Post #566247 by TorchGuy on Tue, Nov 23, 2010 2:33 PM

Being a tiki-phile AND a lava lamp collector, I gotta say you need a vintage red lava lamp in there. If you like the idea, I can point you to some good ones on eBay - a new one is often of poor quality and an old one needs to be in good working order (and not overpriced - yes, some models sell for over $300, but they're not ALL "rare" and "very valuable!) I love your room so far, and I agree that a cross between tiki and mid-mod would be great, especially with that stunning couch thing. That just needs the lava lamp and an amoeba-shaped ashtray sittin' on the divider shelf!

There's a shop in Burbank you might like to check out, called Lady Peter's Whimsy. It's mid-mod with a few tiki items. Prices are on the high side, but it's fun to look around in and the owner is delightfully nutsy.

Seattle, Washington, where I live, has a bar called the Lava Loounge that dates to the 80s. Despite a Chinese red exterior with moai and porthole windows, the interior is neither mid-century nor tiki, and they have one junky lava lamp stuffed up in the highest shelves over the bar, not plugged in. This one has no "lava" and only fits "lounge" if you expect a lounge to be very dark and very dirty. I'm sure you can and will do much better. Oh, and your wire-brushed moai head looks great, as does that spiffy 60s swag lamp (which is really rockin' the red light inside!)

If any of your fixtures take (clear or colored) candelabra-base lamps, you can sometimes save a lot by hitting hardware stores right after Christmas. Some of 'em get in big stocks of multicolored Christmas lights (avoid the bigger-based outdoor kind, few indoor sockets take those intermediate base bulbs) and sell them individually in bins or in boxes of 25 for about $5 per box, but then sell them off dirt cheap after Christmas since they don't normally carry them. You may also be able to get the strings of sockets for them on sale, too. Again, you want candelabra aka C6 size bases/strings, generally. If you DO find 'em, buy lots of different colors; a ceramic (translucent) bulb has a very different effect from the same color in clear (transparent), especially when inside an object or backlighting it. They MIGHT put standard medium base colored or "party" bulbs on sale then, too, if they stocked up for Christmas. For special spots like narrow fixtures or over-picture/painting lights, try pet stores; they often have tube-shaped medium base lamps in red and dark blue for use in reptile terrariums - most hardware stores don't carry any colored lamps in this shape!