Why Bamboo?

Why Build A Tiki Bar?

Nothing communicates "fun" like the image of a tiki bar. Loosely Polynesian-themed drinking establishments first appeared in America during the 1930's, and by the 1950's, their popularity reached astronomic proportions. Why should you build a tiki bar today? First, a little history.

The Story Of The Tiki Bar

The image of the care-free tropical island has been with us since long before the 1930's. During most of the early 20th century, American kids actually read books, and grew up on 18th and 19th century adventure stories by the likes of Jules Verne, many of which featured tropical islands as their settings. Even Robinson Crusoe used to be considered a children's book, not fodder for college courses.

So, when those kids grew up, the sight of a drinking establishment with actual props such as you would theoretically find in a real-life "tropical paradise" ("tiki masks" and wall-mounted tropical fish) sparked their imaginations. It was the perfect blend of "reality" and fancy. Presumably, the Tiki bars were related to actual Polynesian culture and named after the Maori mythological figure of Tiki, although the connection was pretty tenuous. Add alcohol to the mix, especially fruity "tropical" rum-based drinks with very high alcohol content, such as the Zombie Cocktail, and you have an unbeatable recipe for the ultimate leisure destination.

Post-Modern Tiki Bars

After the 1970's, tiki bars fell out of fashion. They were inauthentic, no longer "cool" or "cosmopolitan." What was once alluring because it was new and faintly exotic became hopelessly domestic and outdated. It became gauche to build a tiki hut or build a tiki bar.

However, gradually, as the 20th century merged into the 21st, the common opprobrium heaped upon the tiki bar lifted. Post-modernity looks with skepticism at any attempt to create an "objective" point of view. It revels in images and ideas that once were fashionable but that now appear "cheesy" and "outdated," in part because these conform its thesis that the meaning of all images is subjective and relative to its time period.

Thus, delightful tiki bar, with its thatch roofs, woven mats, fanciful "tiki god" mugs and fake palm trees, has had something of a renaissance. Now, everyone wants a tiki bar--not just to go to on vacation, but to have in his or her own rec room, basement, or backyard. People who like tiki bars are aware that they might be seen by some as "cheesy," but love them anyway, in part because of the liberation that they represent from always having to be "cool." Build a tiki bar, and you will convey to all of your friends the message of how free-spirited and fun-loving you are.
Complete Your Home Tiki Bar With Tiki Accessories

You want to build your own tiki bar, but think that it's too hard to get all those elaborate props? Tiki accessories are actually available for purchase online. Any tiki bar supplies you can think of, you can probably buy for yourself.

What Tiki Accessories Should You Get For Your Home?

The atmosphere of infinite leisure and pleasure that you would find a tiki bar can actually be created easily, with the purchase and proper arrangement of the right tiki accessories. The delight you and your guests will feel at finding yourselves in a tiki bar may intangible. However, it is brought about through the proper combination of very tangible, physical props. Building a tiki bar is all about applying Gestalt principles: the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

The Basics: Thatch, Weaves, and Bamboo

The basic components of a convincing tiki bar that will surround your guests in the proper atmosphere are palm-thatched roofs (such as you would see on traditional Polynesian roofs), woven bamboo mats, and bamboo poles. These are the "brick and mortar" of putting together a tiki bar. Any surface that goes on top of where people are sitting or standing, such as the roof of a the bar area (if you're building a little "tiki shack") or a sun umbrella, should be covered in palm thatch. Fortunately, that doesn't mean you have to pay contractors to thatch the roof of your bar. Thatch is available in easy-to-install rolls that you can just unroll and use to cover a basic skeleton structure made of wood.
Woven mats go great on floors, as a kind of tropical rug, or on walls. They are comfortable to touch and let in a little bit of warm, tropical breeze while keeping out the wind. If you don't live in a tropical climate, don't worry. You can buy woven mats by the foot and use them to line an ordinary wall. The woven mats that you can buy commercially are made with thick-woven strips of bamboo--much like the traditional ones you would see on a Polynesian island, except treated with various substances to make them stronger and more durable.

Bamboo is an excellent construction material because it can come in another form. What could be an aesthetically superior complement to a woven bamboo mat than a sign held up by a bamboo pole? The sign could be simple-looking, perhaps wooden, and hand-painted to fit in with the tiki aesthetic. "[insert your name]'s Tiki Bar," it could say. But don't stop there! Bamboo poles, in combination with woven bamboo, could also be used to make delightful tiki furniture for your bar. This, too, can be purchased commercially. Is there anything more playful than the combination of rustic and modern found in a bamboo CD holder, containing, perhaps, your collection of marimba music?

Get Fancier: Tiki Masks And More

Once you have established your tiki bar's underlying structure of bamboo and thatch, you can really start the best part of decorating: choosing individual tiki accessories. You must, of course, start with the classics that have existed in tiki bars since the 1930's: tiki masks. According to Maori legend, Tiki is actually the first human being on earth--similar to the Judeo-Christian Adam. Tiki masks are originally inspired by traditional Polynesian woodcarvings. To "western" eyes, they tend to look imposing and exotic, and they are an indispensable part of tiki bar decor. Many "tiki masks" today aren't really masks--just giant woodcarvings. You can use tiki masks creatively: buy a couple, put a board over them (preferably made from the same type of wood), and you've got a tiki bench.

Other tiki accessories and tiki bar supplies you can buy include tiki mugs (in which to serve colorful, rum-based drinks), artificial palm trees, and fiberglass tropical fish to mount on your walls.

Tiki Thatch Gives Your Tiki Bar Its Exotic Look

Tiki thatch is perhaps the first step to giving a semi-authentic Polynesian look to your tiki bar. Thatch--even outdoor tiki hut thatch--doesn't have to be woven by hand, either. Why is it so popular?

Tiki Thatch: The First Step To Building A Tiki Bar

A tiki bar just isn't a tiki bar without that characteristic palm tree-looking tiki thatch covering every conceivable roof-like surface. Without tiki bar thatch, your "tiki bar" is just some bar that serves tropical drinks. If your home bar has is decorated with tiki masks and boasts a supply of tiki mugs in which to serve tropical drinks, but doesn't have thatch covering at least one surface, it looks jarring.

For an outdoor tiki hut, thatch is even more necessary. With an indoor tiki-themed bar, you at least have the excuse that thatch roofs "aren't really necessary" indoors (although everyone will know you are just making excuses--tiki bars are about looks, not utility). With an outdoor tiki hut, you don't even have that sad excuse.

Covering The Subject Of Thatch

What is thatch? It is only the world's first building material. Straw, heather, and in the Polynesian islands, dried palm leaves, have been layered together and waterproofed to create warm, water-resistant, low-cost, sustainable roofs for thousands of years. People have been making thatched roofs since before they could write.

In the context of a tropical tiki bar, it's practical to use thatch to cover a sun umbrella or palapa (a type of roofed structure held up by four or more poles but without any walls, intended for giving shade). Thatch's great thermal insulation means that, not only will thatched-roof houses stay warm in winter, but people sitting under thatched palapas will stay cool in summer.

The Aesthetics of Thatch

Aside from its cost-effectiveness and its effectiveness at protection from the sun (possibly not as much of an issue, if you're trying to build a tiki bar at home), thatch has great aesthetic properties that make it indispensable to a tropical-themed place of leisure. A thatched roof looks casual and natural. People like the fact that a thatched roof is made out of the same material as things that actually grow in the earth. Why?

Is it because everyone actually cares so much about the environment all of a sudden? Maybe, but the real reason probably has more to do with the basic aesthetic principle of "things must match." People often express an urge to "get away from civilization" because of its perceived artificiality. Civilization clashes with what everyone really perceives to be the true nature of reality--which is, "nature," in the sense of forests and palm trees and plants.

We love nature, but we need civilization. Modern people feel that they are simply incapable of living in nature, without any of the "artificial" incursions of civilization--and they probably are right. Even farming is, to some extent, "artificial." However, when people see that boundary between nature and civilization blur just a little bit--as in the thatched roof of a tiki bar--they begin to relax just a little bit. It is the kind of good, relaxed feeling that makes one want to sit back with a tropical cocktail.

Commerically Available Tiki Thatch

For these reasons, thatched roofs have been an indispensable part of the tiki bar look since tiki bars first appeared. These days, if you want to build a tiki bar, you don't even have to thatch it yourself--you can buy rolls of tiki thatch buy the foot.