Post #761519 by AdOrAdam on Sun, Mar 27, 2016 8:50 AM

Then, collecting materials & readying the room:

I looked around to find materials - it can be a frustrating game when you aren't sure of the quality of the items.

I visited a few DIY superstores to explore what could purchased & repurposed for my needs. Jo's father was a big help here - I had a chuckle when he'd say things like 'nah, that's not tiki enough, this has a nice retro finish tho' alongside more practical advice of what materials to use & how to fix them to walls. I'm definitely looking forward to hosting a proper visit from him when the room is finished.

Cheeky Tiki dominates the UK market for tiki room supplies.

Jo contacted them & arranged a surprise visit for me to their warehouse in December 2015. Cheeky Tiki have supplied a number of UK bars with round tables & tub chairs, when I contacted them they told me they are about to start selling new furniture ranges so I could test them out during our visit. Holly (the brand manager) was very accommodating & we spent 2 hours in their (slightly too cold) 'home bar' showroom on a Monday morning - Cheeky Tiki really could be a one stop shop for your home bar needs!

Here is a promo photo of their home bar room:

This must be an old photo because their room is now packed to the rafters.

I'd seen the materials online but it was much better to have seen them in person. Seeing the tables & chairs made all the difference - I was sold on the buri style pieces they did. I'm quite indecisive normally so it was quite fun to turn round at the end of being there & say '2 of those, 3 of those, 2 of those, etc etc'. I also got to ask 'how much for this?' about a few ceramics in test colours & masks in different sizes which aren't on general release. I took home what I could & made plans for what I would be receiving afterwards.

I looked at fabric after fabric online but I'm not really a 'Hawaiian print' kind of guy - I eventually picked out some hessian fabric on eBay to make into a curtain over the external door in the room. I also opted for a wooden slat blind to cover the window.

I already had a few carvings & plenty of mugs but I picked up a few more that were on my bucket list. I was thrifty with the tapa cloth & scored a two pieces (one big, one small) on eBay.

I visited a fake flower shop where I scored a bundle of slightly damaged 3 foot banana leaves & orchids (no major damage). I had no real plans for these but knew I wanted to include some sort of foliage, it was a case of they were impressive & I should 'buy it now before its gone'. Jo requested & I picked up a bag of orchid flowers that had been broken off their stems to make lei.

I contacted a local glass cutter for some shelves; I was surprised to find how cheap it was & how flexible the pay could be - proving what you always hope, that sometimes 'going to the small business' is better.

This rounded off the majority of the expenditure within budget with the exception of anything I earmarked as 'pickup later if you still want it' purchases. There would always be more tikis we wanted than we had room for.

This was not really planned sequentially so I readied the room & picked up materials simultaneously - in fact an impending delivery of stuff hastened the preparation of the room so it wasn't a bad thing.