Not ready to go full tatami? This clever item adds a dash of Japanese reed flooring to your home

Part stool, part flooring, and entirely cool.

There’s an undeniable stylish appeal to the look of traditional tatami reed floors. However, most apartments in Japan come with modern, hard-surface floors, since they’re more durable in the long-term and easier to pair with contemporary furniture and interior design.

But for those who are craving a taste of tradition in their decor, but not willing to go full tatami, Japan’s Hagihara Furniture has a clever and versatile solution with its Tatamiza.

Tatamiza translates to “tatami seat,” since it looks, and functions, like a boxy stool with a reed mat top. The thing is, though, you don’t have to stop at just one, since their shape and non-skid bottom surface lets you cluster multiple Tatamiza together to turn a section of your room into a tatami retreat, all without the need to rip out your existing flooring.

Oddly enough, they’re not perfectly square, as they measure 60.5 by 60 centimeters (23.82 by 23.62 inches). Still, that’s a small enough difference to allow for all sorts of configurations so that you can make a tatami bench, sofa, or even a sleeping space for use with a futon.

▼ Clockwise from top left, these layouts use two, eight, nine, and six Tatamiza.

A height of 25.5 centimeters also means you can leave a blank space in the middle for your feet, a style called horigotatsu that you’ll sometimes see at Japanese restaurants and cafes.

And in an especially cool twist, the Tatamiza has a hollow construction, so that you can take off the top…

…and use the inside for storage, making them beautiful and practical.

▼ Plenty of space for more books underneath.

Tatamiza can be purchased online here, priced at 10,780 yen (US$94) each.

Source: Hagihara Furniture via IT Media
Top image: Hagihara Furniture
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