Rebuilding the Pu'uhonua Bar

Hi folks,
I'm new to this forum. I recently decided to rebuild our tiki bar - the Pu'uhonua Bar.
It was housed in a bali hut and was damaged during storms. So its now under cover and undergoing a revamp, same name, and will shortly reemerge. I'll post some more pics during progress.

I live in Hervey Bay, Queensland Australia and some of you may know of me via the Islands of the Fraternal Order of Moai under my other guise Less is Moai.

I've enjoyed scrolling through some of the amazing bar projects on these pages. You know how it is - too much tiki is barely enough!

Looking forward to more TH4.

THIV, Less is Moai is the coolest name ever! ThIV is a close second.
Cheers

I love that name...LOL. Looking forward to seeing your progress...go ahead and take some pictures to post now...we love to see start to never-finished.

On 2013-04-14 23:19, VampiressRN wrote:
I love that name...LOL. Looking forward to seeing your progress...go ahead and take some pictures to post now...we love to see start to never-finished.

Thanks for the encouragement. Here's (hopefully) an image of the bar as it was in our bali hut. You should be able to just see the front and side. I've since moved it under cover and stripped it back to the frame. Unfortunately had to ditch the Fijian tapa that was on the front because of water damage from ex-tropical cyclone Oswald.

The Pu'uhonua bar now has a new skin and I'm adding some tiki inspired art. I'll post some pics shortly.

Thanks for the before picture. Sorry for your loss, but what a fun chance to rebuild and thanks for bringing us along for the ride.

Like was said we love seeing things progress so don't be afraid to share.

Dale

Here's some pics of progress so far. The bar is in its new location and now has a new skin and internal shelves. I'm adding art to the front and side panels and have decided to leave the rest of the timber as is and give it a coat of varnish to bring out the grain.

The daybed was manufactured on 1 February 1960 according to handwritten note inside it and I have restored it to its former glory. I found this piece on ebay down the coast and bought it for $80. Bargain!

I'm happy with the results so far.

Watch this space.

Thurston Howell IV out.

Gotta nice vibe. GROG like.

On 2013-04-16 01:22, GROG wrote:
Gotta nice vibe. GROG like.

Hi Grog. You're a man of few words and so far all of them favourable.

Love the artwork you are doing on the front of the bar. Great find with the daybed. I love little treasures like that. I have items now with notes tucked in them. Never know what tomorrow brings and leaving surprises for people is fun.

Great job.

Dale

No new pics today. Today my thoughts are with the people of Boston. Terrible to see what happened. Very sad.

I agree...these ongoing tragedies are senseless...so sad. :(

Hi folks here's some pics of the latest work. Not much progress I know but I promise to pull my finger out and get on with it.

While you're waiting I thought you might be interested to see what the other end of the outdoor room features. I've attempted to tikify this space so the Pu'uhonua Bar will be a welcome addition once its complete.

The bamboo shutters are actually doors that pivot on a centre post. They can be opened to any angle and are good to catch breezes no matter which direction the wind blows. I got the idea from a scene in the movie South Pacific. The bit where Joe Cable goes into Bloody Mary's little jungle hideaway for a bit of hanky panky with Liat. If you watch closely you'll see the very same doors. The idea impressed me when I first saw it many years ago and eventually I got to build some. The doors are made out of lattice frame timber (treated pine) and the bamboo came in a roll, the bamboo posts wired together. Easy peasy.

By way of proving my tiki credentials, here's some pics of my modest mug collection and other bits of stuff that has washed up on these shores:

I made the clock to go over the bar when its in place. Not sure if you can see the details in this photo but all of the numbers on the dial are 5 - its always the cocktail hour here.

And last but not least here's a pic of Mitzi the tiki cat who will no doubt guard the Pu'uhonua Bar and a pic showing (in the distance) Point Vernon, Hervey Bay where I live with Mrs. Howell.

The final thing I should add is this: We live in Australia and as you know Australia is the worlds largest island. We do enjoy the island lifestyle even though I can't walk to the other side, nor to the top or bottom.

Mahalo

[ Edited by: Thurston Howell IV 2013-04-17 23:29 ]

[ Edited by: Thurston Howell IV 2013-04-17 23:29 ]

I dig it, man. It's a nice blend of MCM color schemes, some Asian design, and tiki. It's unusual, and it works, well.

I'm really loving the bamboo shutters. Great looking space.

Dale

Really looking swank so far!

Love that day bed and the handpainted bar looks great as well.

Looking forward to more posts as you progress on the build

Definitely cool! Kinda Tiki meets Martini. Love the colors, the hand-painted accents & those bamboo shutters. Please, keep us updated.

Beautiful!

Thanks for the kind words and encouragement guys and gals. I forgot to add one other photo of a pool bench I made recently out of an old windsurfer board bought for $15 at the local recycle centre. Total cost was about $40 and it looks and works a treat.

Thurston out.

The bar side, front and top are finished. I added some bamboo trim to add a little exotica to the design. I think it works.

The top is made from a pack of floating floor boards and I scattered some themed stickers over the surface. Here's a pic of a couple - a Shag and Bubba's Burgers Kauai. Bubba's motto is "We relish your buns". And also "we cheat tourists, drunks and attorneys". Love it.

The next item on the list is to clean up the mess I've made so the bar can be fixed to its corner spot.

After that I need to finish the bar sign that will hang just behind and then get on to restoring a couple of cane bar stools. A shelf will sit high behind the bar to display some tiki mugs and whatever seems to fit the theme.

[ Edited by: Thurston Howell IV 2013-04-19 18:51 ]

I think the bar turned out great!

Dale

After a little cleaning the Pu'uhonua bar is in it's new home.

Stools and sign are next.

Yes, the bar did turn out nice. Not a fan of the Bubba burger...have had much better, but gotta try it once.

Thanks folks for the thumbs up. I keep wanting to tinker with the finish on the bar but after reading Big Kahuna's comment, "its tiki meets martini" I think I'll stay the hand and leave it minimal. Like they say less is moai.

Killer.....

Looking great. I love the colors and original artwork. :) Mary Ann would be impressed...

On 2013-04-21 15:48, jimbo020 wrote:
Looking great. I love the colors and original artwork. :) Mary Ann would be impressed...

I was actually looking to impress Ginger. Hubba hubba but don't tell Mrs. Howell.

Awesome Tiki modern!

All I can say is SWEET!

Hi folks - here's some more pics showing the bar sign, the restored stools and a large tiki head (hey why the long face). Shame about the photo quality. I'll try and get some better snaps but you'll get the idea.

The shields on either side of the sign are Fijian and the long tiki head is most probably Balinese, locally sourced.

First test run this evening. Free drinks for all Tiki Centralites! I'll save a seat at the bar for you.

THIV out.

Swank! Like the look. Well done.

Dale

Last photo. My son and I toasting the new facility with a couple of suitable drinking vessels.

Most excellent. :)

Nice DIY job......

I like the mid-century vibe going on in this Tiki space. Very cool :D. Looks like fun.