Paradise Cove Home Tiki Lounge - Home Tiki Bars

K KreepyTiki Member Joined: Mar 18, 2007 Posts: 217	K KreepyTiki Posted posted on Wed, Jul 9, 2008 2:50 AM Right up front, I should say that I live in a RENTED apartment which has automatically dictated certain things I can and can't do in terms of "remodeling". So my Tiki-On-A-Budget approach has not only been financially motivated, but also necessitated by the fact I have a LANDLORD to answer to. Therefore, I've had to be doubly creative in realizing my tropical fantasies in 3D -- having to walk a fine line between what I'd ideally LIKE to do and what I can actually GET AWAY with. And now for some MORE 'Paradise Cove' pics!... I apologize, up front, for some repeat pics from the previous page of this thread, but my aim, here, is to give a before-and-after demonstration of the impact and HUGE importance of creative mood LIGHTING in my lounge, and to show how proper lighting can not only hide a multitude of sins, but enhance whatever's there in delightfully unexpected ways. The best way for me to do this is by using pics first WITH, then WITHOUT a FLASH; and since I've already posted several of my best "without-a-flash" pics already, please forgive me for re-using a few to make my point. First up is the entry area, WITH a flash... Then WITHOUT a flash, with the room's actual lighting... Then the area above my bed, first with flash... Then without... And here's my bedside lamp, with and without a flash... Next is my desk area which stands beneath a tapa & palm leaf canopy, and also features a moving, lighted waterfall picture which adds nicely to the overall ambiance. First seen with a flash... Then without... See the incredible difference lighting can make? In one fell swoop you can go from cluttered/tacky/kitschy to mystical/seductive/exotic! And, of course, proper ambient Exotica and/or appropriate tropical sound FX can add enormously as well! So be creative and go crazy! And here's a couple decorative touches only shown with a flash so you can see what you're actually lookin' at... Wall fountain with mist-maker... And the section between the entry area and the desk... And here's a couple other random touches... Next, a look at my aquarium with and without flash... As you can see, cheap plastic tiki cups from a party store can become something altogether nicer with the addition of those battery-operated stick-up "click-lights"! Just put a piece of CLEAR packing tape across the top of the cup, sticky side down (to set the light on), then place the light on top, light facing down into the cup. Then, using that sticky Styrofoam mounting-tape backing that's on the back of the click-light, just add some decorative bit of fake foliage or whatever. Works like a charm and it's cheap and no risk of fires! Now HERE'S something I would NEVER ordinarily do -- namely, painting a tiki in bright "Disney" colors... (When Sven saw that photo he said "Eeeek!") But trust me -- there IS a method to my madness! For, while the original wood tones looked great in a normally lit room, they made the piece all but INVISIBLE in the darkly lit corner where the tiki would have its permanent home. SO -- once I gave it the new paint-job, though it admittedly looked garish as hell in normal lighting (along with everything around it!)... ...it suddenly became JUST RIGHT in the special ambient "mood" lighting of Paradise Cove! Okay -- Next up is my "Big Kahuna Fountain", first seen with a flash... Then without... Which do you think is nicer? :wink: Then the room's Northern wall, seen first with flash... Then without... And finally here's the Cove's North-West corner, first with a flash... ...and then without: So, fellow TC'ers, if there's three lessons I've learned in creating my home tiki lounge, it's these: LIGHTING, LIGHTING, and LIGHTING! It even works wonders with miniatures, as with my "Tiki Lagoon" fountain... And my Enchanted Tiki Room Big Fig... Lastly, I'll leave you with another Before and After look at my former bedroom and its new incarnation as Paradise Cove... Cheers and Mahalos! :drink: Castaway Clemens [ Edited by: KreepyTiki 2008-07-09 08:07 ] [ Edited by: KreepyTiki 2008-07-13 01:33 ]

Right up front, I should say that I live in a RENTED apartment which has automatically dictated certain things I can and can't do in terms of "remodeling". So my Tiki-On-A-Budget approach has not only been financially motivated, but also necessitated by the fact I have a LANDLORD to answer to.

Therefore, I've had to be doubly creative in realizing my tropical fantasies in 3D -- having to walk a fine line between what I'd ideally LIKE to do and what I can actually GET AWAY with.

And now for some MORE 'Paradise Cove' pics!...

I apologize, up front, for some repeat pics from the previous page of this thread, but my aim, here, is to give a before-and-after demonstration of the impact and HUGE importance of creative mood LIGHTING in my lounge, and to show how proper lighting can not only hide a multitude of sins, but enhance whatever's there in delightfully unexpected ways.

The best way for me to do this is by using pics first WITH, then WITHOUT a FLASH; and since I've already posted several of my best "without-a-flash" pics already, please forgive me for re-using a few to make my point.

First up is the entry area, WITH a flash...

Then WITHOUT a flash, with the room's actual lighting...

Then the area above my bed, first with flash...

Then without...

And here's my bedside lamp, with and without a flash...

Next is my desk area which stands beneath a tapa & palm leaf canopy, and also features a moving, lighted waterfall picture which adds nicely to the overall ambiance. First seen with a flash...

Then without...

See the incredible difference lighting can make? In one fell swoop you can go from cluttered/tacky/kitschy to mystical/seductive/exotic!

And, of course, proper ambient Exotica and/or appropriate tropical sound FX can add enormously as well! So be creative and go crazy!

And here's a couple decorative touches only shown with a flash so you can see what you're actually lookin' at...

Wall fountain with mist-maker...

And the section between the entry area and the desk...

And here's a couple other random touches...

Next, a look at my aquarium with and without flash...

As you can see, cheap plastic tiki cups from a party store can become something altogether nicer with the addition of those battery-operated stick-up "click-lights"!

Just put a piece of CLEAR packing tape across the top of the cup, sticky side down (to set the light on), then place the light on top, light facing down into the cup. Then, using that sticky Styrofoam mounting-tape backing that's on the back of the click-light, just add some decorative bit of fake foliage or whatever. Works like a charm and it's cheap and no risk of fires!

Now HERE'S something I would NEVER ordinarily do -- namely, painting a tiki in bright "Disney" colors...

(When Sven saw that photo he said "Eeeek!")

But trust me -- there IS a method to my madness! For, while the original wood tones looked great in a normally lit room, they made the piece all but INVISIBLE in the darkly lit corner where the tiki would have its permanent home.

SO -- once I gave it the new paint-job, though it admittedly looked garish as hell in normal lighting (along with everything around it!)...