CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM In 6-month-old Poli's room, flowers are the main draw. Pink-edged dresses and books titled "Five Silly Monkeys" and "Cinderella" await as she grows older. But one piece that gathers much commentary is a rocking chair built by show carpenter Ed Sanders, a father of young triplets himself, as a present to Ben Akana, one father to another. It is the first item Sanders created after an injury to his hand last season.

Extreme calm

Reality has returned for the Akana family in their newly rebuilt home

The camera crews have long since packed up, and the finale has finally aired. It's Monday, the morning after the season premiere of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," and signs of real life -- as real as it's going get over the next few days -- have returned to the Akana household.

"Legs down, Kuulei," Theresa "Momi" Akana tells her daughter, 12, who has gotten a little too comfortable on the new couch; two of Akana's children and their friends spent the night camped out in sleeping bags in the family room after the premiere.

Just as family rules are back in place, Akana said it's now business as usual for her as head of Keiki O Ka Aina, with a few notable exceptions, inevitable for someone gifted with a new home by the ABC reality show. Now she greets contractors and other well-wishers at the front door, ushering in many for the first time since the 3,500-square-foot house was constructed in early June. The uninvited come, too: In a half-hour, seven cars have pulled in and out of the circular driveway.

Akana doesn't find it odd to live in a place without her personal stamp or that her family moved into a house, sight unseen, that was built and furnished in seven days. "I have no sense of design, no taste. ... I'm not a design person. This is the only way it would have gotten done."

Few outward signs of the family's old lifestyle are evident in the new five-bedroom, four-bath house. Akana kept only one piece of furniture, a simple bookcase in the master bedroom. Most of her old furnishings were donated to secondhand stores as suggested by the "Extreme Makeover" production team.

Akana expected some resistance to that from her three oldest children, but it never came: "I thought they would want their stuff. But the kids haven't been back to the old house."

The granite countertops and hand-carved coffee tables do become cluttered from, well, living, said Akana. "The house stayed exactly the same way for two days after we moved in." But Akana still fights the good fight: Saturdays are spent by the family of six at home. "We stay home and clean. We love it the way it is. We keep it simple."

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM Glass blower Rick Strini created the stand-out conversational piece -- a custom-made chandelier. The Maui-based designer created the piece out of 220 pieces of glass in shades the "deep blue of the ocean," said Theresa Akana. It is the largest chandelier that Strini has built.

Take a tour of the Akanas' home at your leisure here -- peruse color schemes, furniture placement and use of accessories, and maybe you'll pick up a few ideas for your own home.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM LIVING ROOM: Designers found much of the furniture locally, drawing from C.S Wo, with a rug from Indich Collection. Favorite pictures from the Akanas' photo albums were framed by the designers of the show, and picture frames are still in their original placement around the room, said Theresa Akana.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM MAKA'S ROOM: The cast and crew traveled to Hawaii National Volcanoes Park for inspiration for the volcano that decorates Maka's science-themed room.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM MASTER BEDROOM: A sitting area in the master bedroom includes space for the couple to practice ukulele. The couple plays for daughter Poli.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM OUTOOOR SOAK TUB: "It's a chromatherapy tub, and the color of the water changes at night," Akana said. The tub sits amid foliage planted by A&M Landscaping, and a waterfall provides soothing sounds.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM KITCHEN: Not only were all new kitchen appliances provided, but also utensils, napkins and multiple sets of dishes in various patterns. Avocados from the property sit on the kitchen counter for visitors to take home.

CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM KUULEI'S ROOM: Akana's oldest daughter hopes to become a veterinarian and her interest is clearly visible in the animal-printed rug and framed photos of animals from the Honolulu Zoo, shot by cast member Paige Hemmis. Close-ups include a giraffe's neck and a monkey's nose. Kuulei's favorite color, pink, adds hot contrast. "The photos are edgy and artsy," said Akana. Perfect for a child soon to enter her teen years.