Post #274757 by hewey on Sat, Dec 23, 2006 8:05 PM

Firstly, that Harley art above the TV is NOT tiki. Get rid of it. In fact, send it to me so I can properly dispose of it :)

Okay...

I think a good approach for you is to mix the tiki with the old cigar room vibe you got. Like an upmarket tiki lounge, crossed with ye old English hunters room. Like the kind of room a guy with a pith helmet might have filled with his finds from his ventures into the savage Polynesian islands. With some fishing stuff too.

• Ditch the carpet. I have seen some very realistic timber look vinyl for flooring, might be worth a look.
• Lots of lamps and other tiki paraphernalia hanging from the ceiling. Its a lovely high ceiling, take advantage of it! Lamps, fishing floats, fishing nets (these will go with da fishy on the wall too). Ive literally just bought some twine and Im going to have a go at making my own vintage fishing net :)
• Those lounges look nice and comfy. You may be able to work them in, not sure. To me theyve got that old English feel, you might justify them as being left overs from English settlers in Polynesia or something? Or from an old English shipwreck? Or I might just be talking crap... Leave em till last and see if they fit in still.
• Paint the walls! Anything but bloody white! Maybe a creamy/beigy colour? Thatd tone with the existing furniture, give it more an 'earthy' feel.
• Change the curtains. Bamboo curtains, vintage style aloha shirt pattern - but again, drawing on earthy colours in the print, not bright red hibiscus...
• Detail the bar section, so its distinguished from the rest of the room. Bamboo is your freind :)
• Some bright tiki prints as highlight points.
• Tikis! Tikis! Tikis! Sprinkle them all over the room, on the bookshelves, on the walls, freestanding on the floor.

Actually the big fishy looks crap, send that to me too :)

Look, im not sure if the cigar lounge/tiki lounge room will work. I think it could, but I also think it could very easily just not gell, and look half-assed. Id suggest do the above suggestions, and see how it goes. You can always later ditch the lounge and go for a bamboo lounge with aloha print down the track. Experiment and dont forget to HAVE FUN

And trawl through TC looking at pics of tiki rooms. The ones that look great and really get your attention - what is it that appeals to so much? The mix of different items, the colours, the mood, the fact its completely over the top or understated and tasteful?

To me, I want a room where you dont notice eveything at first. One of those places where you just want to sit and soak in the details. That doesnt mean heaps of stuff necessarily, it just means little details :)