Home bar under construction with a large collection of glass floats.

On Christmas Eve 1951, the S.S. Rankinbass set off with a cargo full of holiday decorations for an emergency delivery to the south seas. Unfortunately the vessel, the crew, and its cheerful delivery were lost in an unexpected storm, washed ashore on a remote atoll. The Enchanted Tibby Room was erected from the wreckage, continuing the cheerful holiday spirit and sense of celebration that could not be washed away by the sea.

The Enchanted Tibby Room began as a tiny corner of our living room. After receiving the gateway drug (AKA a copy of Martin Cate's Smuggler's Cove book) for Christmas in 2020, I started collecting rums, ingredients, and the occasional cool piece of glassware to practice making drinks with. The corner grew with a nice midcentury cabinet, some mugs and plants on display, and a fabulous custom sign carved by Tiki Tony.

In late 2021 we moved to a new house and property, which included a large Tuff Shed out back. The original intent was to store vintage holiday decorations (my other major passion) within the shed, but after putting some of them away that year I realized, hey. This would actually make an incredible tiki bar.

Beginning with the assembly of the back bar area in February 2022, the ensuing months were full of scouting for bamboo and wicker furniture on Marketplace/Craigslist, and lurking around all the best antique and thrift shops for vintage tiki ephemera. Although the bar is currently "complete" as much as a Tiki bar can ever be considered to be, it's constantly being refined and improved with new little finds and enhancements, such as the recent addition of thatching and bamboo edging along the doors.

Home tiki bar of Tatdiver and his lovely bride.

I grew up loving the HuKe Lau in Chicopee MA. That was my not so Tiki introduction to Tiki. My house has a 3’seasons porch that we used for storage and I wanted to make it more is a living space. So with my wife’s permission I turned it into a Tiki Bar. During the pandemic it became an escape for my friends and I since it was the only bar experience we could have . It’s always a work in progress.

Home tiki bar and lounge in Glendale, CA.

Backyard Tiki bar....built a shed with no "plans", for the sole purpose of being my home tiki bar to escape to.... Trying to turn my backyard into a paradise one project at a time.

This is the home tiki bar of Sven Kirsten (Author of The Book of Tiki and other works), overlooking the Silverlake reservoir in the center of Los Angeles.

Rather than a single room, Sven's entire Silverlake house is a dedicated museum to Tiki. From the Leroy Schmaltz Moai carving in his front yard, to the dozens of swag lamps on his front porch, Witco furnishings, Spanish Tiki Mug collection, and original artworks spread throughout his home -- Sven has truly created a tropical oasis in the heart of Los Angeles.

More recently, Sven splits his time between a new residence in Palm Springs and Silverlake, but when Palm Springs becomes unbearably hot, he comes here to chill out.

This is the home bar of Sean Elliott and Will Brattain.

It is a monster-themed bar with emphasis on the Creature from the Black Lagoon and Universal Monsters, but with several other collections curated throughout, including a vast array of Godzilla related collectibles, Rocketeer, and vintage monster boardgames, posters, action figures, and other collectibles.

The exterior portion houses an outdoor lanai area and thatched hut with bar. Also, a life-sized Doctor Who Tardis and Weeping Angel statues (Don't Blink!).

The interior ground level houses much more of their collections, even extending into the bathroom.

This is the home bar of Brad Howland.

Based in Eagle Rock, the Cocoanut Canteen is the home bar of Trader Sampson (Chase Sampson).

Sampson started, bit by bit, building a tiki bar in his spare room, influenced equally by LA’s tiki culture and the Disney version of it. The Cocoanut Canteen comes from Sampson and his wife Alexis’s mutual love of art deco and an iconic Disney character. “I love the Indiana Jones influence on Trader Sam’s,” he explains. “It’s pulling in a lot of adventurey, 1940s vibes in the decor and the postcards on the walls. It feels like you’re in a different time. That’s the vibe I wanted for the home bar.”

Sampson wanted his bar to feel more like an organic extension of the art deco vibe in their home. “All of my decor is pre-1945,” he says. “Everything on the walls, all the photos, they’re meant to evoke the feeling of being in a different time, whereas in a lot of tiki bars you’re just in a different place.”

A tiny tiki hut on the shore of a mysterious pond. A place with good drinks for good people.

This was an offshoot of our Screaming Monkey Bar, as we needed a place to make drinks and have a little ohana in our lives. We love tiki and love to share it whenever we have the chance!!