Tiki Bar Mood Lighting Using Colored Filters

I've recently added recessed lighting over my bar, and I am thinking about adding colored filters too the lights for mood lighting.

Naturally, I don't have any photos to share, but I've seen some Tiki bars that use blue, amber, and red colored filtered lights for ambiance and mood. If memory serves me correctly, the clam shell fountain at the Hanalei in San Diego used filtered lights.

I'm wondering if anybody has tried this. Specifically, I am wondering if colored filters work for direct lighting (directly over a bar), or if it is better suited for non-directional lighting such as backlighting.

Find your nearest theatrical supply house and ask for a swatch book of gel colors.

The company I work for (www.jshaa.com) stocks hundreds of shades of color. A 20" x 24" sheet of gel will run around $7.

Play around with the color and try shades that aren't the basic primary colors!

A couple great manufacturers of colored gel are at http://www.rosco.com & http://www.internetapollo.com

Exactly what I was going to suggest. So I'll add: don't forget Lee filters.

http://www.leefiltersusa.com/PDFs/Lighting/LightPdfIndex.html#

• SV

On the side of caution:
Recessed lights have a thermal cutoff located inside the fixture. If the fixture over heats (too high a lamp wattage or an enclosed trim ring)the thermal cutoff opens the circuit and power is cut to the lamp. It eventually closes and restores power to the lamp once it cools, but if not corrected, it will continue to cycle. If for some reason this safety feature failed in the on position, an increased potential for fire can occur. Now being in a room with dried bamboo and grass weave matting....fire can't be good.I'm not sure how much these filters retain heat, but a safer alternative would be to just use colored lamps in conjuntion with a dimmer. The only fire I want to see at a bar is the 151 floater in my scorpion bowl!!

I was concerned about overheating and putting some type of color filter over my recessed lights, so I opted to go with colored light bulbs. I am using bugs light bulbs in my basement and they put off a yellow glow. I have also heard that you can buy special paint (craft store for painting stained glass or something) to paint standard light bulbs, but I have not had any luck finding it.

Zulu

This is crazy! Now I'm on a mission to buy one of those vintage Christmas color wheels. Tiki Central keeps making my madness grow! LOL

Check out http://www.rosco.com/us/scenic/colorine.asp

Any theatrical supplier should be able to get this for you

Hey there- if your recessed cans are able to accept typicall bulbs, you may want to investigate colored compact fluorescents as a flexible option to get color at a nominal cost and easy install. I have a few of these in red, and with a simple screen they cast a nice light effect.

I have the lights on a dimmer switch. I plan on using the filters with the lights dimmed, otherwise they might be too garish.

The filters I've been looking at are these.

I couldn't find a good photo of this lighting used in a Tiki setting, but the original Star Trek TV show used it extensively. In the photo, you can see the use of red lighting against the back wall that gives it a real 1960s look. I want to do the same thing (without Kinglons, of course). Not sure if the halogen lights are diffused enough to do what I want, however.

halogen Man that is some hot light.
The glass filter is a good choice.
That light would burn right through gels.
You may want to mount those glass gels 1 inch from light.
That is to let some air circulate.

wow, in the future, they use Saarinen knock-off tables by Kruger.

I need to watch more Star Trek. Vladmir Kagan was the set designer for all you MCM geeks.