Post pictures of your Home tiki bar/space/yard!

Not super happy with the discoloration that the spar gave but hopefully it will help it last longer.

Next time try this:

http://www.eti-usa.com/consum/envtex/envlite.htm

I've used it on 4 bar tops and 6 cocktail tables... crystal clear!

You should find it at any of the big box home improvement stores.

A really nice bar though, and reclaimed materials... can't beat that!

[ Edited by: Lake Surfer 2006-11-07 10:52 ]

Here is the previous incarnation of the Hapa Haole Hideaway

ANd the latest version.

Oh sure, now you chime in Lake Surfer. :wink: Good thing this bar is for a friend. Now I'll know what to use when I get around to doing one for myself. All I need to do now is figure out how to get someone to ship me something big!

I am designing a bar back and want to use mirrors on the wall. If anyone has a picture to post of their use of mirrors I would greatly appreciate it. Thanx :)

Damn, those lamps are awesome...
Both of those incarnations look super-sweet - wish I had the room to go all-out!

Okay... well, I'm just about gone for a few months.
The old S.A.D. has kicked in and the mechanisms in the control tower are clogging up with grey muck, rust and cobwebs. It's already been in the works for a while, but personal lassitude has made me not do any postin's for a bit.
So, until like April or August (in Vancouver we have the two seasons: Summer, and Waiting-for-Summer)or someone sends me a nice Xmas gift of mood-enhancers (I've tried my luck with four already :)), I'll bid everyone adieu and leave a little pictorial residue behind, vis-a-vis my own

Adequate Home Tiki Bar for the Urban Apartment!

(Actually, the bar I have I found abandoned in a parking lot of a post office, soaked in rain and crawling with mold and mildew, cobwebs and dust. After waiting a week and still no-one hauled it away, I got ahold of a car and bounced it back to my apartment, where the stripping, peeling, refurbishing and repainting began.
Sadly I had no compulsion whatsoever to take pix of the bugpit for any before-and-after type of thing, but it was pretty ugly.

For the bar-top I threw away any notion of intelligence; I merely stripped off the brown formica, pasted some leopard-print wrapping-paper in its place, and gave it five coats of poly-finish.
Do not use poly-finish.
As I found out later, the stuff looks good and feels good, but never fully hardens, and if anything ranging in weight from a bottle of Mezcal to a dust-bunny is placed on it, it'll leave a dent in the top that will not go away for several weeks (if not months) as the semi-hard plastic re-forms itself to a flat surface. Oh well. Live 'n learn.

For the front I put some animal-print suede around the three sides and split up some bamboo for the corners, etc. and covered the foot-rest area with some cut-up $-store bamboo placemats. (By the way - if you're in the Vancouver area and have some bamboo needs, check in at http://www.coolitebamboo.com/ - huge selection of bamboo items, as well as all sizes of poles in the back of the shop. They also have a nice little pre-made tiki-bar for sale)

Then, after buying a lot of drill-attachments and bits that aren't the right size because you're too lazy to write down any measurements, start setting in some bamboo poles;

After studying ancient texts, carefully wind twine around joints in a technically-flawless pattern (not like this);

Next step: mai tai, of course.

After the second mai tai, move along into building a canopy or roof, adding stemware-racks and torches set off at an angle, even if you can't light them as they are four inches from the ceiling and neighbors might complain when their possessions are incinerated;

Mojito!!!

Resume work after the third delicious concoction, and do not try to swat flies with running drill.
Grass-thatch! You know where it goes...

Underside...

Add shelves between poles with cheap wood found in alley (boil first!), covered in placemat and rimmed with excess 'boo;

Decorate with appropriate accoutrement;

and a little aperitif...

...and you've got yourself a cozy little shack in which to fend off the brutality and boredom of the outside world! (Note about human skull: my landlord IS still alive, you can check)

All I need to finish it off (or to keep it in a happy state of flux) is some fishing-net and a few glass-floats...

Alright, I'm off to don all-black clothing and listen to industrial-goth for several months.
Everyone take care!

I really like your bar and bamoo shelves! The cloth on the front and side though.. with all the work you've done and the cool thatch an' all, well I think your bar and you deserve better, something more along the lines of the fabric on the wall or the bar top maybe. I really admire your intoxicated bamboo carpentry skillz.

Aloha
ST

Very cool indeed, I like the shelving and torches. I may have to steal some of your ideas when i build my bar. We moved into our house and finally got the Tiki room to an acceptable level. I'll try to take some pics this weekend, and post them.

I like the oddly placed skull, never seen that done before. I'm so tall, I would be looking at it right in the face.

Hi,... This is our first try in building a little tiki area in our house.... we have been collecting mugs and things for a few years now so it seemed to be time to put something togather... any ideas to make this area come more alive would be great

oops.... double post, sorry

[ Edited by: CementRoots 2006-12-09 22:08 ]

Hey Cement Roots, very tastefully done. Good work.

Great job, Cement Roots!
I raise a mug to ya!
:drink:
K.

Here are a few pictures of my home bar in San Diego, The Ali'i Lounge, as it nears completion. Thanks to all the TCers who helped with advice and Oceanic Arts for all the goodies.

Finally got a digital camera that isn't a Barbie accessory so I thought I'd take some pics of the tiki space. I think I went a little overboard on the lamps but I can't say no to a good swag.

The lighting in these pic doesn't do the room justice.

concrete roots, super-swank tiki bar. I hope that you've used earthquake putty or uhu sticky tack to adhere your mugs somewhat to their shelves as they are near the stairs. Very 60's modtikitaztik!

ST

Thanks for all the compliments.... we would still like to make it pop a bit more... also we will be looking into mounting our mugs down, thanks for that insight. heres a closer look at our collection.

[ Edited by: CementRoots 2006-12-14 19:47 ]

Here are some pics of my home tiki bars in San Jose, CA. These are both outside bars, so they are only used during the warm months, which luckily is most of the year....otherwise they are covered to keep them in good condition. The first bar is my home built bar which was created in 2003 using a thatched roof and bamboo pole kit from Benson's Imports in Huntington Beach, CA. The kit is meant to be used over a folding table, but I decided I could use it to cover a home made bar. In 2005 I added 48 linear feet of shelving behind the bar to hold all the rum!

In August 2006 I added a second tiki bar to my back yard. This time I went with the best, a bar from Bamboo Ben. Things started out hectic with a 1 day drive from San Jose to Huntington Beach and back to get the bar, but once I got it home it was all tikitastic. Originally had just stopped by Bamboo Ben's place to check it out, since I had heard so much about it, but had never visited. Once I was there I saw a deal I could not pass up -- a Bamboo Ben bar on sale. I did not have room in my van, so I would have to wait for another weekend to get back to LA to bring it home. Since it was 2 weeks out from my annual Tiki party I had to move fast! So, the next weekend I drove down to LA and back in 1 day to get the bar. After some set up it was already to go for my Tiki party. Here it is the morning after the party...

I have lots of other tiki around the house including a Shag designed bar....more pics later.

Some pics of our home bar. Some with the mood lighting and some without.














Sorry for the pic quality. The house was built in 1950 with the bar put into the building plan. And yes that is a built in shuffle board on the floor. the other end is covered buy a rug. The lounge is still a work in progress. I still have to do something with the ceiling and a bunch of other stuff. Thanks for taking a look.

Uncle Trav, the whole of your tiki bar is greater than the sum of it's parts, that is to say there is an unexplainable super tiki retro vibe goin' on down there,
something really transports you back to a midcentury basement paradise. Nice work!

ST

Uncle ...nice bar :] what bowling alley do you swipe the juke box ????

thanks for the comments. The bar is a great spot to get away during the Michigan winter. I have the jukebox filled with exotica and didn't have the heart to get rid of it when I moved into the house.

I promise to get some pics soon, but here's a teaser.

CementRoots-
Great lighting, live plant (excellent tropical pick), nice display of mugs-the only thing I think I would add is something-maybe a large tiki mask-on the panelled? wall to the right of the bar-it looks very good as it is, though...

Hey Thanks for the comments... I have a large print of the "Hawaiian Cottage" restaurant that was in Cherry Hill, NJ for that wall
(I live about a mile from where it was in the 70's... and never did make it there as a kid, but thats another story) that wall also has a couple of Thor prints on it...

I lived in Cherry Hill for about 10 years, how'd I miss that bar? Dammit. It figures.

On 2006-12-12 09:50, frostiki wrote:
The lighting in these pic doesn't do the room justice.
...

I would suggest the cheap and easy ceiling cover I had in my last bar: burlap. You can get a 40 foot roll for $15 at any hardware tyep store and you can easily staple it to the ceiling (depending on what it is made of). It darkens the room considerably and makes everything much more warm and mysterious. White ceilings are harsh on the tiki bar vibe.

On 2006-12-14 19:29, CementRoots wrote:
Thanks for all the compliments.... we would still like to make it pop a bit more... also we will be looking into mounting our mugs down, thanks for that insight. heres a closer look at our collection.

[ Edited by: CementRoots 2006-12-14 19:47 ]

For anyone's future reference: I mount all my mug shelves with the brackets on top. They will hold something as light as mugs just fine that way, and the brackets are then hidden either behind the mugs or up where you can't see them. It makes for a much cleaner look. If needed, I chisel out a little bit of wood so the brackets are recessed and don't get in the way of mugs.

On 2006-12-22 12:42, foamy wrote:
I lived in Cherry Hill for about 10 years, how'd I miss that bar? Dammit. It figures.

Foamy,... it was on Rt. 38 right near the Cherry Hill Mall it was open from 1938 to 1978 (when it burnt down) I remember as a kid asking my mom "what it that place" ( I would ask this every time we drove by )she would answer "its a restaurant" and that was that, no would you like to go to lunch there,.. nothing.... boohoo... now its a OliveGarden parking lot :(

Wow, you gotta lotta!

My attempt at Tiki-On-The-Cheap...

We can really only "Tiki" in the Summertime, but here are some shots of our backyard "Paradise."

Step #1: Wait for K-Mart to have a Close-Out Sale on Martha Stewart Outdoor Bars.
Step #2: Add a cheap raffia table-skirt.
Step #3: Buy a faux thatch umbrella (One a year- they don't last more than one season and shed like crazy at summer's end...)
Step #4: Buy cheap bamboo blinds from Home Depot and hot-glue 'em to the fridge and sink cabinet.
Step #5: Buy any other Tiki-related crap I can find!!!
(It's a sickness I tellya!)

Tiki from Palm Tree Charlie:

Tiki Doghouse:

Mini Bar:

Parrot Chairs:

Other notes:
-Tiki-Doghouse was an eBay find. Just a plain 'ol doghouse to which I added raffia-fringe decoration/roofing.
-Second "mini-bar" was a

Not a bar, but my little "space". (one wall in the spare bedroom)
Made the shelf out of pine, bamboo, placemats and raffia table skirting. Will eventually wire up the tiki torches with flicker bulbs and paint the white door or cover with matting.

Tomorrow night is likely the last aloha for the Hideaway. I have been working on some projects and taking pictures of the bar while it is intact as part of that. Here are a few images. You may see these again in another form someday...

The barrel kiosk of black tiki things...

UA tiki fountain

Donn Beach set with other stuff





Aloha Hapa Haole Hideaway...

Swanky, Congrats on the new house. I am sure glad I got to see the hideaway in person. I know it will be tough to take down all of your hard work but hopefully your new place has a bigger, better space waiting to be born. And what about a tropicl yard now ????? Start a thread and keep up posted with your progress. Good Luck!

I once was lost............but now I'm found

[ Edited by: 8FT Tiki 2006-12-30 23:54 ]

Swanky, I'm sure your new tiki space will be even bigger and better, thanks for all the photos of your bar you've shared.

ST

Ditto.

Kingtiki, just noticed your bar pix, bamboo swankness! Didja build yerself?

I enjoyed all of the pictures in this thread. Given that summer will arrive any day now in Bakersfield--yes I know it's January--I'm gearing up for a tiki project. Last summer we got some some palapa umbrellas from overstock.com for about $70 each. They were the fake kind make out of what looks like plastic grocery bag material. One week in 90-100 degree temperatures and the plastic had begun to go brittle and after 2-3 weeks was flaking all over the back yard. FYI if you live in a sun-drenched locale think twice about the fake plastic palapa umbrellas. Had I sprang for the real thing, they probably would have lasted much longer.

Hello
I am a new carver. My brother and I have just started. I was just wanting to post some pictures and get some feed back. Hope I am in the correct forum for this, if not I will learn how to navigate through this site yet...

I like your work a lot. Are you doing it for yourself or are you gearing up to go into business? I'm always amazed by people such as yourself that make things appear so effortless. That's talent! Post more as you create them!

thank you, we are trying to get enough carved to take to a craft show. but they seem to be getting sold in process,got pics of more soon to be posted.

some new pics.

Hey Mindar, welcome to TC! You should start yourself a thread just next door in the carving forum, I'm sure everyone there would love to see your stuff - it looks like you've been doing this for a while. Pretty cool that you carve with your bro..do you work collaboratively or both carve your own individual pieces?

thanks paipo, we kinda carve our own but give each other ideas,so that helps with the old artist block.

Here's some photo's of the Tiki Hut Bar my hubby built for me. Not a singe screw or nail - all lashed with hemp cord, bamboo poles and wow! I love it!

That's really something! All lashed no nails, Very tikiriffic and original construction of a bar. Welcome Aboard GrammyEunice!

ST

Welcome to TC GrammyEunice and yes, that is a fabulous bar. Can't get a gift better than a hand-crafted bar like that. Congratulations. :tiki:

Wow, thank you Hanford once again for TC and all that it offers. Our best friends and ideas come from this site. After looking at this thread I want to start looking for more space to add tikis too. I want to go on a TC road trip to visit everyones displays. It's a thrill to be part of this community. Not only that Hanford I love Spell Check too. Thank you again, Wendy