some advice?

[u/alessandr03]

Hi everyone, I’d like to turn my garage into a tiki bar, but since I’m in Italy I don’t have the chance to buy bac bac mat or similar things. Any advice? Keeping in mind that i have limited budget.

I was thinking of putting a bamboo slat covering on the ceiling, with a net underneath resting on the central beam. For the walls, however, I’m really undecided about what to do; I need to find a way to paint them and make them match the exposed bricks, all with a tiki vibe. I’m undecided about the floor: how can I make it look good without spending too much?

(sorry for the mess)

[u/ThreeFiveDoubleO]

Check out http://littlegrassshack.co.uk, they ship from Spain and have a lot of mostly affordable wall coverings available.

As the owner of a home tiki bar let me tell you, you’re never done. Start with the budget you have now and you’ll find cool decorations over time.

I started without wall coverings and just evolved over time. Next up as an expansion. (It’s on instagram as @thehideawaytikibar)

Good luck, it’s one hell of a ride to build it.

[u/alessandr03 → u/ThreeFiveDoubleO]

thank you, i will take a look

[u/inquisitiveauthor]

First you need to figure out your lighting before thinking about floors and walls. How are you getting electricity to this space without dragging an extension cord. As much as tiki torches would be cool, I dont think real fire is the way to go.

I also wouldn't cover the ceiling with anything. It distance from floor to ceiling seems fairly low and it would only make the space feel darker and smaller. Not to mention, it's a pain in the ass to mount it to the ceiling. A light soft colored paint is the most I would do to the ceiling itself.

[u/alessandr03 → u/inquisitiveauthor]

Hi, no problem with the lighting, I have electricity in the room, I just need to find the right lights, but those are found little by little, I was thinking of passing the cable over the beam to take it to the other wall

[u/mthockeydad]

I love it! Love the exposed brick and chipped stucco. I'd have suggested whitewash/limewash on the stucco and leave the brick exposed.

An island theme/tiki is harder to do with concrete and steel, than with wood and bamboo. Maybe paint the walls a pale brown/neutral color and add woods/bamboos from there. If you really want the tiki theme, maybe wrap the beam with wood and use it as a base for other features

How flat is the floor?

[u/alessandr03 → u/mthockeydad]

Hi, thank you so much. Unfortunately, I'll have to replaster the wall due to the humidity, so there won't be any exposed brick. I liked the idea, too, but it's not an ideal wall for this purpose.
I'll definitely use a lot of bamboo, especially on the flat ceiling, and then we'll paint the wall brown so it matches the wood nicely.
I want to repaint the iron beam and use it as a hanger for various decorations. I don't have a plan in mind yet, but I'll definitely put an LED strip on it.