-
Mind your beeswax
How to finish the raw wood in the house has been an ongoing discussion. Stain, oil, wax, nothing? We finally settled on a type of 蜜蝋 mitsuro, that is a mix of beeswax and flax oil. Domestically produced. All natural. Easy to apply, not too difficult to maintain, and it will protect sufficiently without changing…
-
Installation fix
After I pointed out to Sasaki-san the installation problems with the oven and stovetop, he called the gas contractor and we met again on Saturday. This time Yoshida-san from the gas company arrived with a man I imagine is his top-tier senior installer. This guy looked like a rockabilly star dressed in black work overalls…
-
Dining counter, part 1
It isn’t finished yet, but I want to share some of the story behind the counter that separates the kitchen and dining room. If you’ve been reading along all this time, you know that the kitchen layout underwent numerous revisions before we settled on something fairly simple. The Takara Standard kitchen unit was ordered, delivered…
-
Sold out
Our selections for the glass in the doors came months ago – one of the first finishes to be chosen, thanks to a big box of glass samples last August. Tod & I stood in the imaginary rooms and tried to picture what each one would look like in place. I asked friends what they…
-
Installation disappointment
The gas stovetop and gas convection oven were installed yesterday and I am unhappy with my choice of appliances. Functionally, these are going to be great. I am so excited to be able to bake and roast again. But they look awful and there are some installation problems. I have been looking forward to seeing…
-
Gantt Charts & Moving Dates
My general penchant for thinking visually combined with years of project management have made me a fan of Gantt charts and other time-based visualisations. So when Sasaki-san and I talked over the schedule last week and he told me the general flow of the project from here to the end, I had to turn it…
-
Small steps
This past week saw a lot of detail work at 555 as the carpenters finish up. I am going to miss Mr. Sasaki and Yoshida-san who are always so kind to me and have used their skill and care with the house these past months. While these guys did their thing, I put the third…
-
Kakishibu Party
Yesterday, 555 received two coats of kakishibu in 2 hours! When Jo and I painted the east, west, and north sides in May, it took a while. We were methodical and figuring it out as we went along. With 7 people helping yesterday, it was a lot faster to do the south side. It was…
-
Equalising Gender in Japan
Let me lead with the obvious; there isn’t much gender equality here. But I have an idea that might help. The situation Japan ranked 125th out of 146 countries in the 2023 Global Gender Gap report by the World Economic Forum. It will take 131 years for Japan to close the gender gap according to…
-
Kitchen counter hybrid
One of the features that we have saved until the end of the project is the giant counter island between the kitchen and dining room. It’s been a concept in my head for quite a long time, but a big question mark about how we’d have it done. This week, Sasaki-san and I sat down…
Archives