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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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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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Color dependencies
Although there are no interior walls yet, it is time to start thinking about surface finishes. That means wallpaper, paint, & tile. If you have ever seen the scene in Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, where Myrna Loy describes her preferred paint colors to the builder, this is what is playing in my head…
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Irimoya Windows
I have been waiting so long to see how the light inside the house would change once the windows were mounted in the irimoya. Yesterday, my long wait was over. Sasaki-san and the sash man finished installation. Aside from some hours during preparation work, the irimoya has been boarded up since December. With each successive…
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Cats on a Spring Morning
Maura turned 4 on April 2nd. He’s my big sweet lap cat. His routine is everything: my lap first thing in the morning; a patrol around the area in the afternoon; more lap time if at all possible; and cuddles at night as long as Beryl isn’t in the bed. He loves me and Tod…
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Lighting plot twist
Months ago, I started considering the lighting plans for the house. The lofted ceiling in the dining/kitchen space is a complicated shape, crossed with beams and posts, 4 meters tall, has a window, will have a ceiling fan, etc. It’s a real challenge to figure out how to create enough ambient light at night (a…
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