BEYOND TIKI BAMBOO IS AN INCREASINGLY POPULAR CHOICE FOR FURNITURE, ACCESSORIES AND FLOORS.

Byline: Elizabeth Smilor Correspondent

Bamboo has moved from the backyard tiki torch into sophisticated home decor. If you can make it in wood, you can do it better in bamboo, says Tom Sullivan, co-owner of Totally Bamboo in North Hollywood.

Sullivan and his wife, Joanne, craft cutting boards, bowls, plates and utensils from bamboo and will soon be selling directors chairs made from the sturdy grass. Their wares are sold at small specialty stores as well as large retail chains. Big retailers also are selling furniture and accent items made with bamboo. Finally, bamboo as a flooring option is increasingly popular.

Bamboo has been around as part of an Asian influence for many years. Every few years it comes back as part of a larger trend, says Patrick Farrell, Pier 1 Imports director of merchandising.

Across the board, there is a renewed interest in natural materials - wicker and bamboo included - that can be seen in chairs, baskets, lamps, lanterns and other forms.

Bamboo's exotic beauty paired with its strength and durability makes it an extremely viable material. Bamboo is 16 percent stronger than maple, 25 percent harder than oak. It is also more dimensionally stable than maple, so it is less likely to expand or contract. A testament to bamboo's strength is its use as scaffolding on modern high-rise buildings under construction in China and for homes in Limon, Costa Rica, that survived an earthquake in 1992.

The environmental aspect is icing on the cake for most people, says Ann Knight, vice president of marketing for Teragren, a company based in Bainbridge Island, Wash., that was one of the first to sell bamboo flooring in the United States. Architects and designers, though, are being pushed to build greener, she says, and bamboo is considered a rapidly renewable resource.

Bamboo is grass that grows to a harvestable height in three to five years; some species grow up to three feet a day. It has an extensive root system that continually sends up new shoots, so it never needs to be replanted.

By comparison, most hardwoods have a 30- to 60-year growth cycle. Having worked with both oak for chairs and teak for boats, Tom Sullivan feels good about working with bamboo.

``I don't have to feel guilty. I can design and know I'm not hurting the environment,'' he says, noting that when he built boats he used teak sparingly.

The Sullivans discovered bamboo almost by accident.

The couple has been making customized directors chairs for the movie industry for years and wanted to make a lighter chair. When Tom Sullivan was experimenting with bamboo, his wife took home a scrap bamboo plank and used it as a cutting board. After a year of heavy use, the bamboo plank still looked almost new. The couple made a few cutting boards to give as Christmas gifts, but on a whim took them to an art fair.

``We gave them a high price - $40 for a small board - and figured no one would buy them. We sold all of them and then had to make more to give as gifts,'' Tom Sullivan laughs.

The biggest challenge in creating the first-ever bamboo cutting board was finding a glue that was formaldehyde-free and thus food-safe, Tom Sullivan says, adding that the use of this alternative glue is what sets their product apart from others that have cropped up recently.

The biggest challenge in selling their wares? Getting people to accept it, sight unseen. People envision tubes of bamboo tied together, he says. The couple designs about 60 different kitchen boards and accessories and manufactures them in China. The products are sold in stores such as Gelsons, Whole Foods, Williams-Sonoma and smaller kitchen shops. They are launching a line of bamboo directors chairs this summer. Their newest boards are made from compressed bamboo, which is used for railway ties in China.

Pier 1 Imports has introduced furniture made with crushed bamboo.

``Our newest twist on bamboo this year is flat crushing - bamboo is crushed and laminated as a flat surface, then paired with wood or wicker,'' says Farrell. ``It is combined with wicker on the San Lucas armchair and a bamboo dining table and chairs and with wood on the Shogun cabinets.''

Crate and Barrel stocks more traditional bamboo accessories and rugs.

``It's a hot trend because it brings the outdoors in. It's natural feel goes with any style,'' says spokeswoman Lisa Ridolfi.

Bamboo's versatility makes it a great flooring option as well, says Martin Izaguirre, department supervisor for flooring at the Anaheim Expo Design Center.

``People want something exotic, a new look. Bamboo is something different that fits all kinds of design styles,'' he says. ``It's been used in Asia a long time, not only on floors but on cabinets and furniture. Its just starting to boom in the U.S.''

At Expo Design Centers, also located in Monrovia and Westwood, bamboo flooring is $1.50 less per square foot than other woods of the same thickness, Izaguirre says. Bamboo flooring can be installed with glue, floating or with nails. There are more than 50 bamboo flooring companies in the United States, according to Teragren's Ann Knight.

``This market didn't exist a decade ago,'' says David Knight, the company's president and CEO. ``Now every flooring distributor in North America wants to carry a line.''

Teragren floors, which are sold at Carpet Source in Canoga Park and Creative Floors in Van Nuys, meet even higher environmental standards than other bamboo floors because they're made with a formaldehyde-free adhesive to prevent off-gasing, says Ann Knight.

The company's sales have doubled each year since 1998. ``There's a lot of competition now, but the ones that care about quality are the ones that come to us,'' she says. Teragren's and other high-end bamboo floors are comparable in price to hardwoods.

Michelle Velez, manager of Creative Floors, says the company has been carrying bamboo flooring for about three years and requests for it have increased.

``People think it's an indelible product and some like it because it's a renewable resource,'' Velez said. ``We had one customer put it in a home yoga studio, others in gyms or great rooms. It goes pretty much anywhere.''

Grow your own bamboo

Bamboo can also be grown in home gardens.

Ralph Evans, president of Bamboo Headquarters in Vista (www.bambooheadquarters.com), says some people grow bamboo so they can use the poles for gates and other decorations. Most, though, grow bamboo as a privacy screen, he says.

Evans' company sells more than 270 species of bamboo to homeowners, landscape contractors and nurseries throughout Southern California. He says most varieties grow well in our climate because they thrive in hot weather.

He explained that there are two types of bamboo: running and clumping. The runners are the prettiest, but they also give the rest a bad name, he says, referring to their invasive nature. He sells a plastic rhizome barrier to contain running bamboo, and the Web site includes instructions for properly surrounding the bamboo. Clumping bamboo species have larger leaves and grow in a smaller area.

Bamboo needs little special attention, Evans says. It requires watering two to three times a week and grows best with a layer of mulch around the base. It is virtually pest-free, and some species double in height each year.

``It's fun to watch it grow,'' says Evans. ``It makes a beautiful silhouette against the sky.''

- E.S.

CAPTION(S):

6 photos, box

Photo:

(1 -- cover -- color) BAMBOO GROWS UP

Versatile material makes its way into more homes

(2 -- 3 -- color) Totally Bamboo in North Hollywood can totally set you up with bowls (above), cutting boards (top) and other items crafted from the namesake material.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer

(4 -- color) Bamboo flooring, such as this kind sold by Teragren LLC, costs less than other woods of the same thickness, and its natural look brings a bit of the outdoors into any room.

Photo courtesy of Steven Young

(5 -- color) Totally Bamboo will soon be selling directors chairs, like this one, made from the sturdy plant.

(6 -- color) The Beckett Bamboo Cascade Flowerhead Fountain, $79, is available at Home Depot.

Box:

Grow your own bamboo (see text)