Post #649591 by Hale Tiki on Sat, Aug 25, 2012 10:03 PM

So, a California Tiki Tour, and Tiki Oasis 2012 have lit a fire under my ass to finish the Aku Aku Room by my 30th birthday on September 4th. Well, at least have it most of the way there. I've got about 20 boxes of mugs and wall hangings to unpack. There's no photos yet, so I'll try to paint you a pretty picture.

The walls are green wood paneling. This is the hardest part to picture. They're wood paneling, with a transparent green finish. Very jungle, very apropos. I need to get a photo up. They'll mostly be covered, but they'll still be somewhat visible.

As you walk into the room, directly across from you is a secluded seating area, next to the window. Right now I have teak wooden blinds. I need something to tart up that window.

From the ceiling, you see a pufferfish and rum barrel or two among the 30-some glass fishing floats of all sizes, some providing the light for the room, along with a broken crate lamp, strewn about fishing nets.

In the far corner is a waterfall. It springs forth from an old rum barrel, pours over some long forgotten tikis, through a shell or two, and into a small pond. Above that is a shutter that leads to the jungle outside.

The room is 14x14. There is 2ft of hardwood around the room. It's a dark, deep red oak. The center of the room is currently plywood. It's approx 10x10.

The bar is up in the air at the moment, but it's looking like it's going to be a half round supported by a tiki that looks awfully similar to the one Bob is carving with the chainsaw in the BOT.

The walls will be littered with hundreds of mugs, a giant leopard print shield with two spears behind it that I made while gimped, and with the help of TC, way back in 2005.

So there are a lot of things up in the air right now, and I had planned on doing an Armstrong Imperial Tile inlay of a giant Moai, as the bar is named the Aku Aku Room, but that's going to have to get scrapped to be able to make a drink by the 4th. Oh, I should mention that the bar top has swizzles and menus from all the places I've been, or the places that no longer are that I wish I could go. Matchbooks too. Anyway, I'm going to quick, dirty, cheap, and easy route. I'm going to make a giant print, glue it to the floor, and polyurethane over it.

The question of the hour is.....what do I do!? Do I make it look like a giant tapa cloth, do I use the map from the front/back of BOT? Any and all suggestions are welcome. If I go with one of them, I will happily send two sets of tiki necklaces and matching earrings to the person who made that suggestion. Moai and a Marq. Handmade. Well, hand...cast.

Mahalo to you all in advance, and a debt of gratitude to everyone I met on my trip.