So when I asked readers for advice on which ceiling treatment to choose for my Mahalo Lounge, reader Maria Gamalski replied, all skeptical given past experience:
Hahahaha I’m not falling for this again! You had us agonizing over swatches in shades of red/orange/coral for the sectional and you went w/green that wasn’t even presented as as an option……. you pick!????
I responded:
I hope you are not angry at me! I go through an arduous decision-making process. Hey: I REALLY am going to use one of these!
But. Umm. Then. Golly….
What can I say? I went to California on a Grand LA Tiki Adventure and decided — I need more tiki, less chic. Then, the Retro Decorating Gods timely delivered unto me gorgeous vintage grasscloth on ebay.
It’s not as if… my head and neck and back and shoulders and hands (and pocketbook) ain’t payin’ the price, getting this stuff cut into perfect 34.5″ squares then up onto the ceiling all by my lonely.
- Will I finish my Mahalo Lounge by the end of this year. Or, ever? Your guess is as good as mine.
The Hawaiian barkcloth pattern that is setting the stage for my entire Mahalo Lounge project 
Outrageous vintage pagoda lampshades — my latest treasure 
A water feature — a bamboo fountain — for my home tiki bar — it’s perfect! 
Hello chaos, my old friend 
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Pam, that looks outstanding. That was a perfect choice! ♡
WAY better than all the first choices! Looks great!!!
Glad that you seized the opportunity to get vintage grasscloth. No contest IMHO.
This is fantastic, Pam. It gives a similar effect to combed plywood squares set in a checkerboard pattern; that’s what I have in my den. But the fact that’s it’s grasscloth sends it into the tiki stratosphere. Love it!
Oh, you are right!
Love it! I think it suits the decor without clashing with all the other busy-ness you’ve got going on in that room. And it echoes the grass roofs of island houses and tiki bars without shedding and falling all in your mai-tais. 🙂
You sound a little discouraged about the amount of time it’s taking to get it done. Just keep up the good work. Your going to love it when it’s done. Your making great choices , it’s going to look fantastic!!!! Like Dory says “Just keep swimming. “
Hey, share a pic of your Moby Dick wall paper (again)…I’m eventually redoing a small bathroom, and that sounds like it would really go with the denim blue sink of an unknown date that I got a while ago.
https://retrorenovation.com/2017/09/06/wallpaper-ceiling-mahalo-lounge-choose/
Looks fabulous! Wasn’t it almost a year ago we were talking about this idea? 😉 Full circle, it happens often, need to go through all the other ideas to get back to the original one. I love it!
You know what they say, “finished is just a setting on your dryer.” Or something like that!
I know this is cloth but on my screen it looks 3D-ish like those are real bamboo stalks. Funny how life sends you something when you figure you’re all set and done. This grasscloth takes your ceiling from “eh, that’s good enough” to WOWZIE-DOWZIE!
“Grasscloth” is natural materials, I believe — not cloth per se. Yes, they appear to be real bamboo or rattan stalks — I don’t know the difference…