The Hidden Cove Lounge, or remodeling the bar in my basement

My wife and I bought our first house recently, and I'm really not a big fan of it. It did, however, come with a wet bar in the basement. No better excuse to start a home tiki bar, I guess; silver linings and all that. I've got our first tiki party planned for a couple of weeks from now, so that'll be fun!

It's still very much a work in progress, but I've gotten it to an alright place in the past couple of months. I still need to sand and stain the shelf I put in, then I can secure it and actually keep some of my rums up there.

I always forget to take before photos for projects, so I cropped a picture from the inspection report of how the previous owners had it. That light fixture, mirror, and broken mini fridge are now all taking up space in my garage.

Just take your time as your space develops and update your progress.

That mini surfboard is beautiful, where did you get it and how much was it and what is the length on it?

I'd love to pick one up like that.

I think your Tikibar is coming together great!

[ Edited by GreyWizard on 2026-08-26 17:56:34 ]

[ Edited by GreyWizard on 2026-08-27 10:33:36 ]

Thank you!

I got the surfboard from a website called TheTikiStop, I think it was around 70 or so bucks. I've also bought a long tiki mask and bird carving from them, and the quality has seemed really good for everything.

I'd post updated pictures but not enough has changed, I've had to put a lot of time and money into digging perimeter drains and paying for roof repairs over the summer, but that's old houses, I guess. I will eventually put some effort into remodeling a wall or making some fun porthole window, really lean into the theming a bit more.