A man living in Belfast has turned his garden into a tropical bar as a birthday surprise for his husband.
Gerard O'Donnell, who is originally from Limerick City, has been living in Belfast for six years with his husband Michael and dogs Maxie and Louie.
The couple lived in Dublin for around ten years but always knew they were destined to settle down in Belfast, and once they saw a house they loved come on the market, they jumped at the chance to move in.
Read more: Inside the Victorian home in Co Armagh with its own swimming pool
During the first coronavirus lockdown, visual artist Gerard wanted to surprise Michael for his 45th birthday. Both missing their regular holidays to Thailand, he thought it would be a great idea to bring Thailand to them.
Working away in their garden bike shed for a week, Gerard decorated little by little until the Tiki Bar sprung to life.
"I wanted the capture the ramshackle beauty of those tropical tiki bars you see on the edge of a beach in Thailand," he told Belfast Live.
"They were always built from bamboo, wood, bits of galvanised iron and always had the most random stuff adorning the walls. A lot of the decor would be recycled or repurposed waste, drift wood and fabrics. It always fascinated us how beautiful they looked.
"I snuck out to the bike shed everyday for a week prior to his birthday and started the transformation, which wasn’t easy as we were both house bound because of lockdown.
"I had to take everything out of the shed everyday decorate it bit by bit then pack everything back in that evening. Michael just thought I was manically cleaning in the backyard and left me alone.
"When his birthday arrived I invited eight of his friends round for a socially distanced surprise Thai Style Tiki Bar birthday bash. The plan was to dismantle it after and put our bikes and tools back in, but that didn't happen."
Everything in the tiki bar was lovingly upcycled and pieced together by Gerard. The inside of the bike shed already had built-in shelving and was wired for electricity.
"This was a great start as it meant I could easily pin things to the walls and keep drinks cool in a fridge," Gerard added.
The counter of the bar was made from four upturned crates cable tied together, then weighted inside with cement bags. It was wrapped in a fabric pelmet around the top of the counter.
The bar was inspired by their travels around Thailand, so it was only right they would have items in it that they gathered throughout their trips.
Gerard said: "Most of the brickabrack in the bar was acquired on holidays or little knick-knacks we gathered. It’s nice that all that stuff eventually found its place and didn’t go in a landfill.
"Our seats are all old 70's fold up deck chairs ,these work great as they are so colourful and you can pack them back into bar for after last orders. But the real key to creating the ambience is always fairy lights and fire or candles anything that twinkles or flashes or burns.
"My favourite piece in the bar is the fish, it’s a piece of wall art made from drift wood, a skate board wheel, and some beads. We were sitting in a cafe in Thailand and I couldn’t take my eyes off it, it was so ugly and wrong I found it beautiful - a bit like himself! - so the next day Michael went back to the cafe and bought it for me for my birthday."
For anyone who plans to create their own garden getaway, Gerard said it's easy to do if you have a wooden shed.
His main tip when it comes to decor is to have no real plan on where you want to place different objects.
"Just randomly start adding things until you run out of space, this will make it look more organic and authentic," Gerard said.
"Add as much colour and texture as possible, make sure you have some natural wood items exposed to give it an earthy feel. Nothing says tropical more than bamboo so if you have some use it if you don’t, go get it.
"Dot some tea lights around the place, hang as many fairy lights as you can get your hands on. Some potted pants or trees will always work.
"Go as wild as you want but remember a disco ball is essential! You can’t really go wrong - everything always finds its place in the end."
You can follow Gerard's home renovation journey on Instagram HERE.
READ NEXT:
- How two friends turned a clapped out NI school bus into a dream home
- High profile Belfast property on the market for £13.3 million
- Kardashian's star dreams of NI home with race track attached
- 'Be proud of where you're from': Breaking down NI's social housing stigmas
For all the latest news, visit the Belfast Live homepage here. To sign up to our FREE newsletters, see here.
