot where you could run down and get any kind of tile you need, that will do anyway. But I'm sure any sort of special order is just crazy as far as will it be here or not.

[00:20:40] Shari: Like she said, the shipping will cost more than the actual item. And for heavy items like tile, I would imagine that's probably pretty true.

[00:20:46] Rhonda: The risk, will it come here in one piece or will I be doing a mosaic from these tiles? You know? and the cabinets, right. I was gonna ask you about the cabinets, right? Since you're familiar with how hard it is to order cabinets. I'm imagining they don't manufacture them in Hawaii.

[00:21:03] Shari: They have worked with at least one custom cabinet manufacturer to do a few special things, but they're flipping, so they're not gonna do custom cabinet maker for everything, I don't think. And the shipping cost, it's probably huge. Even when you think about when you order stuff, sometimes it'll actually say these rates don't apply, like this special doesn't apply to Hawaii and Alaska.

[00:21:23] Rhonda: Yeah. Good point. Good point. Yes.

Hmm. 

[00:21:25] Shari: look on his parents' face when they walked through the renovation, told you everything you needed to know about how much they loved it.

[00:21:31] Rhonda: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. I really enjoyed it as far as watching a family that loves each other and the thrill being able to do this for his parents, and then her, like even just talking about being a member of that family, how lucky she feels. Very heartwarming and sweet.

I call it my jealousy episode, just because there were so many elements to it that I thought, oh, I wish I was part of that. I wish I lived in Hawaii. I wish I had a big family. All of those things.

[00:21:57] Shari: Thank you for dishing with us about Renovation Aloha. This was not a typical episode for Tristyn and Kamohai because they renovated his parents' house instead of flipping one. Despite the challenges with delays for the roof trusses and missing Christmas at his parents' house, it was so heartwarming when the whole family surprised them at the reveal.

[00:22:14] Rhonda: And this week we've done a special posting on Instagram and Facebook. We'd like to know, do you live in a vacation destination? Tell us your experiences with that, and maybe we'll pick you as our designer of the week. 

[00:22:25] Shari: If you are vibing with us and your brain is basically made of HGTV at this point, you need to catch up on all of our episodes at designingbesties.com. We're literally everywhere you listen to podcasts, so hit that follow like star or whatever button you're app throws at you. We're not picky. We're just needy.

Give us your comments and they could earn you a spot in our Hall of Fame, which is definitely not a sticky on my computer.

[00:22:47] Rhonda: But I do enjoy acknowledgement of our special fan, and I do enjoy a sticky note occasionally.

[00:22:54] Shari: Yes. I can only imagine what your office looks like.

[00:22:59] Rhonda: No judging. 

[00:22:59] Shari: As always, we have some apologies to make.

[00:23:02] Rhonda: Oh. 

[00:23:02] Shari: like to apologize for any names I butchered and to people who love tropical island designs.

[00:23:07] Rhonda: I would like to apologize to people who have deadlines with their design that are real and not manufactured. 

[00:23:15] Shari: Until next time. Bye.

[00:23:17] Rhonda: Bye. See you.