How to Redecorate Your Patio into a Tiki Hut

How to Redecorate Your Patio into a Tiki Hut - It was many years ago, but I had moved into a house where the laundry was located in a little attached wooden room off the patio. I hated doing the laundry, not because everyone hates to do laundry, but because I hated walking out onto this dilapidated patio. The floor was a mess, the screens were loose and the metal roof was, well, a metal roof. Unfortunately, the kitchen in this house was not much better and there was one floor cabinet that had to go. At this point I had decided to remodel the kitchen so I figured to do the patio also since I could use something from the kitchen in the patio. I needed to do something so I wouldn't cringe every time I had to do my laundry. Now I just needed to figure out what I was going to do. After enlisting the help of a friend who amazingly had some resources that would help, I finally settled on what I was going to do to redecorate my patio. I will tell you that I was living alone and on a budget, so the following is what I managed to pull together with some existing resources and fairly inexpensive purchases.

The first thing I decided to do was to carpet the floor with an indoor/outdoor carpet since the patio didn't usually get any water from rain in through the screen enclosure. However, this patio was only enclosed by screen halfway down from the roof. The lower half was enclosed by wood and the outside was fairly thick with trees. If you have a completely open screen patio, then you might just want to paint the floor with a nice dark green or maroon patio paint which you can find at most hardware stores for under $30 a gallon. That way you don't have to worry about any water making a musky odor if your carpeting gets a little wet. However, if you're certain you don't have to worry about it getting wet, then get the indoor/outdoor carpet. I went with the carpet because my friend had just helped someone pull this from another house, so it was free. If you're working with a rather small patio then a few coir fiber mats could also work.

The next thing I did was to purchase some bamboo blinds to keep my patio nice and cool on those hot summer days. I managed to pick up just enough at one of those discount warehouse overstock stores. I've seen them many times being carried at BigLots and they can also be found on-line at several retailers. I went with the light bamboo, but you may want to go with a darker bamboo if the rest of your patio can handle it. I had decided to decorate my patio in deep pastels so the lighter wood looked better. I would use the dark bamboo if your room is more wood and browns. A fresh coat of white paint on the metal roof brightened up the patio and gave me a better look to work with. Again I had some paint laying around so no extra expense here.

Now came time to get a bar in my fresh clean patio. Remember that cabinet I mentioned that was in the kitchen that I couldn't stand? Well I decided to save some money and use that cabinet as a base for my bar, so all I had to do was find a counter top. Fortunate for me again, my friend happened to have a flat counter top so I didn't have to purchase one. However, they can be purchased at Home Depot and other home improvement stores for around $35-$60 for a 4ft to 6ft counter, depending on what size you need. The laminated counter would work well outside and it was free. I just secured that to the top of the cabinet which was now moved out to the patio. I had also removed wood paneling from the living room which I used to create a nice finish to my bar. I just used Liquid Nail and attached the paneling to the lip of the counter down to the floor so the entire cabinet was covered. You'd never know it was a crappy piece of furniture back there.

Next I put a few plants out there to make it look tropical and added some color. I had these big wicker fans that I had forever and threw those up on a wall. Anything I could find around the house that matched the colors of coral and blue or wood and wicker made it to my patio. What would a tiki hut be without a few lights. I had found some of those chili shaped lights as a garage sale and also ran some Christmas lights underneath the bar to let off a nice glow at night. Throw a dart board up on the wall and you have a regular tiki lounge in your backyard. For those great evenings where the weather was perfect and breezy, I added several tiki torches around the outside of the patio to get a more authentic feel. Tiki torches can be found at most hardware stores and I know Home Depot carries them and right now you can get two for $30. I would also keep an eye out at stores such as BigLots because again they have those available on close-out quite often. Just don't forget to grab a jug of citronella to keep your torches burning bright and to keep the mosquito's away.

Since I had a full size patio to deal with, I was also able to throw a couple old chairs out there which I covered in chair covers to go with the decor. Set out a few candles and knick-knacks and your party patio should be done. If you happen to be working with an open screen porch another suggestion would be to enclose around the bottom with rolled bamboo for a tiki hut feel. You can purchase these at Home Depot in 8ft pieces which come in varying heights which can also be used to wrap around any makeshift bar you come up with. They also carry bamboo plant stakes in different sizes and they are really inexpensive. You can buy a few packs of these and drop them in a tall planter and set in the corner. Target carries quite a few tiki / tropical themed lights along with tiki candle holders and more. Also don't forget a few real bamboo plants to bring good fortune to all who party on your patio. If you want to get really crazy then check out a site such as Luauexpress.com that offers all sorts of decorating ideas for a tiki hut, as well as a real tiki hut bar which you can set on top of an existing table.

When you're all done, mix up a nice Pina Colada, toss in a cocktail umbrella, crank up the reggae and party all night.