Backyard - Beyond Tiki - Tiki Central

JJ Jungle John Member South Florida Joined: Feb 01, 2015 Posts: 43	JJ Jungle John Posted posted on Sun, Feb 22, 2015 12:49 PM The "glass floats" were the final coup de grace, and South Sea Sally outdid herself with the macrame. She used orlon rope around large diameter translucent toy balls from K-Mart. They were marked down to $1.64 from $3.99. Now I don't have to fret over an expensive glass ball breaking in the pool deck area. Whew. Plus, a "real" glass ball float that size would be $65-$85 dollars and have a jute fiber rope that would have rotted out in a year if left outside. One more picture where I point out a few uses of space-age materials used in the tiki hut. The warm denizens of Tiki Central have taught me that it is okay to craft the illusion of tiki-ness and not worry about being "authentic" when replicating a south seas style, a style, I might add, that was really an American-made illusion to begin with. I tried to imitate the authentic Polynesian style faithfully for the express purpose of saving money and making things out of material that will endure the elements in a brutal sub tropical climate, thus, also saving more money in the long run. Did I mention I am pragmatically frugal, and that it is NOT the same as being a cheapskate. If you can't have the real thing, a reasonable facsimile will have to do. Sometimes the substitute is better than the real thing. --Jungle John

The "glass floats" were the final coup de grace, and South Sea Sally outdid herself with the macrame. She used orlon rope around large diameter translucent toy balls from K-Mart. They were marked down to $1.64 from $3.99. Now I don't have to fret over an expensive glass ball breaking in the pool deck area. Whew. Plus, a "real" glass ball float that size would be $65-$85 dollars and have a jute fiber rope that would have rotted out in a year if left outside.

One more picture where I point out a few uses of space-age materials used in the tiki hut.

The warm denizens of Tiki Central have taught me that it is okay to craft the illusion of tiki-ness and not worry about being "authentic" when replicating a south seas style, a style, I might add, that was really an American-made illusion to begin with. I tried to imitate the authentic Polynesian style faithfully for the express purpose of saving money and making things out of material that will endure the elements in a brutal sub tropical climate, thus, also saving more money in the long run. Did I mention I am pragmatically frugal, and that it is NOT the same as being a cheapskate. If you can't have the real thing, a reasonable facsimile will have to do. Sometimes the substitute is better than the real thing.

--Jungle John

Post #737964 by Jungle John on Sun, Feb 22, 2015 12:49 PM