We only have one room with tatami in our apartment. I covered it with flooring (“wood carpet”) since I wanted to use the room as a home office/atelier/etc and I feared to destroy the tatami with all the related messiness. I wish we could afford a dedicated tatami room/space with no specific use but as for now I need the space in that room for daily use.
I understand completely. The house I lived in with the family for nearly 20 years in Tokyo had just one primary tatami room on the ground floor. We covered it with wood carpet as soon as our first son started to eat food. Eating on the floor meant that he could lift the child seat from the kotatsu-style table. Not only was that dangerous, but it would mean food all over the room when he flipped the table over.
That being said, we had two tatami rooms on the second floor, which we used for sleeping/studying/work. It was a pretty roomy (but old) house. When I moved to rural Fukuoka in March of 2021, the family moved to Mitaka. The house was torn down a couple of months after we moved out. The apartment in Mitaka is much smaller. But it has two tatami rooms, too, which makes it easier for me to stay when I am visiting them. A futon is much easier to keep as bedding for a guest than a bed!
I wonder how are tatami floors with a fur pet friend? I guess the cleaning (hair) has to be done on daily basis but I would love feedback from someone with the experience.
I dog sat for a family that kept their dog mostly in a tatami mat room, and the hair would just be on top, it doesn’t get into the tatami, but it always just got very dirty, from the dog’s paws, so they had to replace it every few years…. Not ideal.
I love both types. I currently live in a place that has both. My office is in a flooring room. This makes using a chair with wheels much easier. I like wheeled chairs because it makes it easier to move around to grab documents and materials.I like sleeping on futon, so a tatami room is best. However, it is also easier to have guests stay in a tatami room, since the futon can be put in a closet most of the time and free up space that a bed would take up permanently. So I have a guest tatami room and use a tatami bed. The tatami bed has drawers underneath, too, where I keep my pajamas! :-)
The tatami is a bit more difficult to clean than the flooring rooms, so I tend to use it much less than my other rooms. On the other hand, since it is where I have my only air conditioner/heater, I tend to use the adjacent living/dining room the most. When I open the sliding shoji, it heats and cools the living area enough to make it livable.
The tatami room is where I put flower arrangements when I have the inclination. It's kind of my "mental health" space. The rest of my place is rather functional. I do have a lot of art in the genkan area, though. Most of it is art exhibitions that I did the English translations for. I feel good about this space when I have people come to the door.
Thanks for your reply!I've been living in a building that has all flooring for a while now, and sure it's easier to maintain than tatami, but I miss the smell and the feel.I got a few two-mat goza carpets for my living room and bedroom for comfort underfoot.
We only have one room with tatami in our apartment. I covered it with flooring (“wood carpet”) since I wanted to use the room as a home office/atelier/etc and I feared to destroy the tatami with all the related messiness. I wish we could afford a dedicated tatami room/space with no specific use but as for now I need the space in that room for daily use.
I wonder how are tatami floors with a fur pet friend? I guess the cleaning (hair) has to be done on daily basis but I would love feedback from someone with the experience.
I love both types. I currently live in a place that has both. My office is in a flooring room. This makes using a chair with wheels much easier. I like wheeled chairs because it makes it easier to move around to grab documents and materials. I like sleeping on futon, so a tatami room is best. However, it is also easier to have guests stay in a tatami room, since the futon can be put in a closet most of the time and free up space that a bed would take up permanently. So I have a guest tatami room and use a tatami bed. The tatami bed has drawers underneath, too, where I keep my pajamas! :-)
The tatami is a bit more difficult to clean than the flooring rooms, so I tend to use it much less than my other rooms. On the other hand, since it is where I have my only air conditioner/heater, I tend to use the adjacent living/dining room the most. When I open the sliding shoji, it heats and cools the living area enough to make it livable.
The tatami room is where I put flower arrangements when I have the inclination. It's kind of my "mental health" space. The rest of my place is rather functional. I do have a lot of art in the genkan area, though. Most of it is art exhibitions that I did the English translations for. I feel good about this space when I have people come to the door.