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      "date": "2024-11-15T09:00:00-08:00",
      "description": "Layer, don't decorate. Notes on making a room feel like somewhere else without buying a single carved idol.",
      "draft": false,
      "fields": {
        "author": "Martin Cate",
        "date": "2024-11-15T09:00:00-08:00",
        "description": "Layer, don't decorate. Notes on making a room feel like somewhere else without buying a single carved idol.",
        "draft": false,
        "image": "",
        "lastmod": "2025-02-19T14:30:00-08:00",
        "publishdate": "2024-11-15T09:00:00-08:00",
        "tags": [
          "decor",
          "home-bar",
          "creating-the-space"
        ],
        "title": "Building a Home Tiki Bar"
      },
      "html": "\u003cp\u003eThe mistake almost everyone makes is treating a tiki bar as a shopping list.\nBuy some bamboo, hang a puffer fish lamp, put up a few masks, done. The result\nusually reads as a themed corner of a normal room, which is exactly what it is.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat makes these spaces work is not the objects. It\u0026rsquo;s density and light.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"cover-the-edges\"\u003eCover the edges\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe single highest-impact move is eliminating the visual reminders that you\u0026rsquo;re\nin a rectangular room in an ordinary building. Corners, ceiling lines, window\nframes, outlets, thermostats. Bamboo poles, matting, netting, and lauhala cloth\nexist to break up those lines.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou don\u0026rsquo;t need to cover every surface — you need to cover the ones that give\nthe game away. A ceiling treatment alone will do more than a wall of\nmerchandise.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"light-low-light-warm\"\u003eLight low, light warm\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOverhead lighting kills the effect instantly. What you want is many small warm\nsources at or below eye level: pufferfish lamps, float lamps, string lights\nbehind matting, a glow from under the bar.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGet everything on dimmers. The room should be able to go from \u0026ldquo;we\u0026rsquo;re having\npeople over\u0026rdquo; to \u0026ldquo;it\u0026rsquo;s midnight somewhere\u0026rdquo; without rearranging anything.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"layer-over-time\"\u003eLayer over time\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe best home bars look accumulated because they were. A room assembled in one\nweekend from one catalog looks like it. A room built over three years out of\nestate sales, trades with other collectors, a commissioned carving, and things\nbrought back from trips looks like a life.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis is also the honest financial advice. Good carved work is expensive and\nworth it; the filler around it doesn\u0026rsquo;t need to be.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"sound\"\u003eSound\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChronically underrated. Exotica — Martin Denny, Les Baxter, Arthur Lyman — plus\nthe modern acts keeping the genre alive. A bird call and a distant vibraphone\ndo more for the atmosphere than another mask on the wall.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"a-note-on-what-you-hang\"\u003eA note on what you hang\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePlenty of vintage tiki décor reproduces sacred Polynesian imagery as\ndecoration. Some of it is thoughtless, some of it is worse. You can build a\ngorgeous room out of mid-century modern shapes, natural materials, warm light,\nand commissioned work by contemporary carvers who are open about what they\u0026rsquo;re\nmaking and why.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe goal was always transportation, not authenticity. Leaning into the\nmid-century American fantasy — which is what this actually is — gets you a\nbetter room and a clearer conscience.\u003c/p\u003e\n",
      "id": "posts/building-a-home-tiki-bar",
      "lastmod": "2025-02-19T14:30:00-08:00",
      "markdown": "\nThe mistake almost everyone makes is treating a tiki bar as a shopping list.\nBuy some bamboo, hang a puffer fish lamp, put up a few masks, done. The result\nusually reads as a themed corner of a normal room, which is exactly what it is.\n\nWhat makes these spaces work is not the objects. It's density and light.\n\n## Cover the edges\n\nThe single highest-impact move is eliminating the visual reminders that you're\nin a rectangular room in an ordinary building. Corners, ceiling lines, window\nframes, outlets, thermostats. Bamboo poles, matting, netting, and lauhala cloth\nexist to break up those lines.\n\nYou don't need to cover every surface — you need to cover the ones that give\nthe game away. A ceiling treatment alone will do more than a wall of\nmerchandise.\n\n## Light low, light warm\n\nOverhead lighting kills the effect instantly. What you want is many small warm\nsources at or below eye level: pufferfish lamps, float lamps, string lights\nbehind matting, a glow from under the bar.\n\nGet everything on dimmers. The room should be able to go from \"we're having\npeople over\" to \"it's midnight somewhere\" without rearranging anything.\n\n## Layer over time\n\nThe best home bars look accumulated because they were. A room assembled in one\nweekend from one catalog looks like it. A room built over three years out of\nestate sales, trades with other collectors, a commissioned carving, and things\nbrought back from trips looks like a life.\n\nThis is also the honest financial advice. Good carved work is expensive and\nworth it; the filler around it doesn't need to be.\n\n## Sound\n\nChronically underrated. Exotica — Martin Denny, Les Baxter, Arthur Lyman — plus\nthe modern acts keeping the genre alive. A bird call and a distant vibraphone\ndo more for the atmosphere than another mask on the wall.\n\n## A note on what you hang\n\nPlenty of vintage tiki décor reproduces sacred Polynesian imagery as\ndecoration. Some of it is thoughtless, some of it is worse. You can build a\ngorgeous room out of mid-century modern shapes, natural materials, warm light,\nand commissioned work by contemporary carvers who are open about what they're\nmaking and why.\n\nThe goal was always transportation, not authenticity. Leaning into the\nmid-century American fantasy — which is what this actually is — gets you a\nbetter room and a clearer conscience.\n",
      "readingTime": 2,
      "slug": "building-a-home-tiki-bar",
      "summary": "The mistake almost everyone makes is treating a tiki bar as a shopping list. Buy some bamboo, hang a puffer fish lamp, put up a few masks, done. The result usually reads as a themed corner of a normal room, which is exactly what it is.\nWhat makes these spaces work is not the objects. It’s density and light.\nCover the edges The single highest-impact move is eliminating the visual reminders that you’re in a rectangular room in an ordinary building. Corners, ceiling lines, window frames, outlets, thermostats. Bamboo poles, matting, netting, and lauhala cloth exist to break up those lines.",
      "title": "Building a Home Tiki Bar",
      "url": "/posts/building-a-home-tiki-bar/",
      "weight": 0,
      "wordCount": 391
    }
  ],
  "slug": "creating-the-space",
  "taxonomy": "tags",
  "term": "Creating-the-Space"
}