The Durukuli Lounge, Los Angeles, CA (home-bar)

Name:The Durukuli Lounge
Type:home-bar
Street:
City:Los Angeles
State:CA
Zip:
country:USA
Phone:
Status:operational

Description:
After years of cool tiki stuff strewn all over the house, a lucky strike at the Salvation Army let us pull it all together on our deck. We finally decided on a name, and so we can finally put up a few pictures of our beloved home bar.

We present... The Durukuli Lounge. Still in process, but what true tiki bar isn't?

Beautiful!

Really like the "approach" through the "jungle."

I know there must be a "water feature" somewhere ....

My only "add": a motion-sensor tied to a CD player that will activate "Quiet Village" whenever someone approacheth!

damn! very nice.......i remeber when my bar was that stocked once............once!....lol!

Thanks!

Yeah, the water feature is still in the design stage - Tim and I agree we need one, but haven't agreed on what it should be yet. A waterfall down the front stairs? or a lagoon under the walkway? or both! But we're on a very steep hill, so we have to do some serious engineering to keep the house from sliding down the hill if we spring a leak.

I love the Quiet Village idea! The eventual (pie in the sky) plan is to have motion activated tikis like the ones in the Enchanted Tiki Room lanai up the front stairs and all along the approach, but that's going to take a lot more effort than a musical interlude.

WOO HOO!!
I feel like I just arrived at Disney's Adventure Land for adults.
There's a lot of love in your design.
Put me on the waiting list to come visit. :)

All TCers are welcome most any evening! Just give us a little bit of notice so we know you're coming. Drop me an email (see my profile) if you're in the neighborhood, and use a descriptive subject so I don't accidentally dump your mail into the junk file (we get over 3000 a day, even with filters).

And remember that Tim's the bartender, I'm just the barback (okay, maybe I'm just a barfly), so if he's at work I'll need help with the drink building...

Fantastic! Hope to see you at Tiki Ti Wednesday to learn more about your stellar bar and hopefully arrange a visit!

-Weird Unc

Awesome bar! You have everything except for the signature tiki mug, or do you?

No mugs, not yet! We'd REALLY like to do that. Definitely on the too-expensive-right-now-but-as-soon-as-I-get-my-tax-return to do list. And then we'll have some questions for folks in the know about designing them. I'm also getting completely out of hand thinking about custom matchbooks. And napkins. And water bottles... somebody stop me!

Tiki Ti Wednesday, we'll be there.

On 2004-08-23 10:29, LAWebChick wrote:
Thanks!

Yeah, the water feature is still in the design stage - Tim and I agree we need one, but haven't agreed on what it should be yet. A waterfall down the front stairs? or a lagoon under the walkway? or both! But we're on a very steep hill, so we have to do some serious engineering to keep the house from sliding down the hill if we spring a leak.

Incredible - I don't know which is better, the entry or the destination! The dramatic lighting is awesome.

How does one create a waterfall. I've been mulling doing one myself, but I can't figure out the engineering.

I suspect, just like a regular fountain, the water is captured in a plastic or stone basin, like those at HomeDepot or OSH, and the water runs up a tube from the pump, so the likelihood of that substantial of a leak is low.

I suspect, just like a regular fountain, the water is captured in a plastic or stone basin, like those at HomeDepot or OSH, and the water runs up a tube from the pump, so the likelihood of that substantial of a leak is low.

If we go with the lagoon, we'd be putting pressure on the retaining wall, which was built in the 20s and may not be up to the job, that keeps us from falling into our next door neighbor's property. As for a waterfall, you're probably right about the leak, but since our #1 location choice for the lower pool is behind one retaining wall, and the waterfall would run right past (and possibly over) the big retaining wall that keeps our house where it is, so we don't want to take any chances! Plus the gas, water, & sewer lines pass through that spot on their way up to the house. I suspect it will come down to how large a lower pool we go with - if it's a tiny one, or none at all, then it will probably all be okay. Are there any structural engineers in the house? Yes, I do know I'm being paranoid :)

It's hard to explain until you see the stairs, then it all becomes clear.

Don't worry about the water fall or the lagoon Your Place Looks Great!!! One question: Are those poles that make up your bridge Have Tiki's on them? Who built that? It is way too cool!!! How much time did you put in to all of that work?? How much time do you spend in your little tiki heaven?

Another pic from the deck - there are three of these storage units... This was our first outdoor tiki project. The carvings came later, after Mondo Tiki.

Those posts are, well, sorta-tikis. I had peeler logs, a dremel, and way too much time on my hands due to unemployment so I took a stab at post-tikis. Not great work, and they're definitely looking the worse for wear these days. I have to strip and reseal them - the varnish is peeling off and taking the color with it.

Tim and I are both barflies from way back, so we spend most of our time out there now - not necessarily drinking - we're both more comfortable sitting at a bar than on a sofa.

What a Great looking pad. That walkway is too cool. Very atmospheric, I like the sign about unattended children, but I think it could use a better frame or presentation. It might look killer glued to some old weathered wood?

Gee whilickers! That has to be be the coolest home bar I've ever seen! Even at rich peoples places and stuff! When am I coming over? kidding, first post-having fun.

Signed, the formerly known as Mr. LAWebChick (a.k.a. Tim)

[ Edited by: MonkeyBoy on 2004-08-26 00:01 ]

Keen! I wanna see it! When??? This weekend, maybe?

What the heck is a Durukuli?

Keen! I wanna see it! When??? This weekend, maybe?

What the heck is a Durukuli?

Gosh, thanks for asking, Humu! This is a durukuli (aka a douroucouli & night-monkey & owl-monkey, but it was easier to carve without all those extra letters):

They're the only nocturnal monkey, and most active during the full moon... since we're nocturnal by nature, and run http://www.nocturne.com, and since, for some reason, people keep giving us monkeys, it just seemed appropriate.

This weekend? Sure! Saturday? I can hold down the fort till Tim gets home from work. How does 8ish sound? Anyone who wants to come visit, just e-me for the addy & directions.

Chongolio - yes, that definitely needs a better frame. We tossed it up there at the very last minute before our party, and haven't gotten around to pulling it down to redo it yet.

[ Edited by: LAWebChick on 2004-08-26 08:36 ]

Old photo of my Mom and her pet durukuli. Mom grew up a missionary-kid in the Amazon jungles of Peru and had the most amazing menagerie of pets. After hunting all night, her owl-monkey would return to her room in the early morning and pull her eyelids open with it's tiny hands, to see if she was awake. They make very affectionate pets. (Sorry to pull this thread a bit off-topic).

Sabu

What a great picture - thanks so much for posting it!That's the first time I've been able to see how tiny they are.

Magnificent!

We are blessed with a climate that can maintain the flora and fauna necessary for a living and truly authentic tiki bar. The added accoutrements only add to a superbly assembled and decorated bar...

Bravo!

Moi-

Wow! Your bar is unreal.... It's beyond words cool. I would love to come & visit ya & contribute to your already awesome selection of fyne liquers! Do you have a house drink yet?
Cheers,
Angela

On 2004-08-23 08:41, Satan's Sin wrote:
Beautiful!

Really like the "approach" through the "jungle."

I know there must be a "water feature" somewhere ....

Arriving at the Durukuli Lounge is like arriving at the Sepik River cruise tiki lounge: http://www.copronason.com/Galleries/New_Releases/detail/shag_pr_sepik.html

The Durukuli Lounge is truly a delight! If there were a tiki bar nestled between the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, it would look & feel like the Durukuli Lounge. As Christiki mentioned, the trip there fills one with a sense of adventure, too. With great drinks, to boot!

It was so much fun showing off our lounge to fellow TCers.

On 2004-08-31 00:27, Humuhumu wrote:
If there were a tiki bar nestled between the Enchanted Tiki Room and the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland, it would look & feel like the Durukuli Lounge.

High praise, thanks Humu! As has been posted many times on TC - tiki is different things to different people. We are very fond of Adventureland in general, and not just the ETR (though of course that's the key). The Jungle Cruise is one of my favorite attractions in the park.

And Chris - you picked the Shag we love the most (see above re: Jungle Cruise :))! If we had to sell off our belongings, Sepik Explorer would be at the very bottom of the list.

Hi all!
Tim finished his bar sign, which I think is awesome! Of course I'm partial, but it turned out really nicely. Excuse my pathetic attempt at photography...

[ Edited by: LAWebChick on 2005-02-17 22:15 ]

Great sign!

I still need to bring you guys some plants. Do you still have room for any ginger or bananas?

Beautiful sign! An Archie McPhee resin monkey skull would go nicely with that:

A cool sign to go with some very cool digs!
I think the two of you should post more of your creations here on TC.
It's funny cause I'm always bummed when there is no line for the Jungle Cruise, because waiting in line and soaking up all that stuff is half the fun of the ride for me. And when they have the top portion open...HOLD ON! YEAH! I dig that. (not really the waiting in line bit, but the realia)
It was nice to meet you at the lucky tiki

You did a really nice job with that bar. Can't wait to see more...

On 2005-02-18 07:44, freddiefreelance wrote:
An Archie McPhee resin monkey skull would go nicely with that.

Oh, thanks for that link! I found a real one, but too pricey. Glad to see a resin one, we'll definitely be getting one.

And Polynesiac - I agree with you, with the exception of the one bit where you have to stand in the sun, I love going through the entire queue. An excellent example of Disney's former theming genius. We do have some of the queue music & sounds in the tunes mix that we play out there.

I am really looking forward to having a bunch of TCers over as soon as things warm up. Right now it's too dang cold out there to enjoy it, even with the fire.

Wow! The Durukuli Lounge is fan-tiki-tastic! I love the walkway leading to the lounge. It must be nice to live in a warmer climate where you can locate a tiki bar outdoors.

TTT

"Fan-tiki-tastic". I may frame that :)
We did have HAIL yesterday though, in SoCal, so we're not spending a lot of time out there right now. I'm a big baby about the cold, especially since moving back here from Hawaii. Brrrrrrrr - can't wait for summer.

Anyone save the pics of this bar?
Would love to see them.

Here's a few:
http://photo.humuhumu.com/v/durukulilounge/

Great Bar
love the light box & the old surfboard. Should get the pictures back up on here
Trader Bob...

Looks like your bar is fully stocked and ready to rock. The decor is great!