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Hardscaping plans
Now that the scaffolding is down, I am watching people move around outside and I’m getting a strong sense of the spaces around the house. And after so much gardening and weeding the past couple of weeks, I am certain that I do not want to weed every inch of the property. So around the…
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Hatake report, late spring
The garden was visited by a wild boar for the first time since before I planted anything. The stinky holes where it was digging for who-knows-what are almost like steps. Convenient! Jerusalem artichokes are clogging everything, volunteering from last year’s untended crop. The whole plot was overrun with weeds that I had ignored for a…
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Trimming the edges
While I have enjoyed the open walls and the views through the house, the time is coming to put walls up. This interior work will change the sense of space in the house completely. I have been wondering how the edges will work. How much of the beam will be covered? What will the boundary…
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Unsupported Glory
On Friday, the team took the scaffolding away and now 555 stands solo. It’s amazing! The house looks taller than it did with the scaffolding. And the space around it is massive. There’s sufficient room for all sorts of activities; my list of things to do is already growing. I get a better sense of…
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Cedar ceiling
The entire ceiling of the second floor is made of horizontal cedar boards from one end to the other. It is was finished this week and it is stunning. It’s cozy and warm and it smells so good! I don’t know what to call this space. The loft? The attic? The upstairs? I am claiming…
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Things I want to do at 555
This is an ongoing list. I will never really run out of things to do here.
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Closet space
You would think a closet is a pretty simple affair. It’s an empty box with doors, basically. In our case, the bedroom closet is also the divider between that room and the doma. It is currently a completely blank slate. Right now this space is a void – no supports, nothing in the way. It…
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Unit Bath
Last weekend the installers came to put in the unit bath. These are common in Japan but I don’t think we ever had anything like it in the US. Unit bath is a self-contained water room that incorporates the bath and shower fittings, floor, drains, insulated metal walls, and cosmetic features like shelves and towel…
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Menopause in the mirror
Who is this person in the mirror? I do not recognise her. Is she my my mother? One of my grandmothers? No. Their faces were familiar and I loved them. I don’t like the way this one looks at me. I don’t like the way I look at myself. I don’t like the way I…
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Too Much Toilet
Last week, I reviewed my choice for the toilet at 555 before committing to place the order. I had selected a fancy top-of-the-line Toto Neorest RS toilet when I visited the showroom last year. But on review, something felt wrong about that choice. Actually several somethings. First of all, the price. MSRP 338,000 yen for…
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