nativitiki - times two!

my thinking is: if you're going to do a Christmas theme, do it all the way.
the TIKI tree in my last post was just the beginning of our 'happy HULA days' theme...

i also created TWO incredibly cute nativity scenes with a tiki vibe.

(oh, and that name? well, as i was painting them, 

i thought to myself 'a tiki nativity. wait! nativi-tiki!' ... and it stuck!) 

i laugh out loud every time i look at this nativiTIKI in our living room! it's so happy!

grab a handful of macadamia nuts and continue reading to see all the tropical details...

happy hula days!

 nope, this is NOT your ordinary Christmas tree...

THIS, my friends, is what our tree looks like THIS year: it's a TIKI TREE!

our 'Happy HULAdays' celebration theme has been a very BIG secret,
because my daughter and her hubby were coming to visit this past weekend.
and this whoooooole thing was a surprise for them!

now that they've seen it all, i can finally share what creative mayhem i've been up to!
(and OH my goodness, what FUN things i've made... there are SEVERAL posts coming this week)

so grab a nice mai tai or other rum drink, and click through to see the TIKI tree details...

tiki punch!

this recent project in our backyard makes me feel like we're time-traveling back to the sixties!

remember these guys? 

these Tikis were in Mom & Dad's backyard for over 20 years, and i featured their first 'makeover'
as part of my 'Thrifty Weekend Makeover' series here on the blog a few years ago.
(that post is really gettin' hits right now because of the 'one step bamboo fence makeover tip' in it!)

well, we saved those tikis when we moved to the new house, 
but we didn't think we'd use them... except for a party, maybe.
here in the desert /wine country, it just seems out of context to have Hawaiian decor.

then i saw some photos from Palm Springs Mid-Century Modern Week.
and an idea came to mind for an area of our backyard that needed a little punch.

... keep reading to see how i created some TIKI PUNCH!

spirit of aloha

yes, you CAN live in a tropical paradise - right where you are!
i've always said that if you truly love a place,
you shouldn't have to wait to visit it just once a year.
simply use the palette and elements from that place to decorate your home - 
so you can enjoy it every day!

oh, how my parents loved their annual vacation on the island of Kauai, Hawai'i.

they loved being surrounded by amazing examples of tropical beauty, 
tiki decor and Polynesian architecture - by the sights, sounds, and smells of the islands. 

from the elegance of five-star resorts to historic buildings to primitive jungles,

Hawai'ian culture embodies adventure, nature, the sea, the sky, and the sand 
like no where else on earth.
(and it was the ONLY place on earth my Mom could get my Dad to stop working!)

each year after their visit, they would return home relaxed, 
extolling the beautiful spirit of Aloha that surrounded them there.

so a few years ago, i did a makeover to bring that spirit into their home...

while they were visiting the islands, i re-decorated their home 

with all of the (many) Hawai'ian elements that they collected on their annual trips.
Mom had tucked things away in cabinets, pulling them out to use for her famous parties...

i decided to just turn their home into something that resembled one of

the resort properties on Kauai instead,

so that they would be surrounded with reminders of the place they loved every day.
 and they LOVED it!

i did this makeover during their trip in June, 2013. they went again in June of 2014 - 
completely unaware that it would be their last trip there together.
my Dad was diagnosed with cancer on their return that year,
and he was gone eight short months later.
i am so glad i brought the islands to their home when i did, 
because Dad's last days and hours were spent in a room filled with 
the beautiful music of the islands and soft breezes blowing in from the patio.
we were able to give him the feeling of being in Hawai'i...
and now he's in an even more beautiful place.

see my tropical thrifty weekend makeover of their home
in this four-part series:

Tropical Weekend Makeover Part I
 Tropical Weekend Makeover Part II

Tropical Weekend Makeover Part III
Tropical Weekend Makeover Part IV

...and make sure you check out ALL of the 'tiki style' posts here on the blog
for many more tropical decor ideas!

Thrifty Weekend Makeover: Part IV

Welcome to Part IV

of my Thrifty Weekend Makeover, 

where we're Re-Styling Rooms using items found in the house

and adding some thrifted elements!

 You've seen the backyard patio, the family room, and the wine bar and guest bath...
In this final of four installments, you'll see the

 Living & Dining Room Reveal!

Let's start at the front door...

The grapevine wreath that was hung on the family room fireplace is now on the front door.

I left the greenery on it, and embellished it with some easy accents:
two small bunches of faux orchid flowers, a little pair of zorie sandals, 

and a small beach sign [all from Dollar Tree] 

introduce the turquoise/brown/green color scheme and the tropical theme.

Talk about 'Fast, Cheap, & Easy'TM - this cost four dollars and took all of five minutes!

continue reading to continue your tour...

Thrifty Weekend Makeover: Part III

Welcome to Part III of my Thrifty Weekend Makeover, 

where we're Re-Styling Rooms using items found in the house

and adding some thrifted elements!

In the family room reveal in my last post, I hinted that there was something around
THIS CORNER

 that I was REALLY excited to share with you!
So, just peek around the right side of that wall with the hat and clock and straw bag on it...

 BEFORE, you would have seen THIS:

It's a regular-sized closet, refitted years ago to hold wine accoutrements 

(glasses, wine-related picnic ware, 2 small wine fridges, etc.) 

as well as the LARGE oak leaves for the dining room table.

 Well, that just didn't go with the Tropical theme, so I got busy...

 I took down the curtain, emptied everything out of there, and then painted it.
This paint is the wall color from the living & dining rooms in the house,

and I used half a gallon of it that was out in the garage.
[it took THREE COATS to cover the raspberry red!]

You can just see the edge of a mural on the garage door before - 

I painted that out, too - the trim is now white and the wall & door are tan.
[it's okay - I painted that mural back in 1991. I've hated it ever since.]

Then I put everything back in the closet, starting with the two wine fridges 

and the table leaves... only I laid one of the table leaves on TOP of the fridges, 

creating a totally usable counter area that wasn't there before.
And then I decorated it!

If you're ready to see what it looks like NOW, continue reading...

Thrifty Weekend Makeover: Part II

Welcome to Part II of my 
Thrifty Weekend Makeover!

I have some really GOOD NEWS for you:
This just expanded from a 3 part to a 4 part series
I have so many photos to share, I can't fit them all into 3 posts!

When I began this house restyling project for my parents,
I assembled all of the items that I had found in cabinets and cupboards and closets,
 and then went to several thrift stores to pick up other items to use.
Here are some of the main elements and accessories that I used:

The items shown here are split just about 50/50 between what Mom already had
and what I purchased at thrift stores, ReStore, and the Dollar Tree store.
I also found more items in the house to use as I went along.

The Tommy Bahama-inspired tropical theme 
came from my parent's love of Hawaii and their turtle collection
and the color palette grew out of Mom's love of the color turquoise.

I wanted to incorporate her preferences into her rooms - but not overwhelm them with bright color.
Hues of aqua, turquoise, and teal are used in transition through different rooms to connect them,
and are grounded by warm neutral brown tones.

In Part I, I started this tour backwards - from the patio in the backyard -
so today, we move indoors from there for the
Family Room Reveal!

continue reading to see what's just off the patio...

Thrifty Weekend Makeover: Part I

 Yes, it's another weekend makeover project!
Everyone seemed to enjoy my LAST makeover project so much,
that I thought I'd share this one with you!

This makeover actually preceded - and INSPIRED - the one you saw,
because when my brother and my sister in law saw THIS makeover, they wanted one, too!

 This makeover wasn't entirely FREE - I bought some things at thrift stores to complete it,
so I'm calling it the THRIFTY Weekend Makeover!

 The home, which belongs to my parents, started out kind of Tuscan. And also Beachy.
which was, honestly, confusing...
It now has a very Tropical, Tommy-Bahama style... but I'm not to that part of the story yet...

This makeover actually started with a backyard project:

My Mom was kind of fed up with the aged, faded bamboo fencing on one wall.
My Dad, not really wanting to replace it, remembered a TIP from a friend who lives at the beach:
if you put shellack over old bamboo, it will bring out the original color again.
I doubted this. So did my mom.
But Dad grabbed his can of shellack and got to work - and VOILA! It worked!
[so I grabbed my camera for a 'before' shot, because he was movin' FAST!]

Great results, huh?! It really made a difference.
And I have been instructed to say that Dad is A GENIUS for remembering that tip!

So, you know how backyard projects go, right?
You do one thing. And then you think 'Well, since we did THAT, we should...'
uh huh.

continue reading to see what happened next...