Tiki Bar Decor and Culture for the Home

Tiki Bar Decor and Culture for the Home

The South Pacific islands are surrounded by culture as much as they are by bodies of water. They give off a special kind of energy that is hard to find. The family like bond which the islanders possess make everyone feel at home whether it be locals or tourists. Their music and dance mixed with their food and drink make the islands such a desirable place to get away. But how do you keep these good vibes around when the vacation is over? Here are some guidelines on how to pump up the pacific ways in your own home and truly embrace the tiki culture.

First and foremost, don’t think that you need twenty foot palm trees to fit through your front door to get that radiant atmosphere inside your house. A few additions and changes should do the trick. The islands are all about sea breeze and fresh air so start by opening your windows.

Next, the islanders are very crafty and practical. They make baskets out of leaves and carvings out of wood. If you want to save money, you can buy cheap tiki carvings and beautiful baskets that you can add to coffee tables or wall shelfs. And as the islanders believe, by having these tikis around your house you will keep out danger and negativity by scaring them away with the tiki’s warrior faces. You could however take up tiki carving or you could go to Tiki Ray for a Custom tiki from Southern California. If you really want to top it off, trade in your housecoat for a lava lava; a traditional floral pattern wrap which both island men and women wear daily.

If you’ve been lucky enough to travel to any of the pacific islands, it’s almost inevitable that you’ve made the Mmm sound after eating their food or taking a sip of their drink. The most common traditional style cooking is through a process called the hungi or umu. This is done by digging a hole in the ground, filling the bottom with volcanic rocks, placing your foiled beef, pork, chicken or fish on top of the rocks and recovering the hole . This cooks their food by trapping in the unbelievable flavor, but obviously can not be done in your home without a massive repair bill. So here’s how you do it in a more user friendly kind of way. Island food is about simplicity, so simply choose your meat, marinate it in a tropical juice or glaze, add a little seasoning and pop it in your oven. You can side it with some traditional island kumara or substitute it with sweet potatoes.

While that’s cooking you can put together a few tropical cocktails. The key to this is coconut and pineapple since these two fruits are island staples. With any combination of these fruits, alcohol and some additional juices, you cannot go wrong. If you hollow out one of the pineapples or coconuts, you can be like the islanders and use that as a cup. Or you can tie it back to the tiki theme and use a very popularized tiki mug. These come in various sizes and are just regular mugs with the tiki inscriptions and carvings that add the perfect touch to your south pacific feel.

While enjoying your delicious meal, fill your house with the sounds of the islands. Although it may be difficult to bring a ukele player into your home for some live music, you can purchase a couple of cds for the same effect. Pacific Island dancing involved moving the body in a way to express the activities of daily life, so get up and shake your hips to your new music, new decoration and enjoy your new authentic tiki cultured home.