HGTV lovers have been enamored with watching their favorite couples flip homes on the continental United States. But thanks to Renovation Aloha, viewers have been granted a chance to see the world of flipping through the lens of Hawaii. Husband and wife renovation team Kamohai and Tristyn Kalama have brought their love for islands into the viewer’s homes on the home renovation series. Showcasing a different side of Hawaii, the series depicts just how difficult it is to flip homes in paradise.
The stunning locale, known for its pristine beaches and the spirit of Aloha, plays host to the action. Yet, the Kalamas put the islands in the spotlight as they experience some of the most difficult flips in their careers. This season, the couple is making it a true family affair, as their relatives are involved every step of the way. And let’s just say it’s going to add a new level of stress! But don’t worry, there will always be a happy ending after the homes are blessed at the end of each renovation. Nevertheless, after celebrating a successful first season, Renovation Aloha is back for an exciting Season 2, and the Kalamas couldn’t be more excited! As Tristyn put it, “We’re taking on new exciting things we’ve never done before.”
The Kalamas Discuss the Bringing Spirit of Aloha to HGTV Viewers

COLLIDER: Hi! How are you?
KAMOHAI KALAMA: Hey, how’s it going?
I’m doing great. Congratulations on Season two!
TRISTYN KALAMA: Thank you!
KAMOHAI: Thank you so much, hank you.
Let’s start easy. What is it about Hawaii that makes it such a special place?
TRISTYN: Oh man, that’s a loaded question
KAMOHAI: You can answer this for the whole interview.
TRISTYN: There’s nothing like it in the world, and honestly, the first thing that comes to my mind is we have aloha. We have the spirit of aloha moving throughout our culture. It’s in how you show up in the world. It’s how you treat people. It’s how you conduct business. It’s just really, really special.
KAMOHAI: Yeah, I mean, my family goes back 64 generations. We are a piece of this place. Our blood and our roots are here. For me, it’s just exactly what Tristyn said about the people and the connections. Not only to each other but to the land, to the mountains, to the ocean. We’re just so deeply intertwined and in cohesion with it all. I mean, you can’t also beat the unreal beaches.
TRISTYN: And the food. And the weather.
KAMOHAI: But you know, aside from the stuff that people can experience in other places around the world, I think Hawaii, what really makes it special are the people and the aloha that they.
TRISTYN: You know the world looks at Hawaii because of aloha and how you really treat people. To bring about resolution. So yeah, I don’t know if that answers your question.
Absolutely, it does. I mean, my dream is to visit Hawaii one day. I’ve never been. What are the must does when I finally get to visit?
TRISTYN: Oh my gosh, there are so many things to do. It also depends on which island you choose to go to, but when you do come, I mean you have to try our amazing Hawaiian food. if you’re gluten-free or vegan, like forget it because you need to try amazing Hawaiian food.
KAMOHAI: Definitely Hawaiian food. Waiahole Poi Factory. My favorite place in the world. My cousin has a farm, I think you guys saw it on the show open up of season one. Right behind Waiahole Poi Factory. They grow up the Kaula right there. They make the poi right there. It’s fresh. Right through Waiahole Poi Factory. I mean you have to come to the beaches on the east side. East side beaches have the best sand and the clearest water.
TRISTYN: We have amazing hiking. There’s so many trails. But yeah, I mean when you come, just text me. I’ll take you
Absolutely! Thank you!
TRISTYN: Yes
The show is so amazing. How have your lives changed since Season One?
TRISTYN: Oh drastically. Drastically. I mean, you gotta remember where we’re just two local kids born and raised here on Oahu. Entrepreneurial, but didn’t have any aspirations or goal to be on television, right? So we’re thrown into this opportunity, an amazing one at that, and our life has definitely changed. you know. We went from nobody really knowing who we are, unless you were in a real estate space here in Hawaii. And now the world really knows who we are. We are in an island so we can go to the grocery store, before I maybe run into your aunt or uncle or whatever, but now you run into random people you have no idea who they are, but they sure know who you are!
KAMOHAI: It’s to the point where every time we step out of the house, we’re prepared to at least talk to one person. You know what I mean? We’re very humbled by that because our local communities, and this place, means so much to us.
TRISTYN: So much.
KAMOHAI: Like we’re saying earlier, it’s like in us, right? And so we love the fact that our local community loves the show. I always say the biggest compliment that we could ever have is when somebody, we step outside, somebody comes up to us, and they’re like, “Oh my gosh, the show is so inspiring. We’re so proud of you guys. And you’re showing Hawaii well.
TRISTYN: Yeah. When they say thank you for representing Hawaii authentically, and that is the biggest compliment that anyone could ever give us. Not about show ratings. Not about the renovation, but just people saying thank you for representing Hawaii. That means, and that’s the stuff that sticks. But I will say when we will travel across the country, and we show up in Florida and people knew who we on. It was like woah! This is real yeah!
KAMOHAI: On our way to Florida, in the Atlanta airport, getting stopped by like four people when we get off the plane, I’m like, “Are you kidding? This is crazy!” That really gives you some perspective of the kind of viewership that the show has. Andd the impact that we’re kind of making.
TRISTYN: And we’re just blessed to be able to represent our culture and Hawaii. So yeah, it’s really cool.

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‘Renovation Aloha’ Shows the Culture of the Island

That’s what I find so amazing about the show is that you bring the culture and the community of Hawaii to the show. What is it like hearing reactions from people who are not from Hawaii learning about Hawaii through your show?
TRISTYN: It’s really, really cool. We get people all the time reaching out to us from all over the place, and they’re like, “I love watching the blessings. I love when I find factois on the show that I didn’t know about. You know everyone has some type of connection to Hawaii. Whether they’re from there, they spent time there, or they want to go there. And so it means so much to us to be able to just share. We’re really sharing our life with the world because this is, before television, this is what we did. This is what we’ll do moving forward. So yes, people learning about Hawaii through this show and us being able to represent our culture and where we’re from is really what it’s all about. Our whole goal is always to elevate our community.
KAMOHAI: And the crazy thing is we’re showing our life, but and our culture, as we live it, and I think a lot of people have a perspective of what they think Hawaii is. And a lot of shows kind of show you that perspective, right? and so when Tristyn and I got into it, we’re like, we want to show everything. Our life, but like the cultural side to what makes Hawaii beautiful. The community and how that makes Hawaii beautiful. The things that people don’t even know are here, but are sometimes more special than what they think Hawaii is. That means everything to us. To be able to share that with people from around the world. and we just want them to get a real authentic view of what it is here and how special this place is.
Let’s discuss the world of flipping. What is it about the world of real estate and renovation that keeps you coming back for more?
TRISTYN: Oh man.
KAMOHAI: I think it’s a few things.
TRISTYN: What are a few things? There are a ton of things!
KAMOHAI: Tristan and I come from different but similar backgrounds. We’re both in the business of helping people before we got into real estate. And so that, at the core of everything we do, is our passion. It’s our passion and so, when we found real estate, what we realized was that we were gonna be able to merge two things that we really wanted in life, to be able to live and thrive here in Hawaii. We found real estate, which we can make money at. We can build a legacy and a future for our kids and have a positive impact for our entire family. That’s great, right? But the thing that we got to merge was the helping people part, and that was the real part that we were passionate about. When we’re buying some of these houses, we’re buying these houses from people that really need to sell them that can’t sell them on the MLS. They’re not bank financeable. Sometimes they’ve been vacant for a really long time, and so if we’re able to come in, we’re able to help those people on that sale side as well as make money for our family and our community, that is the best of both worlds. And that’s what real estate offers that not a lot of other industries offer.
TRISTYN: When we found real estate, we were struggling to make ends meet. We were living paycheck to paycheck. We had two young children that we had to provide for, and real estate really was the key that opened up the door that changed our entire life. it allowed us to achieve homeownership where we were both born and raised. It allowed us to actually achieve financial stability in one of the most expensive markets in the country. And so so so much more. That’s why we keep coming back, and we’re not going anywhere when it comes to it.
KAMOHAI: The very logical side is Tristan and I, we’re very, very similar in our vision, but we have different skillsets. So real estate offers us to be able to excel at our specific thing and then come together, So it’s like a perfect blend to be able to work.
TRISTYN: Our relationship.
KAMOHAI: Right, with our relationship, and be able to work together.
TRISTYN: Amen to that. And, there’s nothing better then transformation. Taking something old and distressed and breathing new life into it, and then having it live on for another 50/60 years. Transformation is amazing.
KAMOHAI: And then the last thing, real quick, we’r very passionate about Hawaii real estate in particular. We have a shortage of housing. Affordability is an issue, and so, if we’re able to really take inventory that is under utilize, that’s not on the market, fix it up, and then bring supply to the market, we’re helping with all of those things. And that’s a big piece to it as well.
Absolutely
TRISTYN: That’s probably the biggest piece.
I think what’s so amazing about watching your show is we may see trash at first, but you see potential. And the transformations are really just phenomenal. Do you have any favorite design or construction trends that you’ve been incorporating in your renovations?
TRISTYN: Oh my gosh,
KAMOHAI: There you go babe.
TRISTYN: I’m gonna tell everyone that Kamohai is a down-low designer. He loves all this stuff, okay? But honestly, I really lean in to organic modern and mid-century. Asian flare of vibes, of design, because I just feel like it’s so timeless. When you go organic modern, you’re really staying in a neutral palette. It’ll be in style. I feel like 20, 30, 40 years from now. When you go bold, you can outgrow that, but when you go in a more sophisticated neutral palette, that doesn’t really go out of style per se. But honestly, I really let the home and the story behind the home lead the direction of design that I go in. Location for a huge part. What was originally in the home. The architecture. When the home is built. All of that really plays in, but if you’re asking for my personal aesthetic, I love organic modern design, It’s timeless. It’s sophisticated. It’s warm. It’s just it.
KAMOHAI: It fits very well in our architecture and community here in Hawaii. As you guys see on the show, we’re taking these crazy dilapidated homes, and we’re bringing them back to life, but we’re not changing the structures very much.
TRISTYN: No.
KAMOHAI: We want to make sure that this house still fits in this community, and it feels like it’s meant to be there. It was just elevated. There’s a very tricky way to be able to do that, and then luckily, my wife is the most talented designer in the world.
TRISTYN: Thank you.
KAMOHAI: She’s able to do that like no one I know.
TRISTYN: I really do let the home, not speak to me, but whatever I see in the space, I like to pay homage to what was there and the place that it lived in. You’ll see a lot of different things Season 2.
KAMOHAI: Yeah, we pushed the boundaries Season 2.
TRISTYN: I’m trying to keep in my head all the house we’ve done, and I’m like, “Nope, that one is in organic modern. And that was this, and that was this. OK that one was this.” You’ll see so many different things, and I think that always makes design fun.
Tristyn and Kamohai Discuss How To Work With Family

Image via HGTV

Now, Renovation Aloha is a family affair. What’s it like to work with family, and are you able to separate business from family when things go wrong?
TRISTYN: OHHH! That’s the question! I think Kamohai and I have learned to work really well together, and it’s never truly about separation for us. I think it’s more integration and having fun at every point. We do have very heated conversations, but I think ultimately, when you have God at the forefront, and you’re able to truly communicate, and you know that you’re walking in the same line towards the same end goal, that’s how you can overcome when you guys don’t see eye to eye on something. We’ve been working together for years at, this point,, so it took time to get there. But I think what it boils down to is having roles.
KAMOHAI: Yeah, it all come down to having roles. I think at the core of it, it’s, I am madly in love with my wife.
TRISTYN: Same, and I’m madly in love with you.
KAMOHAI: So there is nothing that we cannot do together. So let’s figure out the best system, the best process to be able to get to our goals and have fun while we’re doing it.
TRISTYN: I think right same goes, you know we work with my brother a lot, and you’ll see him more on the show. It’s about constant communication and always making sure you’re in alignment with whatever the end goal is, so you’re not losing sight of that and getting caught up in your emotions. Overly communicating. Checking in. Making sure on the same page and having fun together at the end of the day. Even if it’s small, stupid little moment throughout the day, laughter really is the key to just keep the boat rowing.
KAMOHAI: The cool thing is like a lot of the travel that we do, maybe it’s for a real estate purpose, but we’ll tack on a few days that’s just for us. So we make good use out of that time to be able to separate it. But when you’re doing what we’re doing, you’re pretty much on 24/7. There’s always something that can come up. But, the good thing is, we hire family to be able to help delegate. They get to also make a living, and they help us with freeing up our time. I always say, it is hard to work with family at times, but it’s the most rewarding thing as well.
My final question for you is, if you could describe season two in one singular word, what would it be?
KAMOHAI: Oh my God.
TRISTYN: We should’ve thought about this, cause I had a feeling we were gonna get asked.
KAMOHAI: Wow
TRISTYN: New. My word’s new. because it’s new for so many reasons. We’re doing new things. We’re going to new places. We’re taking on new exciting things we’ve never done before.
KAMOHAI: Mine would be similar, but it’s unexpected
TRISTYN: OK.
I’m excited
TRISTYN: You got a two-for-one. You got two words!
I love it!
KAMOHAI: Unexpected, yeah.
Well, congratulations on the show. I can’t wait to tune in for Season two!
TRISTYN: Thank you so much. It was nice talking to you
Thank you!