the Bamboo Bunker! new art page 4

here's some long overdue shots of the BAMBOO BUNKER, my home bar......ENJOY!!

The entire room was built from the ground up.....all new walls, new electric, new plumbing, new cabinets, stove and sink, etc.....The bar/island was made from 2 kitchen cabinet units.....i joined them together, with the cabinet drawers and doors facing the stove and sink and then took the crappy side that is supposed to face the wall and cut out custom display cases with lighting and plexi-glass windows.....covered it in faux leopard and bamboo.......the carving holding up the soffit was one of 4 from the old rock-a-tiki bar..it was from oceanic arts. custom cut a standard counter top from home depot to fit...the knick-knack shelves were $5 each at ikea!! The big tiki in the fore-ground is a foam tiki from united airlines..

here's a close-up of the display case.....the floors are cement, so i used that epoxy paint from home depot that comes with the little flecks and chips that you scatter into the drying paint.....gives it a sandy beach look and is easy to clean up spilled mai tais off of......

more pics to follow soon.....

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2007-04-14 12:55 ]

Nice bar!! I especially love the display cases. Great idea on the floor too, I wish I had thought of that.

SWEEEET !!!....beautiful, I love the BIG tiki by the wall.

I love it! More pics! Huzzah!

Fantastic!!! Well done!!!

Very nice! I love your use of bamboo & animal print along the bar, utilizing the front for display cases. genius!

Question: Did you use regular glass, or plexy? (I foresee smashed glass if I attempted that in my rowdy household)

A Naughty Little Wiggle

edit whoops, I see you've already answered my question! - Plexy! See I was so enamoured with your pictures I didn't see the informative text edit

[ Edited by: Tikiwahine 2006-09-06 20:07 ]

Very nice bar, man. I gotta agree that those display shelves really look great, too.

Josh
http://www.whollycatsband.com

Way to go Tipsy!
Enjoy you're new "Great Escape"

It's wonderful. You clearly worked very hard because the results are super. Please post more pics!

Same as....

Wow great bar. please post some more pics.

Mahalo

..thanks for all the positive feedback!!! i will post more pics shortly.......

The room itself is located in the basement and because of the low ceilings and narrow window up fromt (which hasn't been shown yet) it has a real bunker type of feel to it, so it was a natural to dub it the bamboo bunker.....i wanted to down play the tiki as far as decor so it's not quite as over the top as my last bar in my old place, but the room has a solid mix of low-brow art and retro stylings....i combined a number of 50's style elements and imagery throughout the space.....the washroom is through the door to the left of the bar, and i went with a sci-fi 50's theme in there......lot's of tin-toy robots, pinstriping highlights and original sci-fi themed art......

Looks great! Thanks for sharing. I love seeing peoples home bars.

Tipsy I love your bar in fact I am getting some ideas for my tiki bar from the pictures. I love your display case, it looks great. Great job.

thanks!!...what was cool about the cabinets is that there already was a shelf built into each one...this determined where the windows would be located....i then built a three-sided box, wrapped it in burlap and that created the shadowbox effect otherwise, one could look through and see the contents of the cabinet.....i left the top open and lite the display case with 2 rope lites, 6 ft. long....one on the top, one on the bottom and a red one under the drink rail to throw light on the facade....on the right side of the bar is a 4 outlet junction box inside the bar....this is where i plug all the bar lites in. the rope lites throw enough lite into the cabinet that i can see which bottle of booze i'm grabbin from the backside......this kills 2 birds with one stone. i also utilized the soffit as a place to store glasses, coasters and what-not as it is open on the backside of the bar and acts as a nice storage space for bar stuff....

oh yeah, i found it very affordable to use these prefab cabinets, cause most of the bullshit work is already done, complete with 4 drawers and 4 cabinet doors....all you need to do is throw a top on it and decorate it...then, -instant bar!!......the height of my bar is standard for a breakfast island in a kitchen, but if you wanted to use the same idea for a standard size bar, simply construct a base to make up the differance in height, then attach your cabinets to it and buy yourself some barstools and you're done...

Nice job Dave!

.....thank you!! those barstools your wife upholstered for my bar look great...nice work....and thanks to duke carter for sellin' em' to me!!

Man, That looks great and Very inviting. Love your idea of using prefab kitchen cabinets,All you need to do is assenble and decorate..Cool!

Love it, Tipsy, love it. It's good inspiration for my wife and I, who arrived in Chicago about a year ago and are still working on the home bar. We also have the low ceilings and now I see they can be overcome in an amazing way!

Dave,
Looks great. Again the cabinet idea is very cool.

BEAUTIFUL!!!

BTW, I have 1 of the other 3 Rock-a-Tiki poles that matches yours, so that accounts for 4 of them - I wonder who has the other 2......

Great job, Tips! Super hang-out. I'd love to fall off one of those fab barstools and pass-out on that fleck paint floor. :wink: JK-I usually make it to me own bed 4 that happens. Speaking of barstools, who is this Duke Carter and does he have any more of those fine bar stools available?

..thanks..duke carter is the author of the book "tiki quest" and fellow tiki collector as well....i've known him for quite a few years now....he also has a shop that sells post modern furniture...he has a website but i forget what it's called......anyone know?

Tipsy! Sweet Retreat indeed. Love the lighting. I wissh my camera would work in the evenings. Must be too buzzed!

McTiki

Very nice indeed. It gives me inspiration to finally get mine going.

here's more pics!!!!

here's bezart's carving #12 keeping watch over the bar, next to the tiki deck and pirate deck skateboards by friend and fellow artist mitch o'connell.....catch the custom painting of the banboo bunker by sam gambino,,Thanks again sam!!!

here's a close-up of the area behind the bar.....

WELCOME!!..TO SAVAGE ISLAND!

another large tiki...from united airlines....

here's a close up of the bar top..i added the overhang to the existing coutertop to gain some leg room under the bar.....it's made of a solid piece of stained oak with trim.....acts as a drink rail so the mai-tais don't slide and hit the floor!!!

some of the artwork in the banboo bunker......by mark pilon, jimi litwalk, paul moch, sam gambino, flounder, kirsten easthope, rod fildebrandt, robert "ro" annis, ken keirns, crazy Al' and van.......

enjoy!! ...more pics to follow

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2006-09-12 17:08 ]

Nice work, TIpsy.
I sometimes regret that my bar is outside and can't support the paintings that yours elegantly displays.

wow! great room!! love the attention to detail and the lighting. You also have some great pieces....congrats!!

Amy

Tipsy-

The bunker is really sweet......a true get away. I love how each unique piece is showcased. And all under the watchful eyes of Tattoo and Mr. Roarke :)

Karbora

not to solicit ( heaven FORBID anyone do that on THIS sanctified ground) but your wall could use a piece of art like I DO....

The above is owned by Otto..but am working on a similar one right now with a Moai in it...

any of those are available--I have quite a few new ones on larger monkey pod plates
just a little UNOFFENSIVE SHAMELESS self-promote..but one really WOULD look cool in your swank exotica bar..

Put me down for one

who is the artist that did the painting of the girl with the nice bits. Plus I love the Flounder that you got there.

On 2006-09-13 09:43, teaKEY wrote:
who is the artist that did the painting of the girl with the nice bits. Plus I love the Flounder that you got there.

the artists is chicago's own ken keirns...google his name to find his website....his paintings of women are great and the site is worth checking out..he's really making a name for himself these days so buy now while he is still affordable, or else kick yourself in a few years for not having scored one.....they kinda remind me of mark ryden's style.....

On 2006-09-13 08:11, bb moondog wrote:
not to solicit ( heaven FORBID anyone do that on THIS sanctified ground) but your wall could use a piece of art like I DO....
any of those are available--I have quite a few new ones on larger monkey pod plates
just a little UNOFFENSIVE SHAMELESS self-promote..but one really WOULD look cool in your swank exotica bar..

I like the use of the monkey pod bowls....i really hate those things but you put them to good use....not in the market right now for new art..i've got a bunch of stuff stored that has yet to go up, including a small shag painting i got years ago...

as for the rest of you that want to hawk your wares, please p.m. me or email me...i would like to keep this thread specifically for showcasing the tiki room....i have nothing against shameless self-promotion, god knows, i'm guilty of it myself but if you want others to see your artwork, start a thread for it or use one of the already existing threads that cater to that specific purpose...i believe that i started one awhile back called tiki bay, which no one ever uses....

hey i love your bar!!! well done!

and i'm VERY envious of your awesome collection of art - those mitch decks are particularly sweet, but really it's all great.

i also have a "bunker" underneath my house with low beams (most people don't have any troubles - except i'm 6'4 so i hit my head every now and again to my constant enjoyment) - which i am looking to transform to a tiki bar/room so seeing yours gives me great inspiration!

cheers,
harro.

Great bar, TMcS! Not another like it anywhere.... It's nice to see Louie and the "Bomber" too... I feel like I just saw a couple of old friends!

Love tha Fantasy Island photo - man that really cracked me up! Nice touch.

Great work on the bar. It looks really good... wish I had those carpentry skilz! :)

Tipsy, I think your room is wonderful. I watched step by step as Ben carved your Maori tiki, I am so thrilled to see it in it's new home. Aren't you thrilled that one of his new Tiki Farm mugs is based on your tikis style. It's great.

Heck, I've been collecting those pineapple bowls for years so I could start a business painting them. I'm going to post one, Dan's collection is in three rooms and I couldn't find the others I've done. bb you've done a great job.

oh and hey bb want to buy a ton of bowls? Wendy

Thanks to you all for the kind words.....a large part of creating anything involves the sharing of it with other like-minded folk.....and with that, here's more pics of the crapper!!!

custom pinstriping on the toilet seat and light fixtures by "voodoo larry" of sideshow kustoms....i got the fixtures from home depot for a mere $10 each and the toilet seat was from ikea..another $10 bargain......

here's a close-up of what they look like....

here's another shot from standing in the doorway.....

all the original art in this room is by Paul Moch....I was going for a sci-fi psuedo hot-rod thing....the title of this painting is "alien hot-rodders from the planet eight-ball"......the towel racks and toilet paper holder are from our friends at speedcult in detroit.

this just shows where the washroom is located in relation to the bar.....close by!!!

figured i'd throw this one at ya too.......oh yeah, the shelves are from ikea as well...forgot what i paid but they were cheap!

[ Edited by: Tipsy McStagger 2006-09-17 11:50 ]

Jeez! That is the coolest. Your attention to detail is fantastic.

The shelving goes superb with the RoBo concept. Beautiful getaway. My male friend and I come to Chicago often, is your lounge open to fellow Tiki Centralites??

here's a close-up of what they look like....

Those are way too cool...

Another FANTASTIC Tiki Room!

Mrs. Mojo and myself had a blast at the Seattle Home Tiki Bar Tour because just like this post it's so much fun to see what people come up with!

TC'ers are such a creative bunch!

I also love what you did with the bathroom....I wish I could remember the site which had a GEAR SHIFT TOILET HANDLE for your Hot Rod Toilet! :)

Really like your bathroom, shows what one can do when you stick to a design theme 100%. NICE WORK!!!

,,..because no tiki bar is complete without entertainment!!!.....just picked this up at the annual vintage juke box and slot machine show.....always wanted to get one for the lounge.....they were only $100 and there are always a huge number to choose from...it's full size from some casino in china or japan....comes with tokens too!! just in time for a holiday party at the bamboo bunker.....

One more reason for my wife and I to visit Chicago! :wink:

That's one clean crapper, a !

can i live there?