House Renovation Adventures - Chapter 1

Kameoka, a small suburban town just west of Kyoto, nestled in a large inland plain surrounded by the Tamba highlands.  Kameoka has its own microclimate due to the surrounding mountains and low-lying basin.  This brings hot and humid summers and chilly winter nights.  It's most known for the Tamba Fog, a phenomenally thick fog that forms from trapped moisture within the basin from late Autumn to early Winter creating a dramatic unkai (sea of clouds).  

It is here that Furusato Travel has decided to call home.  Standing on the corner and staring at our new lot, ready to begin the work it will take to turn their house into a new home.  While we will be going through this journey more in-depth and discussing the visa, buying process, and everything in-between, many will find just the renovation story interesting alone which is why we've separated this out from the primary purpose of the blog.  

So here we are, our new home, the white painted surface shows surface cracks with faded black trim.  The yard has been unkempt since the previous owners moved out and work needs to be done to at least make it presentable.  On the outside, we've already decided to repaint the house and trim, deciding to go with a blue-silver color with a refresh of black trim.  A new roof with solar panels and battery backup are on the table as well.  Inside, much needs to be done cosmetically but the overall condition of the home is already in good shape.

On the first floor, we find several rooms including the living room, tatami mat room, bathroom suite, kitchen and dining room.  The second floor contains three bedrooms, a small office, and a toilet and the attic space includes loft area and a small storage attic. 

Starting in the entry way, the standard Japanese shoe closet is being removed and enlarged with storage space from the tatami mat room in order to provide a western style walk-in coat closet.  This will provide ample storage for cold weather coverings, boots, shoes, and hats with some additional storage for misc. items like umbrellas.  Moving down the hallway and to the left we find the first-floor bathroom suite.  The toilet room will receive a refresh with new toilet and sink area while the bathroom vanity space will be replaced with a larger sink with storage.  The bath space will be completely redone with the removal of the green tile and installation of a new single unit bathroom, standard in most Japanese homes.

Heading back into the main hallway we find the living room.  This large living room space will be central to our family living.  Most work here will remain cosmetic.  We will have an electric projector screen along the kitchen wall with a 4K projector along the backside of the room to provide our main entertainment.  A small console table will live under the projector screen providing room for knick knacks and a sound bar for sound.  A large fireplace sits under the steel staircase with two sliding glass doors sitting along the back wall that lead outside.  

Attached to the living room is the Japanese-style tatami mat room.  This will be office space for the wife.  This room features a large, curved wall along which custom bookcases will be built to hold our collection of books and manga.  The original tatami mats are in good order but due to the floor to ceiling bookcases, those will need to be redone in order to ensure they fit within the room.  The sliding doors between this room and the living room will feature a traditional screen appearance inside the room and retain a standard wood grain on the living room side, and no Japanese-style room can be complete without a kotatsu.

 

Back through the living room we find a set of accordion doors that lead into the dining room space.  In order to make this space feel larger, we've had the header that separates the dining room from the kitchen removed creating one large space.  This area will again mostly be cosmetic.  Our big purchase for this space will be a custom-made dining room table that will convert into a game table allowing the hosting of board games and Dungeon and Dragons.  

Connected to the dining room is the kitchen.  The cabinets are covered with a blue colored laminate providing a unique coloration to the room.  A small island sits in the middle of the kitchen with an overly large stainless-steel sink to the right.  There is plenty of counter space for the various appliances we will need for cooking and both the stove and hood on the far wall are in good condition.  Hiding under the sink counter is a dishwasher.  The major work in here will include removal of the tile surface and replacement with Japanese kitchen panels that make cleanup easier.  The artistic tile we found will remain in place and the contractor will cut the panels to showcase these pieces.  This space also has a cubby where our washer machine will go, and we will need to purchase a refrigerator as well.  

That takes care of the first floor.  Our next house renovation post, we will head up the stairs and check out the rooms and plans for them there.  Until next time!