For the 8 years my husband Ryan and I have been together, we have collected a number of pottery pieces, mostly mugs. That awesome collection needed to be displayed, so Ryan created these custom cubby shelves for our dining room for display. We enjoy picking mugs from the shelves each day for our tea, and having such a presence on the wall for Ryan’s passion. (Check out this link for a tutorial on making your own custom cubby shelf)
However, my passion was also taking over the dining room. Our tiki bar has been growing fast, especially with so much time at home during the pandemic. We have this main spot for the tiki bar, with the bar cabinet, display shelf and rattan shelf, but it becoming less display, and more like clutter.
Our tiki overflow was brought over to dining cabinet and wine fridge, and even that became too crowded. I have a collection problem…
I wanted a place to really showcase our tiki collection, so I convinced Ryan to build another custom cubby shelf! I came up with this design based on what I wanted to display, and we really only made a few adjustments.
It turned out so good! At night, our lights glint off all the glass and gold displayed on the shelves and it really showcases our beautiful tiki collection now. In some of the cubbies, I cut pieces of cardboard and covered them with burlap, so a nice tiki-inspired backdrop that would help certain pieces pop. I have a tendency to buy blue pieces and that doesn’t show off against our Amalfi Blue walls, so the burlap background helps.
Check out some of the detail shots below for some links on some modern items we bought, or similar decor to our vintage finds.
I found my mid-century gravel and sequin parrot wall art at a thrift store for less than $10, but it seems much more expensive when found online. I got really lucky!
The beautiful abstract painting is a gift from my friend Amruta (Art By Amruta Parmar), who makes fabulously vibrant pieces. I wanted it as a backdrop to the little tropical knick-knacks, which I found at Hobby Lobby. The tiki mugs below are a mix of vintage finds (like the Kona Coffee Tiki Mug) and Dollar Tree purchases. Dollar Tree has some fun tiki items every summer, which are great for parties or guests who don’t want to worry about breaking a glass, which we’ve been told before when handing out drinks.
The rose gold tumbler and shot glass set was gifted, so I’m not sure where it was originally bought, but here is a link to some similar ones! The Cera Ned Harris gold pineapple glasses were vintage finds that my dad gifted to me, and I found the same ones sold on Etsy.
The three colorful prints are from one of my favorite artists, Jeff Granito. Jeff makes amazing tiki-inspired art, and it was so hard to choose just three prints! The kitty with the tiki drink though was a no-brainer for me though 😉
Whenever we go to a tiki bar, I try to keep a little memento. Sometimes its the cocktail stirrer, a coaster or even a postcard that our bill comes on. I framed this cute drink post card from Hale Pale in Portland with a gold bamboo frame I found at Hobby Lobby.
In addition to my tiki collection, I have a small collection of travel themed drinkware I wanted to display. The Italy glass is my favorite, since it’s from TWA airlines and has an etched airplane on the back!
The mold blown glass tiki mug on the left is an Andrew Iannazzi creation, which we bought in an art gallery in Asheville. The blue juice squeezer and cool spike tumbler are from Kathryn Dyche, an English potter friend of ours. The mug on the far right is a factory-made tumbler that’s easy to find and great for tiki beginners.
The skull glass is a purchase from our experience at False Idol Tiki Bar in San Diego, We enjoy our pineapples and tiki glass with the straws when we want an easy tumbler to use outside while in our inflatable pool :p
And finally, the most recent addition to our collection and very special to us, is the cross-stitched tiki scene. Ryan’s mom made it for us and its so freaking cute! She even found this rose gold bamboo frame, which looks great with all the gold tones on the shelves.
I know a tiki bar is a pretty niche thing to have, so not many are as interested as me in finding pieces like this. But I hope it inspires you regardless to decorate your home with pieces you love and have a story!
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