Hukilau Lounge , Kalamazoo. Come curious....leave fulfilled. Now with real ATOMIC goodness !!

Welcome to our home lounge.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2014-01-12 04:50 ]

That's wild... I have a friend in Racine, WI that has the same kind of shuffleboard floor in his basement bar. Did it come with your place or did you put it down?

Looking forward to seeing that done.
Do you have the disks and poles for the shuffle board? If so we need to break them out next summer after some drinks.
Keep it up.

The pattern on that paper is sweet Uncle Trav, looks like a good choice to cover that white tile with.

Thanks for taking a look. To answer a couple of the questions. The shuffle board was in the bar when we moved in. I do have the pucks and the poles, all original. The bar was built same time as the house 1950 and that's when the shuffle board was laid with the tile. I'll post more pics of the ceiling job a bit later. Thanks again.

I did a little more work on the ceiling today. Got all the paper up and some of the bamboo trim.

This is how it looks with the mood lighting, looks better in person any way.

This with the mood killing white light.

Still have a little more to do. Feels better than the old white ceiling.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2007-09-30 17:54 ]

Looks great!

A little more done on the ceiling. I'm no carver so I bought some small pre-finished aspen wood 1 1/2" x 1/2" and went after it with a Dremel tool. I picked an easy design. Some what like a design I have on edge detail of a tapa I have down in the lounge. I drew the design on in pencil and used de-burring bit to cut the design.

After cutting the design I sanded the trim down and rounded the edges. I should have stained the wood but I got lazy and painted it.

Last I highlighted the edge of the zig-zag in mat black paint and the diamond in another lighter earth tone. Cut to fit and installed with screws counter sunk through a couple of the "dot" details. I think it looks best in the mood lighting. It was a first attempt at this kind of thing and should do until I can pick up a few more skills. Thanks for looking.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2007-10-08 18:35 ]

That tapa print paper was a real amazing score. Looks great over your bar. Nice job on the trim. I have'nt seen one of those shuffleboard tile floors since I was a kid in the 70's. Way cool.

Looks too cool Uncle Trav. Can't wait to get back up there and enjoy another amazing night at the Hukilau Lounge. You did a great job on the whole deal. Sissy say's post pictures of your Fabulous 400 and the rest of your house.

Thanks Kabuddhabuddha. You and SavageSissy are our favorite customers. Mai Tais are always flowing. I may post the rest of the house circa 1959 on the beyond tiki thread sometime. "Blast from the cool past". I did put up a new mood light tonight. Took one of my hanging mask and put red craft paper behind the cutouts and a 7 watt bulb behind. No fire danger the bulb is plenty cool. I got a couple of bar stools with your names on them. COME ON UP!!!

Trav, that is one warm looking but extremely cool place. I really love the atmosphere. It looks like such a great place to hang out with family and friends.
...and I know I've said it before...but that shuffleboard court is sooo awesome.
We had one in our garage when we were growing up and my brother and sister and I spent quite a few rainy Saturdays holding 'super-de-duper-galactic shuffleboard championships' (re-matches had longer and more dramatic titles the longer we played). :)
Anyway, hope you have a great weekend!!

Thanks for the kind words Mr. Pupu. I thought I would add a fun touch to the home lounge and came up with some cocktail menus. I wanted a vintage feel so I used a mix of classic menu images and edited them and added the cocktail names and printed them out on heavy card stock.

Front

Inside

Back

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2010-03-27 06:36 ]

Trav,

Those menus are fantastic, great idea. How did you produce them?

DC

Those are awesome, Trav!

Thanks guys. The menus are fairly easy to make. I scanned or imported the menu image into the computer and used the paint feature to "airbrush" out any text. Next I choose the font style and color for the new text and added the cocktail names. I used the print feature on my scanner and printed the menu out on heavy card stock. I used a standard sheet of card stock with the front and back images on one side of the card stock and the interior of the menu on the other side. Fold in half and you have a menu size perfect for the home lounge. Here's is a better image of the inside of one I did.

Beautiful menu's Trav, thirsty just looking at them!

I think Big Kahuna and myself may be the only two people to use high explosives as a decor feature in our home bars. A big vintage WWII one hundred pound practice bomb. Is it Tiki, no. Do I like it, oh yes. That's a full size bottle of rum for size comparison.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2013-02-22 17:23 ]

Love the high explosives Uncle Trav!

Kaboom

That's da bomb...

Jon

Your place is the bomb...that is for sure. Thanks for sharing how you did those menus, might give it a spin some day.

Whoa!! Ordinance makes a fine decoration!

Things have been quiet in the home bar lately. The sudden and unforeseen demise of my 1950's Kelvinator fridge has put a damper on recent festivities. Getting that huge ancient sarcophagus out of the basement will be akin to Howard Carter dragging King Tut into the daylight after a long slumber. On a lighter note, this summer has been good for finding all kinds of vintage additions for the bar. First up is this vintage resin pirate ship's figurehead. Molded to look like carved wood and a perfect size for the bar. I had two people try and buy the thing at the same time I was paying for it. I will post more as I move things around and try to fit in the new finds but that's all part of the fun of a home bar. Thanks for taking a look.

Nice figurehead, Trav... time to break out the grog!

-Tom

That must have come from a small ship! :wink:

Sorry for making this an example, but it is a good one, and I will, for those who are confused:

No, a pirate is NOT "Tiki Style" - by itself that is. But Trav is not saying it is. When a piece like this becomes part of a thoroughly Tiki-ed out environment like the Hukilau Lounge, it adds to the "Seven Seas/ Armchair Explorer" atmosphere that is the essence of a good Tiki hideaway.

Would this be a room full of Pirate decor, and a Tiki figurehead would be added to it, it would be an entirely different matter/ genre. Sorry to point out what might seem like the obvious to many, but I felt it might help clarify things for some.

Yes. Sven is correct. The figurehead is not Tiki and I passed up buying the piece at the show a couple of times the day I saw it. On my way out of the show I decided to pick it up. The small size helped me think I could fit it in with the other decor in the lounge. I have a few other pieces of nautical junk that work well and and help add to the escapism feel of the whole space. One of the things I love about having visitors over for cocktails is watching them stroll around the bar in the dim light and see new things every time they visit. The history and stories of Polynesian palaces long gone help create an atmosphere that is warm and inviting. I don't consider my home bar a museum but the items contained in it do tell a story and that is a big part of the fun for me. Voyaging beyond my home port doesn't take me far and I have been very lucky to have found many rare an fun pieces for the bar. I think Sven mentioned at one point that clutter is a very important part of a good Tiki bar. I really have that part down to a science. I'll post more photos of the clutter soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Or: A Tiki Lounge is like a good movie: You can view it again and again and not get bored, and discover something new every time. :)

uncle trav,

I've got a bomb hanging in my bar too, gotta have that!

-Longboard

[ Edited by: Longboard 2013-11-04 08:08 ]

Haha !! Gotta love the bomb for its decorative appeal. Here is another find that's not shown in the earlier photos of the lounge. I found this Witco Wahine chair in a small village here in Southern Mi. The man who owned it for a number of years said it was the centerpiece of his American Indian display. Many women who have sat in this chair in the bar have soon after become pregnant !!! Just kidding. I wish I could show the mood lighting better in the photos but my phone camera won't let me.

Two chunk swag lamps as well. The red one is blood red and looks like lava. It really compliments the cool blue of the other lamp. Sorry again for the crappy pics. Again these pieces seem to work well for dim mood lighting.

Glad to see these updates. The Hukilau Lounge was always one of our favorites. Sorry to hear about the fridge!

An early birthday gift from my wife. An inert XM388 ATOMIC PROJECTILE !!!! Made in the mid 1950's and used with the M-29 Davy Crockett Weapon System. What could be more 50's than Davy Crockett and nukes? Made to be shot down range with a recoilless rifle to a distance of two miles. As rare as hen's teeth and super cool. It will have a place down in the Hukilau Lounge as a tribute to the atomic age.

I love the bomb!

Uh, Trav... are you sure that thing is disarmed? If you want to be haunted by what is now in the Hukilau Lounge, read this: Command and Control: Nuclear Weapons, the Damascus Accident, and the Illusion of Safety by Eric Schlosser...

http://www.amazon.com/Command-Control-Damascus-Accident-Illusion/dp/1594202273

Happy January birthday to you, my friend!

-Tom

Thanks Tom and a happy birthday to you as well. No worries in the lounge. The XM388 made it home on the pothole riddled back roads of cold Michigan including a stop at the McDonald's drive through. This piece is very rare only 2,100 of the originals we're made and 200 launchers so not many training versions were made or survived. Defiantly not tiki but I love it and it will be an awesome conversation starter in the Hukilau. :D

Love it, Trav!

That. Is. AWESOME.

I love old bombs!
Have one here someplace.
But... I saw these last week and thought of you.
The French made bombs?
I thought they made love not war.
The first one was $250.00

¨*•.¸¸¸.•¨•.¸¸.•¨•.¸¸TIKISKIP™•••LIGHTS¸¸.•¨•.¸¸.•¨•.¸¸¸.•*¨

Unfortunately the shirt does not exist, but it would go well in Hukilau Lounge.

Trav, what a neat place! I like the bomb myself, and have one for my future lounge. That nuke is so cool! Love that pic with the M-48 tank in the background...now to figure out how to include one of those!

Thanks guys! The era that Tiki was popular doesn't just live down in my basement lounge. It's loose in the whole house. Here are a few pics of my galley kitchen. BEHOLD!! My TAPPAN FABULOUS 400 with VISUALITE technology. I use this baby nearly every day and it works perfectly .

Here's a shot of the dining nook. The table is dated 1958 and has an automatic pop up leaf built in. The built in corner cabinet and flying saucer lamp add the the feel.

LOVE the stove and the dinette set. I have one very similar to your dinette, but chairs need redoing.

Beautiful space.

• Dale

I picked up these heavy brass plaques at a local flea market. They are reproductions but are small enough to add to the decor. A little nautical touch goes well in the home bar. It's always fun to have visitors find something new to discover.

And why not a harpoon for good measure.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2014-07-05 17:21 ]

Picked from the wreckage of a tall ship who's name is lost. It's belly torn on the reef and it's cargo thrown on the nameless sands of a forgotten Pacific island. I gladly traded the old captain of a copra hauler a half empty bottle of rum for it :D found at a local flea market. Rusty, crusty broken and dented. It's perfect for my bar and will soon shine again as a hanging lamp for that touch of nautical style.

"Anyone who has ever seen them is thereafter haunted as if by a feverish dream" Karl Woermann

[ Edited by: uncle trav 2014-09-01 15:20 ]

Just fabulous...everything. I love the stove/oven. My Mom had an O'Keffe & Merritt just like that back in the 60's. I was always fascinated with the burner roll out function. Keep up the great work!!!