Kitchen Woes

   We recently received some very distressing news about our kitchen... The estimate for our custom kitchen by Takara Standard came in and the numbers were shockingly high, more than twice the planned budget.

   In our estimate for the house, our architect made the following allowances for Equipment and Windows:  1.8 million for equipment, including kitchen, bathroom, powder room and toilet.  We are right on target with all equipment except the kitchen.   As for the Windows, the target budget is 1.5 million and we are currently working to align our choices with that number. 

   After seing Takara's beautiful white carved cabinets in a house designed by TwoStyle, we knew we wanted to get the same feel in our kitchen.  Takara is also known as an affordable custom kitchen maker, so we thought this process would be relatively  smooth. 

  Although we had initially thought of a more closed sort of layout for the kitchen, to hide the "occasional" mess, we then changed our minds and decided to include an island-counter.  This item needs to be custom-made, as it is not available in Japan, at least not the way we envisage it.  We were inspired by an island we saw at Ikea and many other appealing island-counters like the one displayed here.

   Our architect reassured us that he would look into other options, including Kitchen House, another custom kitchen maker, as well as a trusted carpenter. We also requested a more detailed estimate from Takara. So far, we've made just a little progress:

- We received a slighlty more detailed invoice from Takara, but we no breakdown of costs for individual items such as panels, handles, countertop, etc...  Totally unsettling.

- Kitchen House gave us a higher estimate than Takara, so they're obviously out.

- The island and the hutch could be handmade by a carpenter for half the price of Takara.  That's probably the only good news.  But then again, we need to see if the door panels could match the rest of the kitchen...   Hopefully, we can outsource the cabinets from Takara or Ikea, like this beautiful glass cabinet. 

  TwoStyle has apparently never worked with Ikea so this will be a first for them investigating options for our kitchen.  Given that some of Ikea's kitchens really appeals to us, we'd be really happy!

Sinks and Faucets

       Choosing our toilet and bathroom sinks and faucets was so easy, thanks to our architect's initiative:  he took out a huge catalog marked with little blue post-its and showed us one page displaying two different sinks and two different taps.  Which one do you like best?  Easy enough, we chose the rectangular looking sink.  How about the faucet?  We liked the shape of the first but preferred the overall look and feel of the second.

     Never thought we could decide on these items so fast!  I guess we're pouring so much energy on other areas that we are really in need of some easy choices...  Yakushiji-san then pulled out another catalog with two or three pages marked and this time we had to decide on the bathroom sink and faucet.  That was so easy too, although I was initially hesitant about a sink over the counter, I was convinced after seeing a few photos.

     To lower costs and to give the rooms a more personal style, the cabinets in our toilet and powder room will be custom made by a carpenter hired by TwoStyle.  The finish of the cabinets will either be wood, painted in the tones we select, or melamine.  We will decide on this at a later stage, as we now need to focus on other more pressing details.   A week after making these selections, TwoStyle handed us an estimate from one of their trading firms, Kobayashi, for these units.  The invoice shows a 65% discount on the items, all necessary extras (pipes, etc) and the installation.  We're satisfied with it, and happy that this matter has been settled so efficiently.  Now on to more sticky issues, like the kitchen...



Windows and Shoe Closets

     We took several hours at our last meeting with TwoStyle to fix the location, size and shape of the windows of the entire house.  We've been dreaming of a bay window for sometime now, and collected a bunch of inspiring photos like this one for instance. Lovely and so inviting! We'd love to be able to recreate that kind of look in our home. Of course, the view from our window will not be as beautiful as on some of those magazine pictures...

     We started with the entrance, and decided to put a bay window there!  The bay will start at 43cm from the floor, so normal chair height, and will protrude for about 35cm, giving us ample space to sit to put on our boots or to place our shopping bags while we change shoes.  By the way,  everyone who's been to Japan knows that custom dictates a change of shoes upon entering the house.  This is not standard custom back home, but we are totally for it, given that we don't want to damage our beautiful wooden floors...

    

     Shoe and coat storage space at the entrance was a problem we had to revisit because we noticed that the new plans included much less space than we had previously anticipated.  That's because we hadn't thought about wall thickness taking up precious space there...   The plans currently show walls of standard thickness (13.5cm) throughout the house, but we learned that walls only had to be that thick at certain key areas.  We will get a plan of those key points next time.  So at the entrance, the wall next to the stairs going to the 2F can be trimmed down to 6.5cm (half-wall), giving us an extra few cm to store our shoes...  Not much more, but still, we'll take it! 

     The cabinets will be 45cm deep, so big enough to store two pairs of shoes sideways.  We wanted to make sure the doors wouldn't take up some of that precious space, so we double-checked usable space or  有効　(ゆうこう = Yuukou), a very practical word we quickly added to our long home building-related vocabulary list...  So, various calculations and discussions later, we ended up agreeing on two 60cm wide closets and one 35cm wide closet.   All of our shoes, coats, hats, gloves and umbrellas will have to fit in there no matter what, 'cause we don't want to see anything hanging from the walls or sitting on the floor in the entrance....

So back to our windows, we opted for several French-style up-down windows, but it just occurred to us that we could perhaps have arched windows to add light and appeal.  These photos are ideas we hope to be able to incorporate.  One displays a complete arch and the other has a more peculiar sort of square arch shape; both are lovely.  But, we need to check prices, of course.   We know next to nothing about windows, but we want something pretty that allows us to enjoy as much light as possible, so we definitely want Yakushiji-san to give us his expert advice on the choices we've made so far. 

          Hubby was adamant about having a bay window seat in the dining room, a choice I totally agreed with.  Again, what is great is that this bay window will provide ample sitting space without counting toward our total square meter coverage.  Just for comfort, we decided not to start the window right at the level of the seat, but to have it continue for about 40cm, providing a back, just like in this image.  This way, we get a good view of the outside without too much exposure...  We now need to find a nice cushion to soften the touch and this bay window will be an ideal place to read or just gaze out. 

     We had to restrain ourselves not to place bay windows everywhere!  We did place one in the kitchen and another one in our bedroom, but smaller and higher up from the floor, to serve as shelves.  As I leafed through my Ikea catalog yesterday, I noticed an image of beautiful bay windows in the living room, serving as book shelves...  So sorry, Yakushiji-san, but some changes might still be in order with the windows in the living room-study area!  Let's discuss that and a million other things when we meet next week!

Sinks

       As we struggle with each and every choice we have to make about this new house, we wonder if it wouldn't have been easier to just buy ready-made...  There's just so much to decide and so much to check and compare; we're not always sure we're making the right selections!  And we're no architects or interior decorators, plus we've got this little problem: everything in Japan is in Japanese!  Yes, of course, it's to be expected, but getting by in everyday life in Japanese and understanding the fine print on bank loans and bathroom unit options is not the same thing! 

     Let's just say that it's been really challenging to go over every detail of estimates and plans; we've had to rely on our architects a lot for things that are usually a given for Japanese readers. 

     Then, there are also differences between what we'd like to get (usually things we enjoy back home) and what we can actually get our hands on here in Japan.  Take the kitchen sink for instance.  For the past 10 years, we've dreaded that day of the week when we had to change the little bag that hangs from the sink basket (large  basket, by the way).  The sink we have has a huge hole just like this one, where a basket is fitted to catch detritus.

     But back home, we're used to this type of sink, which I've seen at Ikea, and which is so much easier to clean.  You might have noticed a general theme in this blog:  we prefer low maintenance items that require minimum cleaning.  It's not that we don't enjoy cleaning, but moderation is the operative word here...  Anyway, let's hope we can have this type of sink instead of the usual Japanese-style sink.  If that doesn't work, I guess we'll have to do with a slightly upgraded model we've been shown that has a smaller basket that doesn't require the nylon bags... 

The Bath Unit

     At first, we thought we could get a custom bathroom we had seen on display at Toto, Yamaha and Inax showrooms, rather than those ready-made bath units. That's until we figured out the costs associated with custom made...  Dropped the idea altogether!

     Our architect then scheduled a vitit to Spiritual Mode, a Kyoto-based bath design firm, to select our bath unit options.  We initially chose Spiritual Mode because it was the only company out of four that could accomodate an inclined ceiling.  We met at their beautiful and highly sophisticated Aoyama Showroom where we were able to see sample bath units and discuss color options.

     However, we were extremely disappointed that Spiritual's Stella RX line had a counter, which we adamantly didn't want, and so did the NX Line.  Why so picky about the counter?  From experience with our current unit, we know that counters make cleaning difficult due to mold buildup in hard-to-reach corners.  Plus the counter went from one end of the unit right to the other, making the bathroom look smaller.  We did not like that at all.  We insisted on getting rid of the counter, but that proved impossible; the bath unit comes as a set, and most of the gadgets are compulsory, whether you want them or not.  So we left Spiritual an hour later rather discouraged that we could not make this work.

     Our architect then came up with a great idea.  He suggested we lower the floor of the bathroom by 20cm, which corresponds to my studio on the 1F, to ensure a flart ceiling, and we could then chose from other companies like Inax, Toto or Panasonic.  Since we were headed for Inax to pick our toilet, we decided to check out their bath units too.  Counterless units were not available in the popular LaBath Line, but there was one unit in the upgrade line LaBath Taste.  Great!  We started looking at options and realised once again that the boundaries were clearly defined.  The panels would have to be white, except for one with an accent.  But we decided to make it work because the price was reasonable and we could still get most of what we wished for.  Here's a picture Inax sent us after our preliminary selection.

     The turquoise bath was a hit with us, especially with the kids.  Color coordination was easy once we had picked the color of the tub.  We did away with the mirror, but selected dowlights and a nice slick-looking straight shower head.  Needless to say, we tried all of the shower head in the showroom, to get a feel for them.  Altogether, we met with our Inax assistant Senga-san three times and exchanged several e-mails just to get our bath unit options in order. 

     We definitely did not want to be stuck with items we didn't care for just because they were part of the package.  For instance, we realised that all units come with a bath cover.  Ours has been on the balcony for the past 12 years...  So out with the cover, and this translated into a 5,400 yen discount.  Note that some of the options cost extra, like the shower head we selected,  but some others entitle you to a discount.  Same thing if you decide not to take a particular item, like the bath cover, the towel rack or the mirror (minus 32,000 yen).  So it is wise analyse every detail if you mind the little things. 

Kamachi Dental Clinic

      In the very unlikely event that I would ever move to the other end of Tokyo, I would still come to Dr. Kamachi for my regular checkups and dental work.  And so would my whole family.  After visiting so many dentists offices, I can say that this dentist is by far the best for us and I cannot recommend him enough!  Over the years, I've traveled far into the city for an appointment with a 'good'  dentist.  I've also tried several clinics in and around Musashino-shi, where we live. 

      Dr. Kamachi is not fluent in English, but he certainly tries.  He will explain in simple terms what the problem is and how to fix it and he will pull out his pad and pencil to draw an illustration to ensure that we've understood fully.  He never rushes and never places a tool near your mouth without explaining what he's about to do.  His approach is gentle and considerate and my kids love him too.  They actually look forward to their next appointment!  Might be because they get some sugarless gum after visits though...

      His assistants are just as kind and welcoming, in person as well as over the phone.  The office is conveniently located 5 minutes away from Kichijoji's central exit, right behind Parco, near Coffee Farm.  It's on a second floor and you can see the clinic from the street due to large glass windows, just above a specialized shoe store.

      Here's a review of the clinic with all the details about treatment options, directions, an d opening hours:  http://www.kanja.jp/clinic/007567.html

Fancy Toilet!

     Deciding on a toilet was without a doubt our easiest choice.  Our architect recommended SATIS by Inax and so we went to the Shinjuku Showroom to view it.  A sophisticated toilet indeed, and intelligent too!  It can sense who's walking up to it and magically lift either the lid or both the lid and the top part!  Well, that's one option we didn't pick!

     I have to say, we were initially pretty indifferent about toilet type, as long as the thing was easy to clean.  Our Inax representative, Senga-san, explained some of the features of the SATIS such as the seat warmer and the shower for the behind. Not sure I'd want my toilet to clean my butt, but I'm willing to try.  Plus it's standard feature, so there's no way out of that one.  The other option we skipped on is the dryer.  We thought a nice toilet paper would suffice for that job. 

     Senga-san then had us pick a remote control.  Yes! a remote control for the toilet!  We picked the one with an English menu of course, hoping to minimize operating errors... Anyhow, we'd better read the user's manual.  We were also asked to chose between two types of finish for the seat, the standard shiny one and the upgrade, a more porous sort of material that is kinder to the touch, not as sticky.  We went for standard, thinking the fancier seat would require more maintenance, something our assistant even confirmed. 

  

     Senga-san then prepared a 3D image of our toilet, which sadly doesn't really show the blue-grey tone for a nice change from regular white.  Satis is an Eco5 toilet, with a low and high flush option, a big water saver. 

     By the way, in case anyone is wondering, Inax doesn't manufacture any toilets for export.  We asked just to make sure, because we know that there's a big interest for this type of toilet from foreign visitors to Japan.

     When I first came to Japan, my one-room apartment had an old-fashioned Japanese-style toilet I will always remember fondly...  The type that sits on a step and where you need to squat down to do your business.  My daughter, who enjoys long toilet -reading sessions, would not have appreciated it...  For the past 10 years, we've had to do with a regular style toilet with a faulty flush.  So Satis will be a wonderful long-awaited change.