Tour Tristyn and Kamohai Kalama’s Season 6 ‘Rock the Block’ Home

Married house-flipping experts Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama are no strangers to high-stakes projects. On Renovation Aloha, they transform seemingly-hopeless houses into revitalized neighborhood gems and manage to make a living doing it — which is no mean feat in any market, but an especially tricky high-wire act in the notoriously-tight real-estate market on O’ahu. Given the heavy lifting they do day in and day out on the island, what’s one new build outside Salt Lake City, even if it’s their first-ever HGTV design competition? “We’re real-estate professionals; we eat, sleep [and] breathe renovation and designs,” Tristyn said. “Let’s bring some Hawaii to Utah!” Kamohai added.

A second team of first-time competitors joined the Kalamas to battle it out on the block: Chelsea and Cole DeBoer of Down Home Fab also made their renovation-competition debut. They faced off against each other and two teams of veteran competitors, including Season 4's Jonathan Knight (Farmhouse Fixer) and his brother and New Kids on the Block bandmate, Jordan Knight (who flipped a property with him on Camp Revamp), as well as Season 4 champion Michel Smith Boyd (Luxe for Less), joining forces with Windy City Rehab’s Alison Victoria (who competed in Season 1 and Season 2). They converged in up-and-coming Grantsville, Utah, where property values have skyrocketed 26% in the last five years. Each team renovated a three-story home with 5,500 square feet of living space on a full acre of land (the largest lots in competition history). Each week yielded two prizes: The judges’ favorite project would win $3,000 toward the next round of competition, and their fellow veteran or rookie team would win $1,500. On day one, each home was worth $750,000. At the end of six weeks, whichever home notched the highest final appraisal value would earn its team bragging rights and a street named in their honor. “I know you guys are veterans,” Kalama told the returning competitors, “but these rookies — this is what we do.” “Every day, all day,” Tristyn added.

Kamohai and Tristyn knew immediately they wanted to make the most of their home’s natural setting, so they relocated their kitchen to the rear of the house to facilitate indoor-outdoor living — and proper appreciation of its magnificent view. “The kitchen is the most important space, it is where everyone gathers, and it’s going to be the space that sets the tone for the rest of the competition,” Kamohai noted. Bifold windows above the sink open to create a pass-through from the kitchen to the deck, and a massive, waterfall-edge island provides plenty of space for prep and gathering. They settled on a ‘moody modern’ inspiration for their design, which took pale, custom cabinetry all the way to the ceiling and transitioned to deeper uppers on either side of their porcelain-fronted range hood. That gorgeous woodwork in the kitchen alone claimed $50,000 — or 20% of their budget for the entire house — but they knew that investment was important. “This is nothing but added value,” Tristyn said.

The Kalamas’ relocated pantry features more of the handcrafted work that packed functionality into their kitchen, as well as an expanded appliance suite. “You have unreal cabinetry in here ... this is a ton of added value,” Kalama said. He and Tristyn also gave the new pantry a hidden door to get the judges’ attention with an initial burst of creativity. “This is a freakin’ baller move,” Tristyn declared.

“We’re always inspired by nature, [and Utah] is one of the most beautiful places, so I want to use that as our palette for design and the choices that we bring to the space,” Tristyn said. She arranged vivid landscape photography on the dining room’s feature wall to create connection between the home and the brilliant natural tones beyond it — and deconstructed a bit of corrugated metal from a ski chalet roof (as part of the first week’s design challenge) to create a bit of bespoke art as well.

The rich natural tones and emotional connection to the outdoors that Tristyn and Kamohai carried through the kitchen and dining room flow effortlessly through their living room as well. On the right side of the deck, the kitchen pass-through window expands into colossal glass doors that double the space’s natural light and warmth. A new fireplace with a textural, floor-to-ceiling wood treatment keeps that toasty character going, and built-in floating shelves backed with grass cloth create a satisfying sense of symmetry.

Queer Eye’s Bobby Berk served as the first judge of the season and found much to appreciate in the Kalamas’ home. Those magnificent cabinets, for starters, were very much worth the investment. “This is cool! I like the two-tone cabinets,” he said. “If you’re going to do it they need to be high-contrast like this.” He also appreciated the kitchen’s pass-through window: “I have one of these in my house and it gets used constantly — especially in a place like this where the weather is so amazing.” The hidden pantry, floating shelves and creative artwork garnered praise as well — but Bobby couldn’t bring himself to love the new floor plan, which left the dining room in an awkward spot. Victory eluded Tristyn and Kamohai in week one, but they were determined to come back swinging.

Tristyn and Kamohai extended the handsome herringbone panels they installed on the ceiling in the kitchen, living and dining room to their home’s foyer, where its dramatic geometry seems to beckon guests deeper into the home. They coated the entryway walls in fresh, cheery white paint, then created contrast with a dark and curvaceous credenza along the wall facing the staircase. Tropical foliage plants texturize the space without compromising its organic simplicity, and the glass-paneled stair rail feels lighter than air.

The Kalamas envisioned their first floor as an office that served double duty as a bedroom, and they committed $3,600 of their budget to a Murphy bed that could be called into service and whisked away as needed. They also stole square footage from what would have been the powder room, a feature Tristyn was eager to move anyway; who wants to walk into a home and immediately see a toilet? This grab was a natural one. “When we’re flipping houses back home, buyers are always looking for bigger bedrooms,” she noted. “We have to use every trick in the book that we can, even if that means spending more money.” In moving their kitchen and pantry to the rear of the house, they freed up a new and more convenient location for their powder room. Color drenching the walls, ceiling and built-ins in this space in a cool, neutral green, in turn, lend it an all-enveloping serenity that’s ideal for an office and a bedroom.

Tristyn and Kamohai invested $950 in “some very special wallpaper” to elevate their new powder room. Jewelry and leis handcrafted with the tiny, precious Ni’ihau shells depicted in this pattern are a type of Polynesian folk art. “It’s not just wallpaper for us,” Tristyn explained, “it’s home.” “It’s just the significance of Ni’ihau shells, and they’re very valuable once they’re all put together,” Kamohai added. A substantial stone slab with rich, warm veining perches atop a louvered vanity stained a dimensional brown, and a complementary treatment on the lower half of the wall texturizes the design even more.

“When the judges walk in here I want to showcase that we’re using every single wall,” Tristyn said. After spending $7,780 on floor-to-ceiling cabinetry and devoting most of their remaining budget for the week to relocating the powder room, that meant resorting to more cost-effective floating shelves in one corner. “Floating shelves in the mudroom wasn’t my first choice, but it’s better than blank walls with no storage,” she explained. Once again, the cabinets’ rich stain contrasts with the Kalamas’ pale flooring, and iron-and-glass barn doors between this space and the rest of the first floor admit precious natural light and create a sound buffer for the stacked washer and dryer.

Jasmine Roth (Help! I Wrecked My House), the first-ever Rock the Block champ and a recent Utah transplant, joined her former Season 1 competitor Mina Starsiak Hawk (Good Bones) to render a verdict on the teams’ remaining first-floor spaces. Both Mina and Jasmine were smitten with the herringbone ceiling and the entryway’s spacious, gracious first impression; that initial enthusiasm waned a bit in the office and bedroom, where the space the Kalamas had reclaimed from the powder room felt incidental rather than integral to the room. Why wasn’t the bed in that newly-created area? “Having the Murphy bed [was a] great touch [and] great idea, [but] we were a little confused as to why there was added space,” Jasmine said. Tristyn and Kamohai would chase victory for another week.

Much as the kooky kitchen placement didn’t pass muster on the first floor, the bummer of a bedroom layout didn’t impress the Kalamas upstairs — and they decided to go for broke by fixing the footprint again. “The way this was originally, your bed was facing the wall,” Tristyn explained. “But by swapping the spaces, now your bed is facing the balcony and amazing views — plus your bedroom is bigger!” They swathed the room in a cool, midcentury-inspired ecru, then used rich gold velvet to create an upholstered headboard. Stained paneling that complements the tambour in their hallway carries the feature wall up to shallow molding that runs around the ceiling and frames out LED lighting. Pale flooring echoes the two-tone wood effect that earned praise from Bobby Berk in the first week of competition.

The Kalamas outfitted their balcony with a massive slider that both turns a main-suite wall into a picture window facing the bed and enables breezy indoor-outdoor living. The real firepower on this balcony, mind you, is the double-sided fireplace they installed beside that slider, enabling homeowners to cozy up indoors and al fresco. "That is the wow facor that is going to put us a step ahead of everyone else," Tristyn said.

Reconfiguring their main suite to create a foyer area and relocate storage transformed two gloomy closets into this magnificent, sunlit one. “We had to work around a pillar, but we still have enough room for a huge walk-in closet with custom shelving and a washer/dryer,” Tristyn said. Floor-to-ceiling custom cabinetry optimizes every inch of their extra-high ceilings, and a generous tufted ottoman makes this practical space feel like a personal retreat.

Tristyn and Kamohai aimed to create “the best en suite you’ve ever seen In your life,” as Tristyn put it. Cultivating more of the elegant, elemental atmosphere they established downstairs, they covered the walls in textural grass cloth, then created an integrated wet area with a sculptural soaking tub and large-format porcelain slabs that match the warm, gorgeously-veined stone deployed on their kitchen island. Beyond that zone, a personal sauna completes the spa-like space.

Ray and Eilyn Jimenez, the Miami-based duo that co-hosts Divided by Design, paused to appreciate the Kalamas’ ingenuity in the bedroom suite foyer. “I like the creativity behind the layout,” Ray said. “The foyer connects to the bathroom, the bathroom connects to the closet and the closet connects to the bedroom. That flow, that circulation that happens through all the spaces — how they’re all directly connected to one another — is amazing.” The double-sided fireplace impressed the Jimenezes as well. “You get the amazing views during the day, and at night you’ve got yourself a really nice fireplace,” Eilyn noted with approval.

Rookies and veterans alike faced an all-new challenge in the fourth week, when they had just 48 hours to complete both their landings and their bonus spaces. For Tristyn and Kamohai, it was time to go for broke — and that began with a two-story living wall beside their stairs. “I have always wanted to do a living plant wall,” Tristyn said. “We called around and found a local landscape artist that could quickly get us the material for our plant wall. It actually comes with a health certificate!” Textural mosses share space with trailing plants and glossy foliage in a downright showstopping feature. Verified, improved air quality and literal promotion of health and wellness: Does added value get any cooler than that?

The Kalamas and their competitors were assigned themes and materials to complete their bonus rooms, and Tristyn and Kamohai lucked out with their first choice — a playroom. “We’ve gotta channel the keiki [Hawaiian for “child”] in here,” Tristyn said. With their own children’s energy and creativity on their minds, they designed a graphic rock wall, a layered and backlit mountain-themed play area (complete with storage) and a floor-to-ceiling chalkboard-paint corner. “There’s big families in Utah. You want to make sure you’re catering to families,” Kamohai said.

When it came time to judge their work, the Kalamas faced their competitors. The teams evaluated each other’s landings and bonus rooms with the winner receiving all of the week’s $4,500 in prize money. “What an imagination!” Michel said. “If I was a kid I’d want to be there, but it felt really sophisticated enough for an adult to be able to enjoy, too.” Jon agreed: “That was the one space that I felt emotion [in]. There [were] so many cool things.” At long last, victory was theirs. “It was meant to be, because our kids are the inspiration for that space — so of course that’s the space we win,” Kamohai said.

Energized by their first win, the Kalamas were ready to tackle their 1,300-square-foot lower level. Both space and specs were daunting for the fifth week of competition: They had to build a fully-functional second kitchen and complete a large, unfinished room. That second kitchen featured both solid value adds (like a hood vent, a stained tambour wall and handsome cabinetry) and calculated savings (such as the DIY island made of salvaged wood, which spared them a $5,000 spend, and linotile for the vent and backsplash). “If the future owner doesn’t like it, it’s not like they have to demo the whole kitchen to change it,” Tristyn reasoned. “I’ve never used peel-and-stick tile in my life! I guess I am now!” Time would tell if their gamble would pay off.

Across from that kitchen, the Kalamas created a second gathering space to rival the one on their home’s main floor, complete with another wood-clad fireplace, built-in shelving and a generous seating area. “You have everything that you need down here; you don’t even have to go upstairs,” Kamohai noted. “Exactly,” Tristyn agreed. “Total living space! We could have done something over the top and crazy that is unexpected, but it’s all about resale and appraised value and somebody actually living in that space, and I feel like there’s nothing more valuable than a whole second area that somebody can live in, like a mother-in-law suite or an ADU.”

The unfinished space presented another opportunity to take a risk. Outfitting one larger room was an option, but the Kalamas chose to take advantage of the area’s L-shaped layout and create two rooms with distinct purposes. First up? The Kalama Lounge, a luxe entertaining space with both a built-in bar area and a dedicated wine cellar. “We have to keep doing what we think is smart and add the most value, and creating an additional space down here does just that,” Tristyn said.

Did we mention that the Kalama Lounge’s adjoining wine cellar is downright huge? “We have the sexiest wine rack,” Kamohai said. “With big glass doors, you could fit a hundred, a hundred and fifty bottles of wine in there!”

The final component of the Kalamas’ $4,900 room-reorganization was this screening spot, a snug space they tiered to fit four massive armchairs, a projector and plenty of concessions. Better yet, the grass cloth on the walls conceals a surround-sound speaker system worth $1,290. That new footprint and functionality put them in very good standing with the week’s guest judge, Design Star Season 2 champ and Battle on the Mountain mentor Kim Myles. “I immediately felt at home; I felt cozy, I felt wrapped up. It was also the only home that had a fireplace,” she said. As for the unfinished space, “I loved that lounge. So unexpected to take that space and divide it to create a screening room and an after lounge. So smart!” Despite their misstep with the ill-advised kitchen tile — which, as anticipated, Kim was not pleased to see — the Kalamas were victorious for the second week in a row.

The biggest-ever backyards on the block got a budget boost to match: Ty supersized the competitors’ budgets by giving each team a one-time bonus of $50,000 to transform their respective acres. That was even more mind-boggling for the Kalamas, who were used to the itty-bitty parcels they revamped in Hawaii. “Our average lot is what, 5,000 square feet? Maybe 7,500?” Tristyn mused. They opted to luxuriate in their ample outdoor living space by recessing a hot tub into the patio itself; how better to soak in the views of the distant mountains? Stacked stone columns, warm planks across the ceiling and an outdoor fan complete the island-inspired patio.

The quiet luxury of land itself continues below the patio, where Tristyn and Kamohai punctuated the expansive lawn with a plush seating area. In lieu of harsh hardscaping, they used undulating arrangements of volcanic rock and local boulders to make the yard feel understated and organic.

When it was time to construct a fire pit, Tristyn and Kamohai knew going the extra mile on infrastructure could deliver a massive advantage. “Instead of [supplying] a standard propane fire pit, we decided to plumb the gas line, turning it into a custom built-in feature,” Kamohai said. “We flip houses at home and we know built-in features like this are what buyers love,” Tristyn continued. “This is something that’s going to add more value than just plopping something in the yard, and it’s the right move.”

The Kalamas' final addition to their yard was a variation on their competition’s tactics: Instead of building a miniature pickleball court in their basement (à la veteran competitors Alison and Michel), they decided to invest in a full-sized version as their backyard’s crowning glory. Did the reigning block champions (sisters Lyndsay Lamb and Leslie Davis of Unsellable Houses) appreciate their move? “This is a box that an appraiser will check. This is a really smart add,” Leslie said. For the sunken hot tub, however, “Did we give up some of our deck space for something that we’re not going to use year round?” Lyndsay mused. “Overall I definitely got that moody modern [theme], and I think they nailed it. But I think I could have done with less rock and maybe added a little bit more grass.”

The second floor’s remaining space wasn’t massive, but that didn’t mean it couldn’t feel indulgent — especially with one final, strategic floor-plan adjustment. The Kalamas pushed a wall back three feet to expand this bedroom and gain square footage to accommodate a chic sitting area; they then upgraded to a substantial sliding door that maximized access to the home’s front balcony. Dramatic, ceiling-spanning black paint wraps around the room’s longer sides, and two feature walls feature paper patterned with Ohi’a Lehua, an evergreen tree found only in Hawaii. “This was definitely a bold choice, because we added all this square footage and made this room feel the way it feels,” Kamohai said. “I freaking love it, babe.” “It’s just gorgeous,” Tristyn agreed.

Deploying the Ohi’a Lehua wallpaper tied into both the Kalamas’ Utah project and their whole profession. “Ohi’a grows from decimation from lava flow [and] is significant here — you’re taking raw land and creating these beautiful structures,” Tristyn explained. In lieu of muffling those gorgeous boughs and blooms with upper cabinets, they built floating shelves to span the wall above lower closed storage that incorporates a beverage refrigerator. “Not only does it look super, super cool, but it’s super functional,” Kamohai noted. “And it’s custom!” Tristyn added. They outfitted their bedroom so that a guest would have everything they needed to get started in the morning — no need to stumble downstairs in search of coffee.

And where better to have that right-from-the-dry-bar coffee than on that magnificent second balcony? With warm, rich cladding that envelops the interior, this space is a toasty complement to its interior counterpart’s velvety elegance. A chevron-patterned floor recalls the soaring ceilings that beckon guests from the foyer to the home’s interior downstairs, and a pair of upholstered hanging chairs offer a tropical twist on porch swings.

After deciding in week one on cedar siding, dark stucco and puka lava — that is, decorative stone made of Hawaiian lava and deployed here in dramatic stacks around the portico’s pillars — Tristyn and Kamohai were set to conclude the competition by finalizing their front door and landscaping. “What do you think about the biggest pivot door that you’ve ever seen for our front entryway?” Kamohai asked. “I love that,” Tristyn said. “Because it screams modern and custom. It’s a ‘wow!’ moment for anybody walking up to the door.” They laid sod across the majority of their front yard, then texturized the approach to the entrance with vivid swaths of contrasting gravel.

Punctuated with four horizontal, frosted-glass panels and truly spectacular in scale, the Kalamas’ pivot door is an ideal introduction to their atmospheric, island-inspired home. “I genuinely feel that our house is so unique and different from the rest [that] I expect to have Kalama Street in Utah,” Kamohai said. “I think this is the most beautiful exterior we’ve ever done.” “The vertical cedar siding and the blend with the black stucco and the faux stone, it’s so beautiful! I think we executed moody modern and organic natural vibes perfectly,” Tristyn replied.

Property Brother and Chasing the West star Jonathan Scott swept in for the second year in a row to give each of the block’s four houses one more tour. He reviewed all of the spaces the teams transformed, then joined three local appraisers to arrive at the numbers that would determine an ultimate winner. “The Kalamas have this really bold, beautiful space,” he told Ty. “I love that moss wall; I think that’s my favorite feature of the house. You literally want to stand on the stairs and stare at it, and I do think something like that adds value.” He also flagged a key difference between Tristyn and Kamohai’s floor plan and their competitors’. “I actually really liked that layout with the kitchen at the back. I think that might have been a missed opportunity for the other teams who all decided to keep it safe[.]” All in all, Kalama Street was a distinct possibility. “This feels like a show home! They’ve made decisions that I think will really sell people on the place,” Jonathan said. “I think this is an incredible house, [and] I think some family is going to be really, really happy here.”

The Kalamas’ savvy choices made a major impression on the veterans as well. “I love the wood on the fireplace, oh my goodness,” Jordan said. “You could feel the presence of the island as soon as you walked in, and all through the house. My blood pressure came down a whole lot.” “We tood a trip and we didn’t leave the block! This is so cozy,” Michel marveled. “We walked in here thinking we had an advantage from being on the block before, but the energy from [the Kalamas and the DeBoers] — I feel like they want it even more than we did.”

In the final analysis, of course, added value reigned supreme. After transforming an acre of land and 5,500 square feet of interior space with $300,000 and seven whirlwind weeks of work, victory went to … Michel and Alison! The veteran team received a final appraisal of $1.4 million, with a razor-thin $35,000 between them and their closest competitors.