Balhi Ha'i - San Francisco, CA

Balhi Ha'i is our home tiki bar, home theater, and guest bedroom. My Instagram page has a bunch more, including a panorama scan of the room, and video of some of the lighting effects: http://instagram.com/nwnynwny

Before:

After:

let me be the first to say OMG!!!! that's an incredible place you have here!!! must see more!!!!!!!!!!!!

That is so amazing! Super awesome job.

Beautiful space! Love the lighting and decor.

• Dale

Very well done!

GROG like!!!!!

Mahalo for all the kind words! I put a lot of effort into the lighting; good lighting makes up for a multitude of other sins, but nothing can fix bad lighting. My latest lighting project was hooking up a SimFlame to illuminate the tiki mug shelf -- WOW that's a good product. Huge improvement over the battery-operated fake candles I'd been using as a temporary measure. http://www.simflame.com/

Here's video of the SimFlame lights in action: http://instagram.com/p/nozTFKxuEz/

Fabulous!

This is utterly fantastic. Love those lamps.

This is utterly fantastic. Love those lamps.

Wow, good to see a local bar be so great!

-Longboard

very very nice.

This is great! I love the sim flame effect.

Gorgeous!! Great to see you posting again. How big is that room? It looks like there's a lot going on in there!

Hell-A-Cool!

Beautiful work- yes, lighting is SO important. Dig the flicker effect light. Look forward to seeing more photos- love the two larger pieces on top of the bar- close up shots, please?

Thanks! It is a good size room. It's been ages since I've measured it, but I think it's about 15' x 25'? The pictures here are capturing only about half of the total space, but the other half is taken by a bathroom and a faux-outdoor effect jungle entry area.

The jungle is pretty cool, I think. There are two different sound effects, a babbling stream (bonus: a bit of aural privacy for anyone using the bathroom), and nighttime jungle creature noises: frogs, birds, crickets. There is a small fan to keep the air from being too still. A fake moon provides a bare hint of moonlight over a great big jungle of fake plants, and a gope board from Papua New Guinea. You can't really see the jungle on your way in, but once your eyes are adjusted it's just right. It needs work, but I like where it's headed as an entryway. It's dark enough that it can't be photographed.

I'll work on getting pics of the bar top pieces for you.

Can't wait to see the jungle area!

Awesomeness! I reminds me of an old lounge / restaurant I went to in Nairobi, except with different tribal art ha. It has that warm, cohesive "built over decades" vibe.

Liked the lighting effects as shown on Instagram, too.

Now all you need is those glowing LED ice cubes mentioned by another member, haha. :)

Okay, this is me totally RUINING the MAGIC:

That's the jungle area with the work lights on.

In the words of Christopher Walken ZOWIE WOWIE!!!

Are these the two bar-top pieces you wanted to see, TikiAno?

:up: This is one of four Papua New Guinea pieces I purchased a few years back from an art gallery in Menlo Park that had been owned by the same guy who owned the PNGerrific Palo Alto Trader Vic's. When he passed away, his widow marked down all of their PNG pieces to clear them out. I have no idea what this piece is, but I love it. It reminds me of Tiki tOny's bird art. (This is an old picture, pay no attention to the bland walls behind him!)

:up: This is a recent addition, just got it off of eBay a few weeks ago. It's a Witco table lamp that long ago lost its guts, but I don't need another table lamp anyhow. I'm going to get some fake fruit to put in his bowl. I think he's adorable.

Love the jungle area and that Witco piece!

Humu. Your bar area is beautiful. I knew you were spending more time down there working on it. Wanda must love all the jungle noises! It reminds me of an old time classic bar. Very classy and elegant
Laura Moore
aka Wanda Fan!

I'd Rather Have a Bottle in Front of Me, Than a Frontal Lobotomy
MYMO

[ Edited by: mymotiki 2014-05-17 23:08 ]

Hi, Laura! Thank you! Wanda's never heard the jungle noises, I don't think she's ever been down there when it's been in "party" mode. It's not very child proof down there, so we bring her down there only very rarely. Some day, though, she'll love it. Or she'll take it for granted and think it's nothing special. :)

Beautiful!!!!

Humu, your place is beautifully decorated love the colorful light fixtures.

Humuhumu, Your space is inspiring, as well as the work on your sites, but what also strikes a chord with me is your shift of priority to your daughter. The input you have constantly provided for Tiki is greatly appreciated, but you are taking control of number 1. Best of Luck! OGR