Vintage Hostess Stand

In the cluttered storage yard behind a used restaurant fixtures warehouse in Corona, CA, I came across what I assume was hostess stand or reception station. Heck, for all I know, it might even have been a valet parking stand or bellman’s station – but I’m tending to go with the hostess stand theory. Based upon the high quality of its construction and materials it appears to have come from an upscale tiki or Polynesian-themed hotel or restaurant.

It is extremely solidly built. Its relative small size is deceptive. Even with its (still smoothly gliding) drawers removed, it still easily weighs as much as a full-sized home refrigerator. Matter of fact, it took a refrigerator dolly to move it down the outdoor stairs at my rented home in Laguna Beach.

I estimate its vintage to be 1960’s or early 70’s but, again, I could be wrong. I would love to know who made it, for whom it was made originally, and where it might have traveled throughout its “professional” life. Based upon our local (Southern California) proximity, I am hoping that it might be Oceanic Arts but I suppose there were many people around here capable of creating high-quality tiki fixtures during that golden era.

I am certain that thousands of people must have seen it over the years. I hope that someone might recognize it from these photos and be able to offer some insight.

If I owned one of the magnificent home tiki bars I have admired on these pages, I would restore it as a hostess stand/reception station. I think that would be cool. However, because I rent (and although I’ve lived in this house for 8 years), my ability to do permanent construction is limited, and so I’m in the process of refurbishing the piece and transforming it into a mini-tiki bar. I’ll then be able to spiff-up the immediate surroundings a bit with some lighting, plants, and props in order to (I hope) achieve something like a semi-cool socializing (i.e. hard-core rum-drinking) space.

I’m posting some photos of the piece prior to restoration/transformation and also photos of the project in process.

I began by removing the wood and bamboo trim. I sanded away a worn and unattractive refinishing job on these. I’ll leave these natural and will coat them with a urethane gloss.

I stripped away the largely-rotted woven grass matting which was glued to the vertical surfaces of the stand. I have on-order a nice, coarsely-woven grass-cloth in green and tan, which I’ll apply when it arrives.

There was some water-related damage along the particle-board base. I cut away the affected areas and fitted-in strips of 3/4'” pine, which I had ripped to a 4” width.

I’ve sprayed these with a simulated stone and sand textured enamel paint, which I’ll seal, once it’s hardened, along with the undersides, in order to establish a moisture-resistant zone between the ground (bricks, actually) and the grass cloth.

Originally, there was a double row of bamboo half-round trim about two-thirds of the way up. The grass matting extended all the way to the floor (and actually wrapped under the bottom). I’ll reinstall the bamboo as a single row in its original position but will attach the second row of bamboo trim 4” from the bottom, to mark the separation between the moisture-resistant zone and the grass cloth.

The top of the hostess stand featured a very large cut-out in order to create a recessed work-space, presumably to accommodate a reservations book and seating chart. I removed the top and replaced it with 1 x 3.5” red oak planks.

Even after a thorough sanding to knock-down the grain and eight subsequent coats of urethane gloss, the grain still shows texture. I might consider finishing the planks with a bar-top coating of some sort.

I had intended to install the planks permanently but I now find that the fit is so secure that I think I’ll leave them “loose” so that I can remove them in order to easily access the storage below and to create a 7” (or any multiple of 3.5) recessed drink mixing-area toward the rear when needed.

I’ll post more photos as I go along. Meanwhile, all suggestions and comments are most welcomed. Naturally, I’d greatly appreciate it, too, if anyone recognizes this piece and would kindly share with me anything he or she might know about it.

Mahalo,
David

Congrats on the mini, but full size tiki bar!

Thanks for the kind congrats - and also for reminding me that size doesn't matter.

Welcome to TC kawikasurf

The restoration is coming along great. Beautiful view from the lanai too :)

Aloha MadDogMike,
Thanks for the welcome. I've been around the site for a long time but I either never registered or else did so and long ago forgot my username. Anyway, here I am. Tikiophile dating back to the 60's (of course, I was only a child. Ahem.) Been to a few Tiki Oases, mostly at the Caliente. I also host an ukulele meet-up on Sundays at the Hulaville Island Cafe and Company Store, in San Clemente. Nice little place - great Polynesian-inspired food and lots of tiki, although in a clean and tidy way - sort of Enchanted Tiki Room meets Dukes Waikiki meets Boston Market.

Check out photos of the restaurant at:

http://www.meetup.com/Hulaville-Cafe-Hawaii-Talk-Story/

and my meet-up at:

http://www.meetup.com/UkuleleSundays/

I probably should post those elsewhere, too.

I'm trimming that tall foliage on the hillside to improve the view and have a unobstructed one from the deck above. Stop by if you're ever in Laguna (or nearby) and critique my mai tais.

Oh and, hey, MDM, I always enjoy your posts on the forums. Keep up the good work.

Looks like you're doing a fine job.

Thanks, Big Kahuna. Really appreciate the encouragement. Sure pales in comparison with most of the spectacular projects on this forum but it's a big deal to me. Nice of you to take time to give me an attaboy.

The enitre space looks great!

A fascinating find, a great setting for it, and a wonderful view too!

I am looking forward to seeing more photos of your locale once it is tikified - it's already looking quite exotic.

Best wishes,
CN

Thanks Mustang Scott,

You always have to say something encouraging in your posts - must be a pretty nice guy. Don't know the origin of your screen name but I assume some sort of affinity for Mustangs. Am assuming, too, we're not talking wild horses here. Here's a tidbit for you. When I was 16 I bought a 1966 Mustang convertible – navy blue, white top. My dad was an engineer for Ford and so I bought it through what was called the “A Plan,” for Ford execs. I ordered the car from the factory for $1,725, all inclusive (including $52 for a power top, which I agonized over and my dad finally gave me as a birthday present – not the car, just the power option, versus manual, for the convertible top). Anyway, my monthly payments were $72.50, for 36 months. Can’t recall what I put down – maybe $200, if that. Kinda makes you sick, doesn’t it? Although I was only earning $1.72 per hour at the time, delivering refrigerators after school and on weekends. That was 50 cents an hour higher than the $1.25 per hour minimum wage at the time.

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2010-08-30 14:21 ]

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2010-08-30 14:23 ]

Holy tikis, C.N.! I thought you'd made-up the name of your posted location until I actually looked it up on Wikipedia. And you were kind enough to say MY locale looks exotic? Hey, I’ve been following your totally cool project on this site. As with most of the others, it puts mine in proper perspective. In addition to the creativity and workmanship, you have lots of really exotic, interesting, and authentic stuff on your walls and elsewhere that I’ve never seen in the U.S. or anywhere else for that matter. But, hey, thanks for the kind words, bradda. I’ll post more photos as I go along. Looking forward to lots more from you, too.

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2010-08-30 14:23 ]

Nice! I may have to "borrow" your work on the top for the base of my bar top.

My guess is that it came from Honolulu Harry's that went out of business in Corona about 3 - 4 years ago.

Thanks for the kind words, ErkNoLikeFire,

Sorry it took me a few days to get back to you - my laptop was out of commission for a couple of days. Think it's time for a new one.

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2010-09-02 23:03 ]

Wow. Great lead, Tiki Phil. Thanks so much. I went online and looked at photos of the place. Although I didn't see the hostess stand itself in any of them, the rest of the decor sure seemed to fit. Ill keep looking for photos and I'll also try to track down the le directly' I'll report here what I find out. Thanks again.

Well, I’m almost finished. It’s close enough to being completed that I can now post some fairly definitive “after” photos. I still have a lot of work to do on the surrounding area but, for purposes of this “photo shoot” I brought down a few tiki accoutrements from upstairs, where the bulk of my tiki stuff resides.

All things considered, I’m pretty happy with the outcome. As with most projects, starting over, I can see a few things I’d do differently.

I had ordered a grass cloth covering for the sides of my mini-tiki bar/hostess stand.

I had considered using bamboo slats or half rounds as a siding but, frankly, the darn thing is heavy enough as it is and I know I'm going to have to move it up the stairs again some day. Besides, the hostess stand originally had a woven grass matting and I wanted to stay within the original spirit.

I selected a natural cattail grass over a forest green background.

It’s why I chose red oak for the bar-top. I thought that the deep reddish color would contrast with the natural bamboo trim and also look good with the forest green grass cloth background.

In retrospect, I’m not certain how well I actually succeeded. It looks good enough, I suppose, but I really should have waited until I had the grass cloth in-hand before proceeding with the top. I ordered the grass cloth online – I didn’t actually see an in-person sample. On the computer screen, the forest green background appeared to be more prominent. In person, especially in bright light, the natural grass coloring predominates.

Fortunately, I didn’t apply the final, thick and glossy bar-top coating nor did I permanently attach the individual bar-top planks and so I can either strip and re-stain the planks or, more likely, I’ll just replace the current top with some sort of exotic tropical wood - maybe an acacia, to simulate koa.

I reported earlier that I had replaced some moisture-damaged, particle-board areas along the base of the bar with new pine. I then sealed the entire underside with multiple coats of clear urethane. On the advice of my good buddy, Wally, a master woodworker who lives on Kaua’i, I also added heavy-duty nylon “feet.” It was good advice – thanks, Wally.

In retrospect, I should have ripped-out the entire base and replaced it all with pine. It’s structurally-sound as-is but, even after three coats of “stone” enamel and two coats of stone sealer, the areas I didn’t replace still look a bit “worked.” Yes, it's hidden underneath - but I know it's there.

Other than that, as I say, I’m pretty excited with the way things turned out. I’ve always wanted a tiki bar and now, finally, and even though it’s only a “mini,” I finally have one.

I’d like to figure-out what to do with the ugly wall behind the bar. I rent and so my options are limited. For photo-shoot purposes, I hung this little banner behind the bar to partially obscure the blank wall, . I’ll probably try to figure-out some way to mount some individual bamboo-framed thatch panels over the ugly white expanses. Another option is to cut-down some bamboo privacy fencing to fit over the wall, leaving cut-outs for the windows and vent. It’s a concrete wall and so it will take some thinking (once again, not a problem if I owned the house and could simply drill into the concrete). Another complicating factor is that the planter behind the bar is irrigated via automatic sprinklers and so whatever I do will have withstand some occasional, errant spray.

I’ll probably contrive some sort of grass canopy over the bar, too. Should be easy enough to make a bamboo frame and attach it to the overhead beams.

Guess the next project, in addition to working on the surrounding area, is to locate a couple of vintage bamboo or rattan barstools. I think that two of them is about the most the mini-bar can handle.

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2010-09-03 09:42 ]

Thanks for the kind comments kawikasurf.

I am looking out the window at grey skies on a cold, very wet day, so that sunny view in the latest photos from your place is looking pretty good at the moment.

If you want to have a look at some more of Wanganui, check out my "Wanganui Tiki Tour" thread in the Tiki Travel section.

CN

Nice vibe on your set up! You've done a quality job on the bar. Nice ukes too... is that a Kamaka concert I see there? Nice!

Aloha Bono Bungalow - and mahalo. Sharp eye, there - you definitely know your ukes. Yep it's a Kamaka - and a concert at that. I have a few ukes that I actually play - Koaloha, a couple of Flukes for the beach, a Tahitian banjo - and then a bunch of semi-interesting wall hangers. I host an ukulele group on Sundays in San Clemente. Here's the website: http://www.meetup.com/ukulelesundays. Do you play? (Dumb question - how else would you have recognized the Kamaka?) In addition to Hawaiians who show-up, we get a lot lot tikiphiles at our kanikapila. Stop by if you're ever out this way. Matter of fact, come on out an bring yer wahine - we can jam o our ukes at the beach. Perversely, I own even more surfboards than ukuleles - we'll get you out on one

Hi Club Noumea,

Checked-out the tour. How totally cool. You're now officially my hero. Thanks a lot and keep living the life for all of us.

On 2010-09-06 11:35, kawikasurf wrote:
Aloha Bono Bungalow - and mahalo. Sharp eye, there - you definitely know your ukes. Yep it's a Kamaka - and a concert at that. I have a few ukes that I actually play - Koaloha, a couple of Flukes for the beach, a Tahitian banjo - and then a bunch of semi-interesting wall hangers. I host an ukulele group on Sundays in San Clemente. Here's the website: http://www.meetup.com/ukulelesundays. Do you play? (Dumb question - how else would you have recognized the Kamaka?) In addition to Hawaiians who show-up, we get a lot lot tikiphiles at our kanikapila. Stop by if you're ever out this way. Matter of fact, come on out an bring yer wahine - we can jam o our ukes at the beach. Perversely, I own even more surfboards than ukuleles - we'll get you out on one

You are too kind... and I don't want to hijack your tiki bar thread. I do play and it's a great idea for all owners of home tiki bars to learn to play the uke! "My ... dog... has...fleas!" Yep, you can do it and soon create the warm vibe that kawikasurf is creating!

You have the great view and a cool little terrace and you rent? I really need to move. The only view I have from my porch is of my neighbor in his backyard cutting up clothing looking for radio devices that the government planted in his t-shirts. I so wanna live in your neighborhood.

Really awesome job and thanks for the how-to pics. You have me down for my 8pm dinner reservations, party of 10...right?

Hi ErkNoLikeFire,

'Coupla things that might mitigate your purported view envy (for which, thanks, by the way). 1.) Your user name is waay cooler than mine. 2.) Dirty little secret not revealed in the Frankie and Annette beach movies, discovered to my dismay when I moved out here 26 years ago (from Michigan): The Pacific Ocean is colder than hell all year 'round.

P.S. Bonus mitgating factor: That's PCH at the bottom of the hill - favored thoroughfare of weekend restored Harley riders. What do those people have against mufflers?

Hi VampiressRN,

Thanks so much for the nice compliment about the bar and also for elevating my little progress reports to the level of a "how-to" narrative. Actually, I was only trying to leave an evidentiary trail in the event that I managed to set myself on fire or something in the course of construction.

I will take bikers and the Pacific cold over iced roads,salt trucks and winter related power outages any day. I think I've had my fill of no power, no heat, and no sunlight at the same time. That being said, I like the progress you've made on the stand and I wouldn't change a thing on it.

Thanks ERK, but don't forget to factor-in the wildfires (I've been evacuated before), the mudslides (the other side of hill where I live collapsed a few years ago, taking several homes - and yards - with it), and earthquakes (daily, to one degree of another). Yep, the grass is always greener... Oh, that's right, we don't have grass either. :)

Well, I guess not having to deal with wildfires and earthquakes is a plus. That view you have is mighty tempting though...

I'm jealous! I have a 1966 Mustang also that I've had since 1996. The 1966 is my favorite year. I'd love to see pics of your Mustang.

This is one of the funniest threads I've seen. Keep it up! I'm looking for tips on my tiki bar for a pool project we're doing. Thanks guys.

I've been pretty remiss about adding updates. I did a bit of spiffing-up of the area around the (mini) bar itself but I didn't get around to posting photos of the changes yet. With Spring coming on I'll probably do a bit more. An obvious target would be the little umbrella table. Clearly, that's something that should be tiki-fied. I guess a thatch umbrella would be kind of a no-brainer, wouldn't it? Meanwhile, I'll show you what I've done so far. As always, it's a hard to get too much of a swelled-head about my little additions when there are so many truly spectacular projects featured on these pages. On the other hand, what's that old saying? "There are no small projects, only small tools." Or something like that. Anyway, a few new photos to follow shortly.

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2011-03-08 11:57 ]

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2011-03-09 12:35 ]

Thanks for checking-in on my little ongoing project.

Turns out it's really hard to get a good photo of the entire area. That's onnacounta, in the area just in front of the lanai (oh, who am I kidding - it's a breezeway), the hillside drops off precipitously. I was able take the above photo only by standing on a small ledge, accessible by three unstable steps hacked tenuously into the hillside by the band of Anasazi cliff dwellers who rented the place before I got there. Perhaps, considering the area's newly-intended use - the consumption of strong drink - the next project should be to erect some sort of restraining barrier, lest someone (me, no doubt) should step off into oblivion while under the influence.

Um, let's see... Which of the elements in this photo don't belong? Yeah, the blue umbrella and the folding chairs have got to go.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I was dissatisfied with the previous bar top, which stained far more red than I intended. I sanded it down and re-stained it in a warmer, more golden hue. Works a lot better with the bamboo.

Lacking outdoor refrigeration, I've been using a cooler to hold ice and also, for Philistines of all genders who eschew umbrella drinks, to keep beer bottles cold (cans are not allowed - you have to draw the line somewhere). So anyway, because the gaily-colored plastic cooler detracted from the tiki-ness, I made this little cooler outhouse in which to stash it.

It also serves the purpose of elevating the cooler to a level at which one needn't do toe touches to extract the contents, not to mention risking light-headedness upon the sudden ascent, the latter being an important factor when one is drinking - especially near a ledge.

This photo looks off to the right, while facing the bar. It terminates at a little signpost I made. More about that a little farther down this page.

This photo looks off in the opposite direction - toward the ocean, obscured at that moment by some transient coastal fog. Kind of interesting. It rolls in from offshore and mostly passes through in a few minutes. Then there are the days when it decides to hang around. Everyone else in Southern California, starting just a few hundred yards inland, experiences a sunny, 80 degree day while Laguna Beach mires in 60 degree murk. But then, who said life was fair?

Look, I had to name it something. I couldn't go on forever calling it "Vintage Hostess Stand" now could I? My sincere apology to Steelers fans, whom we regard highly. Also to fans of Minnesota, Chicago, and Dallas, whom, well not so much. (I guess that just about covers the Packer's enemies list). Truly though, no offense is intended - please come sit at my tiki bar. We will share the cup of peace (don't poke-out your eye with the umbrella) and discuss how to bring our warring tribes together to live forever as brothers and sisters.

One more shot from the ledge, as long as the pitons and carabiners were holding and since I had already paid the Sherpa guide for a full hour.

I heard somewhere that set designers and Disney Imagineers trick us into containing our attention within a specific area by placing some sort of visual element that arrests our visual scan at a certain point. There was this old section of PVC pipe lying around the property and so I decided to make an exotic locale signpost to place at the far right end of tiki bar assemblage. An hour or two into the project, after sanding the pipe to roughen the surface, creating an uneven top edge, mounting the pipe to a heavy base, spraying-on a textured, pebbly-looking paint, and trying to figure-out how to reach down far enough inside the pipe to secure the nuts while screwing-in the bolts that hold the signs from the outside, it dawned on me that, for about twenty bucks, I could have purchased a nice length of six inch diameter bamboo from the nice folks at Franks Cane and Rush Supply (they're in Huntington Beach), which, apart from being easier to work with, also would have yielded a superior cosmetic result. Oh well, one must also consider the immense satisfaction that always comes from scoring a free hunk of sewer pipe.

I wondered how I was going to achieve that rustic lettering effect. Turns out that, for me at least, tragically bereft of artistic gifts, the secret was to try as hard as I could to craft beautiful, professional-looking letters. Happily, though not entirely unexpectedly, the result was a script which hovers somewhere between a childish scrawl and the kind of random marks produced when a savage strikes a tree trunk with a dull, stone implement. No doubt, archaeologists of the future will be confounded when trying to divine the meaning. The distances, by the way, are correct while the directions are accurate to within a few degrees, some small license having been taken for aesthetic purposes.

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2011-03-08 12:01 ]

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2011-03-09 10:44 ]

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2011-03-09 11:06 ]

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2011-03-09 11:52 ]

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2011-03-09 12:07 ]

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2011-03-09 12:13 ]

[ Edited by: kawikasurf 2011-03-09 12:36 ]

Looking good...keep up the good work!!!

Thanks so much for the encouragement, VampiressRN, and also for taking the time to look at my photos when there are far cooler tiki projects to view on these pages.