last winter, i created a lot of tropical & tiki decor
as part of our fun 'Happy HULA-days' Christmas theme.
as part of our fun 'Happy HULA-days' Christmas theme.
you've seen posts sharing most of it appearing in our current summertime decor,
bringing a tropical vibe to our home and yard for us to enjoy
during this 'staycation' that is lasting a whole lot longer than anyone anticipated.
one of my projects during quarantine has been the front entry of our home...
which isn't a porch but a 'vestibule' - and is really hard to decorate.
i came up with a simple solution using last December's holiday entry decor:
continue reading to see how i re-used my own tikis made from scrap wood!
continue reading to see how i re-used my own tikis made from scrap wood!
last December, i created this grouping of tikis in our front entry.
they are nothing more than washes of paint on some bits of pine boards,with a few 3-D accents added for fun (the flower lei and tiki-print Santa hat)
i tried to use the grain of the wood as some of the features of each face -
check the noses on most of them and you'll see it.
and you've already seen that sign reused as part of our backyard tiki bar!
the faces i chose to paint on those tikis back then had a decidedly 'winter'-y feel...
Olaf from Frozen is there, so is SanTIKI (Santa tiki), along with a deer-like face.
i wasn't feeling those for summer. so i repainted them:
the small piece with the sun and happy tiki face were freshened up with brighter colors.
on the medium size tiki, Baymax morphed into a Kakamora with brown paint,
SanTIKI became the clock face from It's A Small World,
and a new sunglass-wearing surfer dude face was added between them.
it was an easy task to paint these,
and if a person wanted to get a more dimensional effect,
it wouldn't be hard to shade the edges of the flat wood with paint so that it appears 'rounded'.
shadowing could also be used on noses, lips, and eyebrows
to create the effect of 'carved' features.
(the third largest tiki from Christmas wasn't going to work in the new arrangement,
so he's sitting in the garage waiting to be used in something else.)
to be used in the new front entry decor -
it is very similar to our repurposed rustic signs with a paint makeover.
i chose the color of the hibiscus flower to match the other blooms used.
when everything was repainted and ready,
i played around with it and some old wood crates that i used previously
(and THAT project is something i'll share soon, too)
for years now, including with the holiday tikis,
the arrangement of this deep, narrow entry 'vestibule' has been the same:
a long wood bench was sitting on the right side,
and i decorated on & above that bench - as seen in this fall decor photo:
but you honestly couldn't see the decor until you were standing IN the 'vestibule',
definitely not from the street or sidewalk.
so i was ready for something new...
in this arrangement, everything is placed near the door
and is very visible from the street & sidewalk:
five old fruit crates sit on either side of the door, in different configurations,
with the newly-painted tikis and sign placed to bring our tropical theme into play.
they do add a bit of whimsy in greeting anyone who approaches -
which has only been delivery people for months now!!!
the cute 'new' door mat that i bought in early March is utterly useless -
because ain't nobody gathering anywhere near this home, anyhow. pfffft.
the bougainvilla and ivy tucked into pots and wood crates is fake.
yes, i use fake plants in my decorating. tacky? perhaps. necessary? here, yes.
because there isn't a plant in the world that can survive in this environment:
it gets NO sun at all, there's no air circulation,
and it's currently 110 degrees out there.
these photos might give you a better idea of how hopeless this area actually IS:
it's eleven foot long, five foot wide, nine foot high.
while the photo on the left isn't terrible... keep looking,
because it's the one on the right that reveals the dungeon-like quality of our entry.
and that one was snapped on a bright, sunny, summer day.
[ yes, there are things i'd LOVE to do to brighten it up:
paint the rust-colored stucco walls that light beige color on the plant pots.
stain or paint the concrete to look like our gorgeous wood plank tile floor inside.
paint the screen security door bright happy orange.
(or the front door behind it - which is dark brown - orange.)
but we have an HOA, and none of that is allowed. grrrrr. ]
so i just do what i can to make it welcoming each season,
while i fondly remember my long-lost farmhouse front porch...
sigh.
What fun! My ex-son-in-law made a bunch of Tiki warriors for their pool area and I loved it. Love yours, too. They are fun! xo Diana
ReplyDeletethank you Diana! i wish i could see what your ex SIL made - i love tikis! (it's because of my love for the Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland!)
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