You probably think of the Mai-Kai as a fun place for anniversaries, proposals or other special occasions. It's where locals take out-of-town guests for fruity drinks and Pacific Island ambience. Stroll among the waterfalls, the lush landscaping and the tiki torches. Eat dinner and enjoy a lively Samoan fire knife dance.

Dating back to 1956, the Mai-Kai restaurant in Fort Lauderdale is a dining and entertainment fixture. But a source for home décor?

Sure.

Hazel Quire, a Mai-Kai employee for more than two decades, stocks the shelves with items that exude tropical flavor. Locals, along with tourists, she said, like to browse the selection that includes barware, serving platters, picture frames, lamps and artwork.

The shop itself, originally a restaurant dining room, is a visual treat. With a high ceiling, ornamental arches and ornately patterned walls, the room, Quire said, was copied from a temple in Thailand.

For sale are pieces whimsical and kitschy, as well as elegant and arty. Hand-carved sculptures from Bali range from about $25 to $800. Glass birdbaths, $95, feature decorative images of fish and dragonflies.

Particularly popular, at least as far as shopping trends go, are items adorned with tikis and hula dancers, Quire said. In addition to tiki carvings on real and faux logs, variations are showcased on mugs, knife handles, salt and pepper shakers and a bathroom set that includes a tiki soap dish and tiki toilet brush holder.

Images of hula dancers embellish picture frames, a CD rack and a Christmas ornament that looks like a female snowman -- or snow woman. A bronze lamp, with a hula girl base, is $550 and wiggles, Quire said. Other items for the home include a cereal bowl that resembles a green blowfish, $18. Colorful ukuleles, and one style made from a coconut shell, are priced from $14 to $40. A metal gong, for $200, features a deep, mellow tone.

Some customers are creative incorporating tropical items in their home décor, Quire said. A woman purchased a bunch of flower leis ($4.95 to $16.50) to drape along the top of her canopy bed. Other shoppers use grass skirts ($9.75 to $16) as window valances.

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