Photo Credit

Sometimes a design project comes along that is not only fun and different but challenges us to really put our creative talents to work. Restaurant Interior Design requires a unique set of talents. Inspiration comes to us from so many places – travel, art, memories, museums, and books are all very influential in my life. So when I received a call from an acquaintance about creating the interior of the new 8th Avenue Tiki Bar in Myrtle Beach, my creative side jumped at the chance even though my logical side reminded me that my calendar was rather busy. I grew up in Southern California and lived in Los Angeles for over ten years – in the epicenter of funky coffee shop architecture, kitschy restaurant interior design, and, yes, Trader Vic’s, since 1936 the granddaddy of all Tiki Bars.

I’ve sipped a few Pina Coladas from a coconut shell, surrounded by autographed photos of movie stars. I really enjoy restaurant interior design, and a Tiki Bar sounded like fun.

So where did we start? One of a designer’s biggest challenges is communicating our ideas to the client, so I started with a collection of photos of old-style Tiki chic – the bamboo-clad interiors, the Polynesian A-frame facades, and of course the Tiki statues, Easter Island heads, and vintage tropical print fabrics. Then, I met with the clients and discussed their goals for the business, who the clientele would be, and what they needed from me. We visited the empty building, in a fantastic location right by the Boardwalk in Myrtle Beach, and went over the architect’s plans together. Once I had a sense of the layout we were able to look at my ideas for wall finishes, fabrics, art, lighting and furnishings, and the clients showed me what they liked among the photos I had put on a display board. Since this will be a nice restaurant as well as a fun bar, the goal is to include many of the nostalgic elements of an old Tiki Bar to give the place a sense of fun. But, they want to keep the kitschy elements from overwhelming the interior to give diners a quality, modern restaurant experience. After hours, they’ll have a club-like atmosphere as vacationers and locals will find it a great place to stop in from the boardwalk. Here’s my mood board for the initial meeting:

Fabrics, Wall Finishes and Decor for 8th Avenue Tiki Bar

To give the place the moody, cave-like feeling of an old Tiki Bar, we decided on a dark blue-black color for the floor and ceiling, and tropical bamboo wallpaper. Real bamboo poles will cover the 50 foot long bar, and the top will be finished like an island hut with rustic tin roofing. An artist from New York has been commissioned to paint colorful, original Tiki paintings, and we’ll add some unique folk art plus a few surprises. Here is what the space looks like now:

Interior of the 8th Avenue Tiki Bar Under Construction

Check back with us in the next month or two, and we’ll show you how the ideas and colors on the board become the real-life interior of Myrtle Beach’s only Tiki Bar.

If you’d like to add some Tiki-Chic to your home, there are plenty of resources online – BambooandTikis.com and Critiki.com are both fun to check out.

The tree of life fabric motif has a long history with many ideas being centered on life, death, nourishment, protection, fertility, knowledge and spirituality.  This pervasive motif has been seen in oriental rugs, art, sculptures, paintings, jewelry and different types of fabrics.  The tree of life fabric pattern occurs in many variations, naturalistic, geometric and abstract.  It can be categorized by any primary design motif with a long vertical axis and horizontal or upward pointing limbs.  When the tree of life appears on textiles in history, they were associated with some ritual or rite of passage, for example, marriage or death, or with something of symbolic significance, such as a woman’s hair.

We first saw the tree of life symbol in Indian fabrics in the 17th century.  The symbol came to be associated with the Indian palampore, or printed cotton bed covering, which often featured the Tree of Life in its center field.  Each palampore was hand-created with natural dyes creating unique one-of-a-kind designs, which made it exclusive to only the wealthiest classes.  The early tree of life designs featured animals, peacocks and trailing flowers.  As these beddings became popular in European markets, especially English, specific designs which would complement English interiors were relayed back to the Indian makers. Gradually, elements from English and Indian cultures combined to produce designs that reflected the close trading contacts between the two countries and the effect of cross-cultural influences.

In a century-long process of adaptation, the Indian tree of life fabric and textile designs evolved to suit the diverse visual and artistic traditions of European as well as Persian and Chinese markets: motifs grew in scale, backgrounds became white instead of red or blue, floral forms became naturalistic, and the symmetrical design reflected the taste and style of the Western client for whom the palampore was intended.  The sinuous lines and enchanting floral designs catered to the 18^th-century fashion for the Chinoiserie and Rococo Styles.

In textiles, the tree of life design has also been interpreted in a crewel format.  Crewel or crewel embroidery is a surface type of embroidery that is loosely stitched with layers of wool thread to create a thick and less detailed representation of the subject matter.  The technique is over a thousand years old and its origins are still unclear although the earliest examples of crewel work are from England.  The crewel tree of life fabric form tends to be mostly floral in design, excluding most animals, except birds.  The patterns are created with rich, saturated colors or are often tone on tone on a neutral cotton or linen background.

The tree of life fabric pattern continues to be redesigned, re-colored, printed, woven and embroidered.  I find it to be a versatile fabric to incorporate into almost any fabric scheme because it’s attractive as drapery, bedding, upholstery, slipcovers and throw pillows.  The various colors typically displayed in tree of life patterns allow for flexibility in color directions, as well as layering of colors and pattern types.  This pattern is appropriate for traditional, transitional and modern design styles.   Even more so is it appropriate to use in creating Chinoiserie, Rococo, and English Cottage designed rooms.

Layla S. Altman, ASID is the co-owner of Posh, a design shop in Surfside Beach.  She can be reached at 843-238-0078

Copyright 2012 by PoshSurfside.com