Post #96224 by tiki queen on Sun, Jun 13, 2004 7:44 PM

Hi, great space to work with! The mats are called lauhala. They're pretty cheap here in the islands, but don't know about elsewhere. There's also a woven bamboo laminate on plywood that's really good for wall paneling. Here, it runs about $50 a 4x8'. Again, don't know about elsewhere. Certainly, try the tropical decor places on line. You can get thatch and all kines other stuff on line. I recently got some bamboo poles at Pier 1 pretty cheap...always check there. And get creative! If you can't buy it, fake it! Paint lauhala on the walls! Buy some cheap wooden bar stools, paint (or have someone else if you can't) tikis or hula girls on the seats, make tropical print skirts or use cheap grass skirts and glue on, and viola! Also, it's all about accessories...pictures, knick-knacks, etc. You gotta have blowfish, strings of lights, tiki mugs, etc. Good luck and have a great amount of fun with it!