An outdoor party can be the perfect way to bring the spirit of the islands to life. We turned our blank slate room into an exterior for this episode complete with a porch railing and lawn. We made the event festive with lovely paper shade party lights, grass mats and other fun party accessories from Plum Party. Bamboo furniture meant for indoors can be brought out temporarily for use on your lawn for entertaining (Fig. 1), and potted plants don't have to sit the party out indoors or on the porch. Bring them down to the yard for the festivities. They add color and charm. When entertaining out-of-doors think of your lawn as a room and accessorize it they way you would your home. We made a simple bar out of two-by-four, plywood and bamboo. Here's how:

You'll need:

-2 pieces of two-by-four, 4' long
-4 pieces of two-by-four, 1' long
-4 pieces of two-by-four, 3.5' long
-Bamboo sticks or half rounds to cover front and sides
-Plywood sheet 5' x 1.5'
-Grass cloth to cover plywood
-Staple gun
-Screws
-Screw gun
-Glue gun and glue sticks
-Reciprocating saw

Start by creating a framework for the bar - screw the front pieces (4' two-by-fours) to the two front legs (two of the 3.5' two by fours) to create a square frame. Then with the front pieces on the outside and the frame sitting upright on one of the legs screw the sidepieces to one side. Attach the back leg to the sidepieces. Then turn the frame over and repeat the process on the other side. Set the frame upright. Cover the plywood with the grass cloth by stapling it in place on the underside, then place the plywood on top of the frame and screw it in from below. Now you're ready to dress the front and sides of your bar with the bamboo. Butt them up against the top, then you can screw them in if you've decided to use the larger half rounds, or if you're using the smaller pieces they can be glued on. Once they're attached you can cut the excess off the bottom with the reciprocating saw.

The glass caddy idea is from a wonderful book called Pad Parties by Matt Maranian. There are lots of fun tiki party ideas in that book and some great decorating ideas in his other book Pad.

Episode 206 Main Page