kotatsu in America

[jingai]

Hey guys,
Do you have any idea where I could get a kotatsu in the States for a reasonable price? Here's one site, but it seems a bit high! http://www.jlifeinternational.com/furnishings/kotatsu/kotatsu_e.html
Anyone got an old one they want to get rid of? Winter's coming to Connecticut in a little while, so I want to get ready, J-style.

[Taro Toporific]

Hey guys,
Do you have any idea where I could get a kotatsu in the States for a reasonable price?

Heat lamp + Parsons Table + extra tabletop + patchwork quilt = kotatsu


Small covered lamp for terrariums $5.99


$12 Parsons table from Walmart


Properly fitting table top from a home center (>$10 look for a "ding-&-scratched" special)


Your granny's patchwork quilt (free!)


That's what I've used in Colorado for 30 years and Japanese folks always praise the "combi" as aesthetically correct.

[Steve Bildermann]

Dang. Well done Taro. I thought I was the only one who built his own Kotatsu.

I built three in England a few years back (almost same specs as yours) and actually could have started a business selling em they were so popular.

I started digging to make a big ofuro out in the back garden but ran afould of local council bylaws regulating outdoor pools/ Jacuzzis. I could have argued it's a bath not a pool but I would have lost.

[jingai]

How big a lamp do I need in terms of power? I noticed the manufactured one has a fan with it- is that important? Any notes on fireproofing- don't want any Flowers of Edo popping up in my house.
Thanks for your suggestions!
Just curious- what would a Japanese pay for a kotatsu in Japan?

[kamome]

Kotatsu are cool, I guess, but I don't count them as one of my favorite things about Japan. I'd rather have good central heating in the house than be confined to the small heated space under the kotatsu. After sitting there for a while, my legs start to hurt. And then there's the risk of getting scorched by the heat lamp underneath the table when you doze off.