Post #430461 by TabooDan on Sat, Jan 24, 2009 4:32 PM

Hey Beach Bum Scott, You can do what you want for a Tiki Bar but it does have to have the basics if you are going to call it one. Lot's of carvings and all the good stuff like BigBro said will make it a Tiki bar.

Put your own touches on it. Tacky is just some of the more touristy Hawaiian/Tiki stuff. Everything with fluorescent colors should not be allowed. Bright lights and crazy plastic things should be avoided.

Hell, EVERYONE will have something in their Bar that doesn't really belong or someone might think is tacky. You won't be able to get away from it. That's what makes that Bar your's. Tacky can be part of the fun but you just don't want to do it all like that. Stick to natural materials. Authentic items.
There are hundreds of threads on here you can go through.

Head over to the Locating Tiki thread and go through some of the Don Beachcomber and Trader Vic locations.

There are two great threads right now running over in Collecting Tiki where you can look at some great shots of some of the best Tiki establishments in the world!!

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=30960&forum=5&21

And this thread if you want to get the names and do some research and look up pictures of some great places:

http://www.tikicentral.com/viewtopic.php?topic=30165&forum=5&start=0&56

Buy from the many different talented artists on these forums. Great stuff to find! Attend Tiki Events if they are in your area. Don't have alot of money, hit up your local thrift stores! Another persons trash is anothers treasures!! You can still find great stuff out there. Good luck!!

TabooDan