Tatami Room Essentials: Tatami Mats

Tatami mats are a classic East Asian natural floor covering, a decorative element central to ‘washitsu‘, a Japanese tradition or school of interior design. Tatami mats were first introduced into common use in metropolitan Tokyo during the Edo period, the time of the famous Tokugawa shoguns and their shogunate.

The spare, simple, serene look of a ‘tatami room’- with futons and cushions for furniture, shoji privacy screen room dividers for partitions instead of solid walls, and rice paper roll up blinds as window treatments- entered mainstream American contemporary home d&ecaute;cor when the ‘Shogun’ miniseries aired in 1980. Advertisements in Tokyo newspapers often still describe room dimensions by the number of tatami mats per room rather than square feet or square meters of floor space.

Tatami mats are usually an inch and a half to two inches thick, and about three feet wide by six feet long when they are crafted from tightly woven rush grass, carefully stuffed with rice straw, framed with wood and trimmed on the long sides with plain black cotton or silk brocade strips, about an inch wide. Modern designs may be any size, large or small, square or rectangular, and may include a moisture wicking barrier made from a breathable material to encourage moisture migration, evaporation through and out of the panels, helping to maintain warmth underfoot, and discouraging mold growth underneath the panels.

Tatami mats are a traditional Japanese interior design accessory used as floor coverings over plywood or wood plank underlayment, in living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms and meditation and devotional spaces in ancient and modern Japan. As flooring, they’re not as durable and easy to clean as a wood floor, rug or carpet, and they are not stain or water resistant. Tatami mats are not a good choice for constant foot traffic- hallways, foyers, or rooms where water is used- kitchens or bathrooms. Tatami mats create a unique cozy room with a uniquely comfortable floor- slightly springy, slightly cushioned, comfortable to walk on in stocking feet, comfortable to sit on, and for some, even to sleep on, especially with a simple cotton or wool futon rolled out on the floor. Care is necessary to keep the rush grass clean; always remove one’s shoes, and clean the Tatami mats often so dirt isn’t ground in- sweep, vacuum, or wipe them off every few days.

Professional home decorators and commercial interior designers use pairs or even large multiple tatami mat configurations to raise and define a distinctive, discreet area, away from shoe shod foot traffic in a large living room or common area. Yoga and massage studios, chiropractors and other health oriented businesses and enterprises, often purchase tatami mats to create a shoe-free zone in a larger room. It’s a decorative approach that works well with portable and practical Japanese style room dividers to partition a room into various configurations.

Many customers purchase a pair of our very reasonably priced tatami mats to lay right on the floor, for a small raised area, for yoga or exercise, or for a simple platform for a futon- an attractive alternative to a platform bed or a mattress foundation and bed frame. Creative customers report raising the tatami mats off the floor onto patio blocks or cinder blocks, even building simple wood frames from standard two by four lumber, held together with drywall or decking screws, purchased at the local hardware store.

However, we offer beautifully crafted and finished solid wood bed frames, Tatami Platform Beds, in Black, Walnut, and Honey stained wood finishes. Specifically designed to accommodate pairs of tatami mats, built to dimensions to fit standard U.S. queen, king, or California king sized mattresses and futons, as well as a single (or twin) sized design. Included wood slats prevent the pair of tatami mats from sagging. Because the tatami mats are slightly springy, many put the futon directly on top, while those who crave softness add a latex or polyurethane foam pad under the futon.

Our most popular 6′ x3′ Full Size Tatami Mat, about 3 feet wide by 6 feet long (35.8″ x 70.8″), is just a little shy of the standard American single size futon (39″ x 75″), but fits almost perfectly with a 1.5″ thick standard U.S. two by two or two by four lumber frame around it, which, at 1.5″ thick, adds 3″ to the length and width, almost equaling 39
x 75″. A standard U.S. full size mattress or futon usually measures 54″ x 75″. A pair of our Euro Full Tatami Mats, sized (27.5″ x 78.7″), measure 55″ x 79″ when put side by side, leave an extra inch on each side and an extra two inches at the top and bottom of a standard American full size mattress or futon, an interesting and attractive look.

We offer a very popular 30″ x 80″ Queen Tatami Mat; a pair, side by side, fit a standard U.S. queen sized futon or mattress exactly- 60″ x 80″. We also offer a 38″ x 80″ size King Tatami Mat; a pair is a perfect fit for a standard U.S. sized king futon or mattress- 76″ x 80″. Some customers purchase a pair of the larger King sized tatami mats for use with a standard American queen sized mattress or futon, to leave an extra interesting 7′”+ of tatami mat exposed on both sides of the mattress. Though we offer tatami mats in sizes to fit Euro full, queen, and king in pairs, we do not offer tatami bed frames to accommodate those sizes. Note we offer a wide selection of beautiful, 4″ thick authentic Japanese style Traditional Shiki Futons, in standard American twin, full and queen sizes.

We also offer an extremely popular, inexpensive, 3′ x 3′ Tatami Mat that customers have described 1001 uses for- part of small floor covering configurations, or a simple single shelf next to the door to hold shoes, as a decorative platforms for potted plants, or as unique table tops on a makeshift table base, or use a pair as a practical, portable single bed base or platform. Our greatest deal is our incredibly affordable, Goza Mat– just a single layer of woven rush grass, 3 feet by 6 feet, with a black cotton border.

Use our tatami mats for any of the dozens of practical uses our customers describe- unique, slightly springy, slightly cushioned, natural floor covering, as a simple natural bed platform, as a table top, an entertainment center, a massage table, a shoe shelf, or as a dog bed, to mention a few. But take note, when your tatami mat first arrives, you’ll notice the smell of rush grass as it cures, like hay drying, for the first few weeks. Some people complain of a “barnyard†smell, which is true- they smell like new mown hay, not like manure. Most people like it, and many people miss it as the smell dissipates in a few weeks time.

We hope you will find a use for many of our fine quality, low priced tatami mats, and please tell us what that use is, and browse our unmatched selection of Japanese style rice paper and bamboo room dividers and window treatments, as well as tansus and Sumi-e wall paintings, to authentically appoint your personal private tatami room.