We live in a relatively traditional wooden house. It has no central heating, just area heaters and floor heaters that you can turn on if necessary. There is a small button on the wall you can press to heat the wooden floor. It has become necessary in the past few days as the temperature has dropped into the 30's and there was a coating of snow yesterday. Downstairs, we have a large living room that has a western style table looking out through a panel of south-facing windows onto the back yard.
It's a small yard. There is a magnolia tree on one side.
The eastern side of the living area is more Japanese - covered with tatami mats and a small low table. It is brilliant, for under the table is a hole into which you hang your lower legs over a heater. The small black curtain drapes your thighs and keeps the heat in. The heater can be adjusted to high, medium or low depending on the weather and your general state of being. We always eat breakfast here, feet roasting on top of the heater. I also spend a lot of time studying here.
Down a narrow hall from the living room is a sewing room with some extra chairs, a small closet to hang your clothes and an ancient sewing machine.
The kitchen looks to be equally ancient. It's quaint, the machines, stove, cups and saucers are old but well cared for. Everything works well.
The bathroom, which is next to the kitchen, is typical - the toilet, sink and shower are separated into their own rooms. There is no heater in any of them, so it can get frosty. Before the hot shower water kicks in, I am shivering.
A narrow hallway leads from the front door, past the bathroom into the kitchen and living room.
Inside the front door is our genkan, or entry hall. This is where the shoes come off and the house slippers go on. Neither the two shall meet. You never step further than the tiles in your shoes and your slippers never go further than the wooden step.
The upstairs is gotten to via a steep wooden staircase opposite the entry hall. One misstep on this and you're going to the hospital for sure.
There are two bedrooms upstairs. We are using one and will use the other for guests. The entire floor is covered in tatami and we're sleeping on futons. We've stacked about four futons on top of each other to get the thickness we want. I've not slept so well in a long time - the house is so quiet you can hear a pin drop. Also, it's freezing cold in the room and the quilts are light and warm. Finally, since you are on a futon on the floor, there is no bed movement. If one of us rolls over, the other one doesn't feel a thing.
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