How to Make A Kotatsu Table

Heh.... yes well.... I am a week late, aren’t I? Well you see.... the reasons for this are as such..... the circumstances as they are..... and well, you know how things go..... I.... uh.... I totally forgot. Yes, I know--shocker! It kind of threw me off to post on a friday and.... I’m sure you don’t care that much, so I’ll get on with it, shall I?

Boy, I’ve been busy! Lots to get done before Tomodachi Fest this weekend and I’m nearly ready! Pooh Bear is ready to go, my new lolita skirt is complete and Sailor Moon is washed and ready to pack! 

But this week, I thought I’d try something a little different! A tutorial! And not even a sewing one! I thought it might be interesting and helpful to show you all how I built my own kotatsu table! 

“But Edward,” you may point out, “This blog is about sewing and cosplay.”

Yes, well it’s also about crafting. And I “crafted” this table all by myself. And being that I found very little on the internets to aid me, I thought I’d tell you all what I did so that maybe someday you can also make a kotatsu table for yourself. I can tell you from experience, they are quite cozy. And, for someone like me who heats their house with a wood burning stove, it’s very handy when it’s freaking cold out and you’re sick and you haven’t gotten the stove going yet but you’re hungry and want to eat breakfast and all you have to do is turn on your kotatsu table and get comfy. 

*ahem* Anyways... On with the tutorial!!

Kotatsu table with tabletop on

Kotatsu table without tabletop

First, a little history :

Some of you may ask, “What the hell is a kotatsu table?”

Well according to Wikipedia, “A kotatsu is a low, wooden table frame covered by a futon, or heavy blanket, upon which a table top sits. Underneath is a heat source, often built into the table itself. Kotatsu are used almost exclusively in Japan, although similar devices are used elsewhere.” The history of the kotatsu dates back to the 14th century where it was pretty much just a cooking hearth. It was the place to be during the winter so eventually they pulled up some chairs slapped a blanket over it and-- ta da-- the kotatsu table was born! They built them because traditional Japanese houses aren’t insulated very well and (obviously) there is no central heating. The most economical way to keep warm in winter was to hang out under the kotatsu. And an extra bonus is that when you wear a kimono the heat goes through the bottom and up through the neck hole, thus heating your whole body! Woo! Alas-- I shall have to make do with a bath robe.
 

So now that we have that out of the way, let me just say, if you wanted to buy a legitimate kotatsu table from Japan, prepare to shell out some cash-- they are about $400+. Then add shipping and import costs (and a futon set if you’re so inclined), it’s likely to cost you about $1000+. 

I do not have that much money to spend on a table, so I made my own. Let me also say that the one useful tutorial I found was this one. But I didn’t have the same things he did, so I got ideas from him and then used my own method.

First you need supplies:

1 kotatsu heater

Step-down converter

1 table that is the appropriate design (more on that in a moment)

Hammer

Scrap wood

Screw driver and drill

Screws

Wood glue

One Queen or King sized blanket or comforter

If you’re building a frame for your heater:

Some 1x1 or 1x2 pieces of wood

Tape measure

Table saw

Heater

So where does one purchase a kotatsu heater? Believe me, they don’t sell them here. Lucky for me, my good friend Jen happened to have one she wasn’t wanting anymore so she sold it to me for $50. Not all of us can be so lucky, so I suggest ebay. There are lots of heaters on there and you can usually find them for about $80-90. Let me stress that it is important that you get a kotatsu heater and not just any old space heater. Kotatsu heaters are built to be covered and space heaters are not. Don’t cheap out. It’s for your own safety. You won’t be very cozy if you’re on fire.

Converter

The voltage they use in Japan is lower than in the US. So you will probably want to get a step-down converter so as not to blow out your heater. (especially after spending all that money on one) You can also get these on ebay. My electrician friend told me that because my heater was a different type than the newer ones I shouldn’t need one, (something about the way my type heated or the bulb or something. I don’t know, I’m not an electrician) and I haven’t had any problems as of yet. But do this at your own risk. From all my reading, it is suggested to get a converter for heating appliances because the way it uses the electricity (again, not an electrician). So yeah, you should get one of these, it’s probably safer. And cheaper in the long run, as it would be more expensive to buy two heaters because you blew one up. Be sure to get one that is rated to handle the amount of voltage your heater puts out.

Table

So the main thing with the table is that you need one that has a full frame underneath that the tabletop sits on top of. 

Like this:

Not like this: 

This is so you have something to attach the heater to and so you can remove the top without it, ya know, falling apart. The guy in the other tutorial got an ikea one that had a bottom shelf that he used as the table top and he attached the heater to the table. But I didn’t have one of those. Lucky for me, again, my wonderful mother gave me the perfect table. Yay Mom!

I suggest haunting thrift and used furniture stores until you find the right table. You can get any size and shape table you want. I wanted a little one because it’s usually just me sitting under there and sometimes my hubby sits under it with me. 

If you find a table like the ikea one, then I suggest you use the tutorial I linked to. But if you do find a table that has a frame like mine, continue reading!

So first you need to flip your table upside down. If your table is similar to mine, you’ll see that all the framing pieces and leg pieces are screwed together and the top is screwed to the frame. You need to remove all those screws and take apart your table completely. Don’t lose any of those screws, you’ll need them later.

Legs attached to the frame.

These two holes are where the frame attached to the table top

On my table they also glued all the frame pieces to the table top. So that’s when you’ll need your hammer and scrap wood. I used the wood as a buffer between the frame piece and my hammer so I didn’t leave dings in the wood or accidentally crack it. Now gently but firmly tap on the frame pieces until they pop off. Don’t break them or you will cry.  Thankfully I didn’t break any of my pieces and everything came apart just fine.  

Now that you have your table in pieces, you need to make a decision. Real kotatsu legs are quite short, about 14-15in. I wanted to use my table as a coffee table during the summer so I didn’t cut the legs on mine. But if you want to do that, then this is when you need to measure and cut your table legs to your desired height. My table is just a little too short to sit under when I sit on the couch, so I need to make myself a little chair or get a bean bag or something to sit on.

Now it’s time to connect the frame parts and the leg parts back together. It will look like this:

Minus the already attached heater, of course.

Now to install your heater. As you can see, my heater already had a frame attached to it. But you might have to build a frame for your heater so you can attach it to your table frame. I haven’t built one, but I assume it’s not too difficult. You just need some 1x1 or 1x2 pieces of wood to make a frame to fit around your heater with the side pieces long enough to attach to your table frame. If you don’t have a saw, I think you can have them cut it for you at Home Depot.

Now lay your table upside down and lay your heater in the center. Screw the heater frame to your table frame, making sure that they are level to each other. You don’t want your tabletop to wobble. I drilled pilot holes in my table frame so that I didn’t crack the wood. 

My heater frame was just slightly too short to fit perfectly inside my table frame so I had to fill in the space. If you make your own frame you can make it fit perfectly.

The screws where I attached my heater to my frame. 

You’re nearly done!

On my tabletop I also glued some little piece of wood to the edges so that it doesn’t slide around when it’s on, since it isn’t attached to the frame at all. This is where you'll need the wood glue.

I only put them on three sides. Here you can see were the frame was glued to the tabletop.

Now find a blanket or comforter that will fit over you table with enough extra to cover you up and have extra on the floor, so as to keep in the heat. You could probably find one at a thrift store or places like Ross have decent prices on comforters. Depending on the size of your table, you’ll probably need a Queen or King sized one. My table is 23x27in and a Queen size fits it perfectly which quite a bit extra.

Now place your tabletop on the frame and get cozy!! My dog, cat and I thoroughly enjoyed sitting around the kotatsu last winter and I’m excited to break it out again! 

Ready for snuggling!

All warm and snuggly.

I hope that this tutorial was helpful to anyone who is interested in making their own kotatsu table! I assure you it’s quite cozy and worth the effort. I fixed up my table in an afternoon, so it’s not too difficult. 

I’m actually quite proud of my table. I built it all by myself and I even used the saw! Pretty good for someone with little experience in building things. 

If you do end up using my tutorial to make your own table, I’d love to see pictures! You can send them either to my facebook or link to them in the comments!

Ok so that was super long but I hope you enjoyed it! Next week will be another late week because I’ll be driving home from Tomo on Monday. But I will do my best to get my con review posted some time next week!

I hope to see some of you at the con! Don’t hesitate to say hi and to tell me if you like my blog! I always love hearing that people enjoy reading what I have to write.  

And here is my cosplay schedule for the weekend!

Friday: Lolita coord

Saturday: Pooh Bear and Hello Kitty fairy kei coord

Sunday: Sailor Moon

Until next time!

~Edward