Interior Design

       The summer holiday, or what was left of it after we moved into our new home, went by real fast.  The kids had friends stay over, which we totally enjoyed now that we have space!

       We managed to finish a bit of the exterior work, but we haven't yet done the driveway with pavers.  That's taking a while because we've had contradicting opinions about how this is supposed to be done, either with a layer of cement below or just with gravel and sand.  We'll try to get this job done soon and explain the process...

       Meanwhile we've tried to accommodate the inside and so far we're pretty happy with the results.  We found a Japanese importer of European style furniture (Furniture House) that is both functional and affordable, so we ordered this stylish Scandinavian-made desk from them.  Very heavy and sturdy.  This corner has been adopted by our daughter, as she can listen to her favorite music on the computer while doing her homework.

      We still haven't managed to furnish the rest of the study/living room but let's stay hopeful: one thing at a time.  Work and the kids take precedence over home design, especially after months of home planning which consumed us totally.

      For simple furniture, we've always liked Ikea.  We decided to give their Billy Series a try for the Studio.  The closest store is located in Funabashi, so about 1h and 20 minutes away...  We carried most of the furniture we wanted ourselves on the train since we don't have a car, but we decided to use their delivery service for the larger and heavier units.  We were very pleased with the service, and since we were shopping in November, which is my birthday month, we got a discount!

      By the way, Ikea's new catalog comes out in September every year, a time when they introduce a number of new products.  Right now they are rearranging the showroom so many areas are closed off to the public (the revamped showrrom is set to be ready for December 12th).

     For the studio, we are so incredibly happy that we did not go for custom cabinets and chose to wait and pick furniture ourselves instead.  Assembling the furniture was really easy and overall cost for the series of cabinets and doors was very reasonable. This is the result for now...

      One less area to worry about...  The curtains are our next target!

Cool Gadgets

     A while back we made up our mind we were going to get a Panasonic IH stove with three hobs, one of them all-metal.  This means we don't need to invest in new cookware, except maybe for our stovetop espresso maker, which isn't the right size.  But the downside of this model is that it comes with a fan for the grill, and I just know that it'll be hard to keep it clean.

     Luckily, there are some really smart devices that can help solve some of our kitchen miseries, like this Glass Exhaust Vent Cover (ガラスの排気口カバー) for instance, which I didn't even know existed!  

     This looks like just what we need to keep that area of the stove sparkling clean. Plus, it can easily be removed for washing and it does look nice! Pretty sure we're going to invest in one of these!

    While visiting showrooms over the past few months, we saw a bunch of cool gadgets we thought would be nice to have like this IH cooktop mat. 

     These mats help protect the surface of the IH stove which apparently gets stained over time (didn't know that!).   I googled "Induction Cooktop Mat" to see if I could get more information, but got far more results with IH 焼け焦げカバーマット, which is what this device is called in Japanese.  Could it be that this kind of mat is not used much outside of Japan?

     To clean the inevitable spills, especially if you're a first-time user of induction cooktops, there is a whole range of cleaning products.  This one here was featured in my COOP advertisement this week.

      There are several other types of IH cooktop cleaners available on Amazon Japan, which, by the way, come with English labels, likeVita Craft.  Google "IHガラストップクリーナー" and you'll find a lot more cleaning options.

    And how about this IH Stovetop Frame Cover?  I worry that all kinds of food remnants will get stuck between the counter and the stovetop, so this might be a good way to keep that area spotless. 

     It never fails to amaze me how Japan develops unique gadgets to solve all sorts of daily annoyances.  While some may seem completely useless, others are quite innovative and lifesaving! 

We'll be on the lookout for other cool gadgets but if you know of any that's worked for you, let us know!