Ah, California...always a good excuse to have the cast in wetsuits. MPDP comes at us on the beach with her surfboard and her Valley/surferspeak. Gen, Doug, and Ty unload their boards from the Trading Spaces truck and run into the water: Gen shrieks with glee; Ty cautions them not to forget about "the buddy system." Ty's the only one we actually see surfing. He may be the only one who can (though Gen's pretty athletic). And you wouldn't seriously be surprised to find out he had spent a fair bit of time in the green room, now would you? And I don't mean the one backstage at the Emmys.

Homeowners Becky and John (the latter of whom is apparently an assistant principal at the school of one of the posters on our forum) want a new kitchen. Their kitchen has a real wood floor, which they like, but it's almost exactly the same warm yellowy-orange tone as their cabinets, which makes for a whole lot of wood that colour. They'd like something contrasting. It's a fairly large room, open to the living area, with doors opening onto the patio next to the eating area. Becky says that John is really handy and has done almost all of the woodwork in the house. The walls, backsplash, and appliances are white; the countertops are also tiled in white. There are denim blue window coverings and lots of kuntry kitschy details -- heart-shaped whatnots and wooden bric-a-brac. There's a work island with a pot rack above it. Children's artwork is everywhere. John mentions the stencilled border along the top edge of the walls, which he says Becky spent a lot of time on. It's a yellow fence pattern with birdhouses and wheelbarrows and watering cans. Becky's ready for it to go. John says that the kitchen was one of the first rooms they did, and that their tastes have changed from country toward what Becky describes as "cottage, sort of French country-shabby chic" look. John says he's sure they're going to love their room.

Ryan and Kim's bedroom is your basic white box with yellowy-beige carpet and a high, angled ceiling. All their furniture is cherry, and there's a very traditional four-poster bed that dominates the room. It's really a bit too small a room for this much bed, I'd say. The bed, which has yellow linens, is placed in front of a large square window in such a way that the posters of the bed frame the window in a somewhat awkward-looking fashion. There are night tables, chests of drawers, and a bench at the end of the bed. The windows have white blinds on them. Kim likes the height of the ceiling and the height of the bedroom. She loves the furniture and the bed. She would prefer the furniture not to be painted, but she's assuming that it probably will be. I suspect they spent a pretty penny on that furniture; I'm surprised she's okay with its being painted. It's not like it's all beat up or anything. Somewhere, Laurie's blanching herself into a Southern swoon. Ryan says what they don't like is that it's just so plain. He says that the furniture's pretty, but that the room has no character. Kim says they like earth tones: sage green, tans, creams. Ryan likes change: "So whatever happens, it's gonna be kind of fun to see." That's the spirit.