Way down south, tucked into a little bay, is a small island off Interstate 45. Checkered with canals until it’s really more waterway than roadway, from the air the island resembles stick-figure palm leaf, held together by asphalt. Those branching streets have dreamy, ocean-going names: Maui, Oahu, Lelani, Windsong, Port O Call. But Hawaii this is not, folks.
This is Tiki Island, TX, a small village afloat in the sound between Galveston and Texas City. Home to less than 1,000 residents, Tiki Island is, in case the name didn’t give it away, a very colorful community. The streets are crowded with palmettos and taller palm trees, and are liberally peppered with houses of every architectural vein. But more fanciful than what is outside is what’s inside: these homes are no wallflowers when it comes to adventuresome home décor. Take a tour with us of the amazing interiors of Tiki Island.
A Fish Tale
Admittedly, this is a pretty cool house to begin with: the elevated foundation allows the lowest level to serve as a boat dock/carport. And while 3,218 square feet of living space is a draw, the main event can be found in the dining room:
I don’t know about you, but my dream has always been to have a diamond-encrusted tuna suspended over my dinner plate. Mission accomplished.
Shipwrecked?
A few canals over, this comfortable ocean-facing home doesn’t really seem to have anything wrong with it. That is, if you’re okay with parking the salvage from Uncle Jimmy’s latest boat wreck smack in the middle of the living room.
Not my preference, but hey, whatever floats your boat…or doesn’t, in this case.
Boomerang Lanes
This white, modern-esque home has decent, if somewhat blank, interiors: lots of sunlight, high ceilings, a huge wraparound porch. But when it comes to this L-shaped lap pool, I’m completely lost. How exactly are you supposed to work on your 25-yard butterfly when you’ve gotta make a sharp left halfway through?
Sensory Overload
And speaking of swimming, this yellow clapboard house really is: swimming in bright colors,
In animal prints,
In paper trout cutouts merrily leaping across the ceiling…
Oh my. I think I need some air…
Office Space
Just down the street, this home offers some pretty nice features: bright, open floor plan; nice kitchen, an upstairs gym, an ocean-front view. The bedrooms even have these awesome porthole windows! But for every good, there also comes the bad; in this case, in the form of living and dining room sets that both look like they were swiped from a yard sale at Yahoo!, circa 1998.
So let this be a lesson to you, students of design: while a canal-front, ocean-front, stilt-mounted, clapboarded, boat-slipped, decked-out, vacation-home-of-your-dreams may induce the desire to feather your new nest with décor delirium, please limit the influence of Crayola and just stick with the obligatory petrified marlin.
The post The Outlandish Furnishings of Tiki Island appeared first on realtor.com® blog.
