Post #765172 by EnchantedTikiGoth on Fri, Jun 17, 2016 11:13 PM

I'm a big fan of themed spaces myself... That is, physical space as a medium for interactive storytelling. Your basic Tiki bar as a collection of Tiki ephemera with the adequate amount of bamboo and thatch and statuary is fine. There is nothing whatever wrong with that, but there's also a sameness to it. It's easy to collect photos of the cool things other people have done, make a checklist, and come up with a sufficiently Tiki bar. But to me, standout examples that I've seen have a motivating logic or story behind them that pulls it together, making it more than "my collection of Tiki stuff".

So I think the more important questions than "what are neat things you've seen?" are WHERE does your Tiki bar take place? WHEN does your Tiki bar take place? And WHAT HAPPENED at your Tiki bar? Basically, think about it like a story. What is your Tiki bar's setting? Is it pre-colonial, British colonial, French colonial, American colonial, pre-war, or post-war? Is it Easter Island or New Zealand or Hawaii? East side of the Big Island or West side of the Big Island? Active volcano or lonely atoll? Is it real or is it fantasy? Authentic Tiki replicas or Atlantean ruins? Did anyone get shipwrecked there? Who? Pirates? A Swiss family? Is there a giant monkey on your island, or a mad scientist with a Victorian submarine?

I could keep going... Point is, if you think about those questions, that can give your grotto a focus, help you to formulate a plan going ahead, and even help you come up with fresh ideas (because nothing hurts creativity as much as absolute freedom... Sometimes rules and limitations help). I love that bridge going over a moat in one of the previous photos. But now, the question stands, if I wanted to include that in my own bar, why? Does it fit in the story? What is on the other side of that moat? Is it a bridge to an island? Is it keeping dinosaurs out?

All that said, this is just one way of thinking about it. Clearly I'm picking this idea up from Disney, and model railroading, and other avenues where themed design is thought about. Some people, yourself included, might not like it because it can come off as fake. There is also something to be said for a Tiki bar that is your own collection of stuff and grows organically from your own life and experience (like having photos of yourself and your family in it). You're not answerable to anyone but yourself. I just thought I might throw this perspective out there though, if it might help you at all.

This online magazine on model railroading has a good article on thinking in terms of story and theme: http://mrhpub.com/2015-05-may/port/. The article is titled "Imagineering: Modeling a Themed Environment".