A Milan apartment.

It was the first apartment I went to see in Milan. We saw the listing on a website, I went to the viewing, and I remember calling my husband saying, ‘I found our apartment. I don’t need to see any more. This is it!’

My mind was set.

I know most people search for months, or even years, for their perfect apartment, so it seemed a bit crazy, but my mind was set.

I fell in love with the high ceilings and the abundance of light flowing into the room..

I love the minimalist look.

We knew we would have to do some works on the apartment, but once we moved in, we realised how much we actually waned to change.  The wooden floors were nice but they were more mountain cottage-like, so we wanted to change that.  We wanted to change the kitchen into a big open plan kitchen leading into the living room.  We wanted to move our bedroom to where the kitchen was. 

And most importantly, I wanted a Japanese wooden bathtub!

I was brought up in Japan with a Japanese mother and German father. I am accustomed to the Japanese culture and way of life.

My first request when renovating our apartment was to have a Japanese-style bathroom. Where the whole room is dedicated to bathing. Overall the look of our apartment is influenced by Japanese and Scandinavian design.

The renovation.

The renovation process was a nightmare to say the least. What started off as a three-month project turned into nine months, with one disaster after another.

In any event, the one thing that actually went smoothly was the process of ordering and installing the Japanese bathtub. The whole process of dealing with HINOKISOKEN was so extremely pleasant, and without any hassle.

I wish more people would do business like this, in such an unhurried, gentle way.

We are now happily settled into our renovated apartment and the whole family enjoys the gorgeous bathtub every night!