Need help... " classy" tiki bar ideas

I have spent the last twenty years traveling the globe and picking up decor for the tiki bar I would eventually have. First excuse was the home was too small, then it was the kids needed a place to play where the bar would go, then it was it just wouldn't fit the rest of the house. Well my tiki friends the day has come. We just bought a new home and there is already a bodacious bar in the basement. In fact it is too beautiful to tikify to a great extent. I mean this is a serious bar with granite counter tops and cherry wood. So, I need your ideas on how to make this a classy tiki bar. Not much bamboo or thatch but heavy on mugs and other things.

Help!

Lee

OMG.. I have been so stressed with the move and a tragic death in the family. This reply really got me laughing for the first time in weeks. Mahalo!

Go to the Home Tiki Bars forum (which is where this question should be anyway) and you'll see that not everybody has gone "completely tiki" with their home bars. Check out the first few pics from my home bar The Storm Shelter. Thanks to some great local artists, the rest of the room is becoming more tiki (pics coming soon), but the bar area still looks very much the same.

Ok. Started with the wine rack. I can't keep it like this because my father-in-law always drinks the first thing he sees. I have always had all of my booze boxed in the basement since I didn't have a bar and could never appreciate the beauty of a full bottle. Just had to do this. I like it.

Unless you're willing to remodel the entire area, you don't have many options.
I would replace your bar/island to start, we are talking a serious demo & rebuild here.

Outside of that, all you can do is dress the place up a bit
the good news is you have a nice area to work with, if you wanted to do it right.

Good one, komohana!

Build a classy old school adventurers or explorers club. You can add your curiosities to what you presently have. Adding framed tapa cloth, native masks, tribal weapons, etc should fit in ok.

Experiment and change out the color of the light bulbs in your bar. It's too bright. There are a few different kinds of programmable LED bulbs on the market.

I'm des.ing with a similar situation. I would do this:

1. Replace that painting on the wide wall with an original tiki painting from one of the people here on the forum
2. A handful of interesting tiki mugs on one of those glass shelves
3. Replace whatever that is between the bar and the wine rack with a six foot carved tiki!

I-Tiki there is a TON of Tiki décor/design inspiration here at TC. You really need to surf this site in depth. Based upon what your saying the new Tiki bar in Oakland, CA "LONGITUDE" could be a design/décor example to improve on what you already have in your new house!

Depending on what you can swing, lose the recessed lighting over the bar and replace it with pendant lights, lose the shiny granite, put the stemware that hasn't been used in 2+ years into storage (or get rid of it if there is no significance) and place mugs there...

I really, really like tikilongbeach's Explorer's Club idea. I think you're best off embracing what it is and working with it, rather than trying to design around it as if it's not what it is. I think I'd start with those drawer pulls, if you're up for replacing those. I'd switch them to something that looks more late-1800s British/New York, maybe some ornate antiqued bronze, or alternately, some simple but less-sleek design. The silver bars look too modern for the direction you'll want to head.

I'd do some deep digging, learning more about these old adventurer's clubs, and looking for other design concepts (the image above comes from a play about an adventurer's club). Disney famously had their Adventurer's Club. You can make yours specifically about explorers around the South Pacific, if you wish, but I think it's a great, immersive direction to head in, without making big changes to what you've got.

Good luck, I think there's potential to do something really fresh and fun here!

Unfortunately, most of those are like Pan-Am ads from the 60's, likely fabrications that threw together old hunting trophies, rugs, and Victorian era furnishings. The Adventurers' Club in LA is basically a shithole behind a check cashing place that has been in operation for almost a century.

Look at the circa 1904 Explorers Club in New York City for inspiration.

First of all, CONGRATULATIONS on your new home and a space to finally have your dream Tiki bar. This is such a great forum, please take the time to look through the threads, they will give you ideas. Everyone has a different take on their decor and we worship those that have the full-blown authentic Tiki atmosphere. Mock up your room on paper or online, and then experiment with various styles to see what feels good to you. I mock up all the rooms in my house just on Power Point to determine where I want items and the colors and textures I want, which really helps me. Bottom line, research and take your time.

I love your bar, it very elegant and so functional. I think if you just work on your walls and ceiling to Tikify them you will be in the ball park. Investing in large Tikis (since you have the space) if a wonderful way to a great outcome. Support the artist's community here, I can assure you walls full of Tiki art sets up a great pallet for sipping on cocktails. You can also enhance the atmosphere with multiple Tiki lighting elements. Go to home bar crawls in your neck of the woods and network with folks on this board who have styles you like. Have fun and keep posting pictures.

I love what Humu posted, that would be a great style for your room.

P.S. I need Lemon Hart 151 if you need to downsize.

"Oh waiter, another cocktail please!!!"

[ Edited by: VampiressRN 2015-01-01 16:30 ]

Nota bene: I-Tiki isn't new, he's been a member of Tiki Central since 2004. I'd wager he already knows a thing or two about finding inspiration here!

First of all, I think that's a fantastic bar space. I love all bars when they are well designed and highly functional. I think you're right in that trying to tikify it too much would be a mistake. Maybe highlight its strengths rather than try to turn it into something it isn't meant to be. If it were me, I'd more or less leave the bar alone, save for the door and drawer pulls, which has already been mentioned. Then lower the lighting and replace the recessed cans with some hanging lamps that reflect the amount of Tiki you want in the space. That's not an easy task, I know. :)

For inspiration, I'd recommend you take a look at what Jeff Berry has done with Latitude 29. Due to its location in a classy old New Orleans boutique hotel, they have gone with a more understated, classy Tiki look that fits the space well. I think you could definitely pull some ideas from there, especially with regards to wall treatments and lighting since you already have the bar.

I would agree with the folks that have already given their advice. If you want standard Tiki kitsch, then you would probably have to do a complete rebuild. What you have already is rife with opportunity for that colonial, Victorian, adventurer's club motif. Besides Googling "adventurer's club" you might also try looking up historical photo archives for inspiration. For example, the Hawaii State Archives site is at http://archives1.dags.hawaii.gov/gallery2/main.php, and here's a Pinterest of old Samoa photos at http://www.pinterest.com/samoangenealogy/samoan-old-photos/.

So yeah, get some nice wicker/rattan chairs and potted (fake) palms, maybe some barrister's bookcases for your mugs, some nice pieces displayed on the walls trophy-like, look into some fine vintage wallpaper designs with South Pacific references (like a palm damask or something). It wouldn't have the "fun" of the Tiki kitsch aesthetic, but the Victorian adventurer's club opens up its own intriguing possibilities.

"Experiment and change out the color of the light bulbs in your bar. It's too bright. There are a few different kinds of programmable LED bulbs on the market"

This is what I would say except LED bulbs most of the time are the problem as
they have the blue cast that you don't want in your bar.
Can't believe we are told what kind of light bulbs we can and can't buy!
But tiki or not your bar has some harsh lighting going on.

Just a few candles on the bar top would be a good start.
Then maybe some incandescent bulbs with dimmers would help too, you can still find em
online.
Buy them now cuz soon it will be harder to find these light bulbs than it is to buy pot.

Could also make pendant lights that could plug into the lights above your bar and these
could be taken out when you want.
There is a outlet plug that screws into the socket of your light fixtures.
See below.
https://www.google.com/search?q=light+socket+plug+adapter&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=653&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=XdWmVM_QIYiMyATRxIKgAw&ved=0CEoQsAQ

Here are some lights that would work over your bar, But they would go up into
the hole where your light bulbs are now and be plugged in.
I could make you some for that Lemon Hart that is dead center
of your photo.:)

GOOD LUCK!!

These are what I call pretty tiki and are more for your wall.

¤(¯*•.(¯*•..TIKISKIP..•*´¯).•*´¯)¤

Lights for home and
commercial TIKI bars.

You can get Pendant light converter kits for canned light housings
so hooking up Tiki light Pendants should not be a problem.

Hey look at that ATP is right.
Had never heard of those.
I was talking about rigging the same type of thing.
Cool.

https://www.google.com/search?q=pendant+light+conversion+kit+/+ceiling+canopy&espv=2&biw=1280&bih=653&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=hSmnVK-kHJO3yASO9YDACQ&ved=0CFsQsAQ

You have a fantastic space! I hope someday I can get that but it would require a new home or a lot of money for a reno. The thoughts of tearing down your bar/island is silly to me when you can likely overlay the surfaces if you so desire. I think lighting is the first thing you can tackle that would have the biggest impact - in my opinion, the bar should be dim with subtle and ambient lighting. With the glass shelving and counter lights, you have the option of color too much like http://tikichick.files.wordpress.com/2010/11/img_1442.jpg Keeping the main or "house lights" off would do wonders and the majority of the work. I think the hanging pendants as suggested above is a fantastic idea as well - you'll have size, shape, and texture to help give the space some character.

I like your countertops as-is too. Not every bar needs some rustic ol' top and cleaning will be much easier. I think that is perfect for a "classy" tiki bar. You could look into some subtle and simple changes too throughout the bar such as replacing the cabinet hardware. Perhaps search out some different barstools and/or have several different ones for variety.

Once you have some tiki mugs or other small tiki collectibles in your glass shelving, it'll really help the mix of clean with tiki too.

The adventurer's space is a great idea. Trader Sam's comes to mind.

The only other way I'd consider going - for an upscale look - is the Hawaiian plantation angle. Maybe like Tommy Bahama's but with tiki accents. PNG also goes well with kitsch or class, and is not a bad investment (I tend to cater to the kid in me rather than the adult in others so kitsch tips my scales more than some). For entertaining you can impress by going either direction, but first to thine own self be true.

[ Edited by: Zinctiki 2015-01-08 11:39 ]

Take a look at Mama's Fish House in Maui. Combines Tiki with "up country" Hawaiiana, very classy. Thought of you last night while looking at our wedding photos.

Thanks for all the great ideas. The space is slowly coming together. The tiki mugs are in, the wine rack is now a rum rack, and I added a great tiki beer tap handle. Next steps include adding a mask wall, and decorating an alcove I have dubbed "smuggler's cove" in honor of Mr. Cate's fine establishment.

Best part is that I now have a fully functional awesome bar. It's so nice not having to search for ice, my lime squeezer, and I can actually see and find the right bottle of booze!

More later!

My In-laws moved in. We needed an elevator. Of course it had to go in behind the bar. Had to pull everything apart and then put it back together. Thank the Tiki God's that scottiki had the garage sale. The new Moai came out pretty good with some LED straps.

On 2015-04-04 11:03, I-Tiki wrote:
...the wine rack is now a rum rack...

Here's a pro-tip: always store liquor bottles with corks upright. Otherwise, the high alcohol content can deteriorate the cork. If they have screw-on tops, then no worries.

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¤(¯*•.(¯*•..TIKISKIP..•*´¯).•*´¯)¤

Lights for home and
commercial TIKI bars.

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Skip, that keg lamp is awesome! What’s the bottom like? Got a pic of it lighted?
Mahalo
Btw, imho, ALL Tiki bars are “classy"

On 2016-01-23 14:43, I-Tiki wrote:
My In-laws moved in. We needed an elevator. Of course it had to go in behind the bar. Had to pull everything apart and then put it back together. Thank the Tiki God's that scottiki had the garage sale. The new Moai came out pretty good with some LED straps.

Kraken Like!!! :)

The bottom on that light is cut out so it's a hanging down light
I guess you would call it.
Inside is lined with copper.

Have never seen it lit, well maybe at Amy's tree house and tea shop.

Amy has all of these I made there were 15 I think.
Who knows where they are now.

Thanx for asking.

Your cabinets look awesome with all the tiki mugs in. I would put some grass matting or tropical print wall paper behind the mugs and also change the knobs on the doors to some sort of bamboo knob. Good luck and please keep posting updates!