Home Castaway Cove

[Johnny Tsunami]

Well, its been over a year, since we finished our home conversion, and had our open house, and the work hasnt slowed down a bit. lol.
We are now into the evolution stage. All the heavy lifting is done. Now its time to build character, and enhance atmosphere. The list of projects is long. Tiki room windows, animated port holes, simulated thunderstorms, Where do we start.
Well, after 8 years of construction, and celebrating over the completion of our project, I have to admit, I saved one last space for all my own, its tucked way back in the corner of the ranch. Welcome to .............. Castaway Cove.

There is a screen room that wraps around the back corner of the ranch. That room is known as The Kraken Shack, and is divided into 2 sections.
The first section, from the doors to the window on the right, is The Nana Nui Nursery. This is where we get an early start on planting season, by prepping all of the seedlings, headed to the horticulture hut, for the summer growing season. San Marzano tomatoes, sweet bell peppers, asparagus, cucumbers, onions, are all on the list.


From the window on, and around the corner, is the second section of the Kraken Shack, yet another social lubrication zone, known as, Castaway Cove. A secluded little space, screaming for some tiki magic, located just outside the doors of The Jungle Room, where we sleep. Here is what we did with it......


We put in a run of RGB lighting, to guide you back to the cove, and set it to match the color of the siding.


Around the corner, at the very end of the room, I wanted to create a sitting area, to enjoy cocktails, play cards, ect. I started to close in the space, by creating the illusion of a ceiling, by painting the rafters black.


Now, I really wanted, a high back, round, leather, restaurant booth for this space. But finding something that was cost effective, close by, and able to fit through the door, turned out to be way more work than it was worth, so we went in a different direction.
We named this little corner The Booze Lagoon, and we filled it with a rug, 2 patio love seats, and an electric desk, that can be adjusted anywhere from coffee table height, to standing. We had space, we had seating, now it was time for some magic.....



I was scrolling through an online auction site one day, and I came across this wooden beaded chandelier, that I had no clue, how much I needed. This thing sells on Amazon for around 250, but I guess my competition didnt need it as bad as I did, because the bidding quickly ceased at 38 dollars.
I picked up my chandelier, hung it from a chain in my garage, and stared at it for a week or two, trying to figure out what to do with the thing.


I began by drilling a few holes and zip tying a run of programmable, RGB rope light around the inside of the inner ring. Good start.



I then removed the 3 socket fixture, from the inside of the light and installed a shimmering water light, upside down, pointed at the table.


2 more, different, runs of programmable strip lighting, one inside, and a double run outside. Trim everything out with leopard skin, duct tape, and start figuring out how to transport it to its forever home, in The Booze Lagoon.

 

[Johnny Tsunami]

Behold, The Chandeluxe 2000. We anchored our chandelier to the rafters, and set everything to sound activated. It works great with the surf music. When its dark and quiet, and a semi goes by, out on the highway, in the middle of the night, the sound causes the chandelier lights to spin up, until the truck passes. It ended up being a very cool effect.


Over in the opposite corner, we created a tiki tranquility zone, with bamboo furniture, a waterfall, massive wind chimes, and indirect lighting.


At the press of a button, water lights, illuminate the tropical plants from underneath, a small fan nestled in the leaves, activates the wind chimes, and the waterfall begins to flow. Open the windows on either side of the corner, to catch the breeze, and its the perfect spot to enjoy that midnight Mai Tai.


Back in 2009, I was fortunate, to have the opportunity to visit Oceanic Arts, while travelling on vacation. Space was at a premium, but I still managed to bring home this authentic fishing net. It sat in a box for years, waiting for the perfect space to become available, and now it has found its forever home, in The Booze Lagoon.



Once stretched across the rafters, we add some programmable xmas lights, to the netting, to create a canopy of stars, over the seating area.



At night, combined with the chandeluxe 2000, it creates an amazing atmosphere, just perfect for imbibing with some adult beverages.

 

[Johnny Tsunami]

You cant have an social area this amazing, without having easy access to liquid based intoxicants, so the answer must be, bar number 3!
For the upper half, we used a small, wall hanging, wine bar, to hold glasses....


Below it, we used a small, stand up, wine bar, for a mixing area, bottle storage, and stereo rack. They dont match, but therein lies the beauty. PLUS, there is plenty of room between the top half and the bottom, to install an animated, video, port hole, on the wall. Altogether, its the perfect use of limited space.



Up in the rafters, we installed a compact JBL 5.1 audio system, with subwoofer, for the simulated thunderstorm animation being installed later. For the time being, it fills the room with surf music.


Im 65, and until just recently, Ive never owned a bell. I do now. I ring it often.


I always loved the high backed, dining booths, at The Bahooka. Well over your head, then an aquarium on top of that. It felt like you were isolated, in your own little hut. Thats the vibe I wanted to go with here, in The Booze Lagoon, so I started by separating it from the rest of the room, by building an archway around the entry of the booth. A simple, snap together, metal, event archway, that, as luck would have it, fit perfectly across room, wall to wall.


To simulate, the high backs around the booth, I made 4 shades, from bamboo paneling, that snap in over the lower half of the windows, using magnets. When in place, the only thing you can see outside, from the seating area, is blue sky and green trees.

 

[Johnny Tsunami]

We then covered the areas between, and under the windows, with bamboo reed fencing, that matched the window covers.


Above the windows, we put in a run of thatch, to close it in even more, and give it that "grass shack" feel.


On the inside of the archway, we installed eucalyptus wood trim, to start hiding the metal frame.



We then started adding tropical vines, to continue hiding the metal framework.


We finished the archway with more vines, threw in a couple of plants, and added a couple of bamboo lanterns in the upper corners with flame lights in them.


At night, the area is drenched in a deep blue glow, just perfect for quaffing your favorite beverage.


Hit another button, to add brighter lighting, for card playing or other activities.


Thats all we got for now, but we will update this post as we add more items to the space, on our way to completion, for a spring grand opening, of Castaway Cove.

 

[Kahikina]

Pretty amazing space! I can imagine sitting back and enjoying a Tiki cocktail in any one of those rooms! Great job!

-and love the archway! Very clever!