My current abode is cold cold cold; even though it’s early fall I can tell that the winter will be dreadfully chilly. This house is almost a hundred years old. I don’t think there is any insulation. However, after watching a particularly meaningful episode of OKHC, I was inspired to build a kotatsu.
About Kotatsu (炬燵)
What is kotatsu? It is a low table with a heating unit attached to a framework. The tabletop is removable; in the summertimes you can use it as a regular table. In colder weather, the tabletop is removed, a heavy blanket is placed to cover the entire frame, and the tabletop is replaced. The heating unit is then turned on and created a bubble of warm air that is trapped by the blanket. One can then slip their legs underneath the blanket and enjoy the warmth. Supposedly, a robe is to be worn so that the warm air will also circulate around your entire body. This makes sense.
Several obstacles
1. Lack of instructions online in English
2. My poor woodshop skills
3. Fear of electrocution or setting something on fire
Making Kotatsu
The closest to in-depth instructions is Lincoln Quirk’s blog entry on constructing a kotatsu:
How to build a kotatsu
My roommate Haynes and I built a kotatsu in our room. We built a simple 3′x4′ wooden frame out of pine two-by-fours and four-by-fours, and cut a tabletop out of half-inch plywood. We put a king-size comforter over the frame, and the tabletop over the comforter. We finished the tabletop with a router, then sanded, stained it (red mahogany stain), applied tung oil and finally sprayed lacquer. It ended up shiny and quite waterproof. Pictures will be added soon!I wish we had a better story around it: one night, at 4am, Haynes said “we should build a kotatsu” and told me what it was. I said okay, let’s do it, so we both chipped in 20 dollars to buy a heater online, before we went to bed. The next day, we both had it on our minds — and that evening, we went downstairs to the workroom and built it. It was a relatively easy project, but it was still very satisfying to see it all come together. Three hours and we had the frame done. Over the next few days, we purchased a comforter ($65 or so from Bed Bath and Beyond — they had a special deal), finished the tabletop with cheap hardware store materials, and began using it in our room. The only thing that hadn’t arrived when the semester ended was the heater itself. It should be there when I return, though!
Kotatsu Construction Photos
Some good photos from Flickr relating to kotatsu construction or the unity that it brings. Photos are credited; click on the photo for the original.
- Articles on kotatsu
- Bill Stonehill’s The Cold and the Kotatsu
- Mangarama’s kotatsu comic
- A light-hearted page on “kotatsu-mikanism”
- A flash animation on mikan
- Articles related to building kotatsu
- Ask Metafilter’s kotatsu discussion
- Sushicam’s kotatsu page (has good photos on table frame and infrared heating unit)
- People on 43 Things who want to make a kotatsu
Feel free to comment on questions or share photos!
Want to read more?
Project Kotatsu Post #1 - Introduction
Project Kotatsu Post #2 - Construction speculations
Project Kotatsu Post #3 - About heating alternatives
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