Blog

spotless in seattle…

Sending in a photo of our sweet and compact tub. We love it and use it multiple times a week!
T from Seattle

another picture kindly participated by a client and friend!
in the title, I tried to play around with the title of a famous movie…
It is a kind of corny sense of humor.
Japanese would call it “dajare” or oyaji-gag (middle age father`s gag)
Is this a sign I am getting older?

ofuro for Sunday evenings

Hi Iacopo,
I hope you’re well.
I’ve only just seen the ofuro-jiman contest email you sent earlier this week so I’m probably too late, but I thought I’d send you some photos of our ofuro anyway, in case you’d like to post them on Bartok’s instagram account?

As you may recall, we extended our house in London and created a new Japanese style wet room on the ground floor, complete with one of Bartok’s sawara ofuro and hinoki stool and bucket. I spend most Sunday evenings soaking in the wonderful ofuro! The view from the ofuro of a maple tree through the timber slatted screen helps me feel a little closer to Japan!
Best regards,
S.T.

Photo credits: Agnese Sanvito @agnesesanvito

9 years old ofuro in Switzerland

An early bird testimonial from Switzerland for our “ofuro jiman” contest!
There is no comment but the pristine conditions of the 9-year-old ofuro do not need further comments!

Thank you and … enjoy the hot water!

natural elegance ofuro

Thank you Iacopo-san for all your hard work! We have finally finished our bathroom remodel and here are pictures of the finished product. Thank you for the wonderful #ofuro !!
MM from Oregon, USA

Cicero`s ofuro

well, there is no special relationship between our lovely Australian client and Cicero.
But when I saw this photo, I could not help remembering the quotation: “si apud …OFURUM… hortulum habes, nihil deerit”

Which roughly translates in: “if you have a small garden near your ofuro, you do not need anything else”

And I am sure that Cicero would have loved the natural greens and browns of this space!

(PS: actually, Cicero was talking about a library and not an ofuro (;^_^…)

I am very grateful to Iacopo and the craftsmen at Bartok Design for helping me to realize a dream I have had for many years. I bought my ofuro 18 months ago from the outlet corner.

Since it was delivered to our home in Canberra Australia, we have built a new home in Victoria county. I was able to design my new bathroom specifically for my ofuro, with an opening door so that I can recycle the clean water onto the garden.

The photo shows the door opening onto what will be my small Japanese-style garden courtyard, opening onto the rest of the garden.
In hindsight, it may have been better to wait until our plans for the new house were at least finalized to buy the ofuro, but we were not planning to move when I bought it.
It has been a wonderful blessing to have over the last very stressful 18 months. It has survived being wrapped in plastic, put in storage, and being left in my mother’s garden (full of water)  for several months. After a good clean and sanding it has come up very well and I’m sure I will enjoy it for many more years,
A.

ofuro and art

one of the first entries to our “ofuro-jiman contest” !
This is an absolutely amazing space!
it surpasses the rosiest hopes !!
and I can imagine that also the window filled with green is considered as one of the artworks of the collection..!

Hi Iacopo,
It took longer than expected to install our ofuro but we are very happy with the result. As artists, we are surrounded by paintings and sculptures but the tub room is the envy of our friends.
Congratulations to your craftsmen for their high standards. 
Hope you like the photo.
Regards,
D&B

garden inside and out

another early bird from the “ofuro-jiman contest” !
and another space full of charm, of purity and love.
I especially like the harmony/contrast with the belgian ancient building`s inner courtyard!
And here helow id the kind message from the clients:

Thanks to Iacopo’s professionalism, friendliness and helpfulness and the skill of his craftsmen, we finally realised a dream. Relaxing the mind and regenerating the body after the hard work of the day is a wonderful experience: we made it a special observation point from which to contemplate our tea garden in Brussels.
どうもありがとうございました。

E&C

ofuro-jiman contest!

“Jiman” means “pride”. So the title translate in “bathroom-pride”…

Well, after a long period of hibernation, I decided to restart actively posting to the bartok design Instagram account.

And this can only be done … with a little help from my friends!

Especially all those who purchased an ofuro or bathroom accessories: please send me your photo and a short testimonial so I can post it to on the instagram page!
Alternatively, if you posted some photos on your instagram account, let me know the link so I can re-post it!

And this can only be done … with a little help from my friends!

Especially all those who purchased an ofuro or bathroom accessories: please send me your photo and your story so I can post them to on the instagram page!

Alternatively, if you already posted your “ofuro jiman” photos on your instagram account, let me know the link so I can re-post it!

as a token of gratitude, I will send a 10ml bottle of hinoki essential oil “young trees” for free to the first 10 testimonials to reach my mailbox!

Additionally, I will present 10 “special reserve” hinoki essential oil for the 10 best photos!

I hope that the aroma of hinoki and its bactericidal properties will keep you healthy in the body and spirit, through these uncertain times!

Please send your entries to japan<AT>bartokdesign<DOT>com
and of course don`t forget to enter “ofuro jiman!” in the subject line!
I am looking forward to it!!

ofuro with a view

We just received photos from a client of their beautiful new bathroom!

” the tub is the centrepiece of the master bathroom
its so beautiful!”

from S.T. (Singapore)

It must be amazing to soak in aromatic water while looking at the night lights of the metropolis!

and here below are some photos of the site before installation.
when our client was writing us:

Please see attached. Am so excited to receive my tub tomorrow 🙂

We love when our clients make us participate to the installation process and of course can assist by phone or zoom the plumber and answer their questions \(^o^)/

moving to japan? Rica is here to help you!

FOR RENT: A famous traditional noodle shop in a stunning pre-war building is for rent. If you were dreaming to leave everything and move to Japan to start your own udon restaurant, this is an unmissable opportunity!

The Covid may not be making so many victims in Japan as in other more impacted countries but the economy (especially anything related to tourism, food, and hospitality) received a huge blow.

Anyway, it is important to look at the “silver lining” of this cloudy situation.
As the Japanese saying “The flowers of Edo” is implying that the “flowers of Tokyo” are actually fires and street quarrels…
Yes, sometimes the destruction of the city or the social structure as we know it, is the pre-condition to create a new and – in some cases – even better world.

This is what my friend Rica – a bilingual real estate agent – is trying to do.
She has been running for more than 10 years a successful homepage and community making accessible real estate information to international clients.

And now, as usual, forerunner when it comes to new challenges, Rica started a new homepage called “move to japan”: a one-stop information hub for japan-loving foreigners that are considering the option of moving to socially, economically, and sanitary safe Japan and start a new life!

So, if you are really considering taking over the udon restaurant in the photos above, or some of the hundreds of gems shining from hot springs towns to traditional shopping streets, you do not have excuses, NO-MORE! Contact Rica and go for it!

Back to top