What is Tansu in Japanese?

October 22nd, 2014

Tansu is a traditional style of Japanese furniture that are designed to be mobile storage cabinets. The word “tansu” is used to refer to Japanese furniture in a general sense but has a literal translation meaning “chest” or “container.” Made using traditional hand woodworking tools, tansu furniture has been perfected as an art form throughout the centuries.

Handcrafted by tansuyas (tansu craftsmen), tansu is connected to many different types of Japanese furniture. Tansu places an emphasis on functional use over the aesthetic design. It’s bold and powerful presence captures an era known for samurais and traditional Japanese nobility. The focus on ergonomics is different in the sense that the functional use caters to a unique need; the need to be mobile and easy to transport.

Large Tansu Cabinet

(CC)

Common Characteristics of Tansu Furniture

  • All tansu furniture hold two qualities in common; it is mobile and functional.
  • Heavy iron hardware.
  • Minimalist Design with straight lines and little ornate detailing.
  • Hardware was functional because iron was forged at this point in time.
  • Does not have legs.
  • Made from soft and hard woods; Keyaki (elm), Kuri (chestnut), Ezo Matsu (pine), Sugi (cedar), Kiri (paulownia), and Hinoki (cypress).
  • Rich wood grains.
  • Coated in a dry or lacquered finish.

Tansu embodies the exotic appeal of handcrafted Asian furniture while filling the need for highly mobile storage units. Tansu furniture often uses iron, a status symbol in Japanese culture and often associated with prominence and nobility. Once you understand the common features of tansu furniture, you’ll instantly be able to distinguish tansu furniture from other types of cultural furnishings around the world.

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Tansu Retail Location

July 13th, 2009

Looking for a Flat Screen TV Console that actually looks and functions like a beautiful piece of furniture not another appliance? A Tansu Asian Furniture boutique you can find beautiful handmade wooden plasma TV stands for those looking for something special in a TV stand. Made to store complete modern entertainment systems, these flat screen TV consoles are truly functional art. Handmade from solid teak and mahogany and constructed with mortise and tenon joinery for longevity these TV stands will certainly out last your TV. So if you are looking for an plasma TV stand that’s more than ordinary, your sure to enjoy these Asian inspired plasma TV consoles.

Modern Asian Furniture

June 29th, 2009

At Tansu.Net we import top quality modern Asian furniture direct from our factory in Indonesia. We start with the finest raw materials on earth such as teak, mahogany and mangium and hand carve each piece into elegant modern furniture with and Asian inspired design. Our Asian furniture offers customers unmistakable ethnic flair without being overly ornate like other oriental furniture styles. The result is beautiful furniture that can blend in with almost any home décor.

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A Peak Inside Our Bedroom

June 4th, 2009


As the owner of Tansu.Net, I am lucky enough to have access to a great deal of wonderful Asian Furniture. I am constantly asked by my online customers what furniture items I have chosen for my home and why. In response to these inquiries I have begun to photograph pieces of my home with an explanation of the Asian furniture items we chose. Please excuse the photography; I am far from being a professional!

For our bedroom my girlfriend (also the resident Tansu designer) and I chose the Tropical collection queen size canopy bed. We have both always wanted a canopy bed and this one is our personal favorite. Made of dark reclaimed mahogany the Tropical collection canopy bed is features clean lines, a modern tropical style and small accent details that are formed by the mortise and tenon construction this piece. If you look closely at the sides of the canopy bed posts and the matching Tropical nightstand you will see that the cross supports fully bore through upright posts and actually stick out the other side. Not only does this make for a beautiful design element but it also makes this canopy bed extraordinarily strong!

Because of limited space we opted for a queen instead of king size canopy bed. Of course if you have the space the Tropical king canopy bed is even more impressive visually than our queen.

Kobe 6 Drawer DresserFor the bed side table we love the matching Tropical nightstand but chose the 6 drawer Kobe dresser instead of the matching Tropical dresser. One thing many people ask is whether we recommend mixing our teak Asian furniture pieces with our mahogany pieces. Here is living proof that the answer is a resounding yes! The Kobe 6 drawer modern Asian dresser is made from reclaimed teak wood and looks great next to our mahogany canopy bed. Though the grain pattern on mahogany is tighter with more curls than teak, we use the same stain on both woods so the color similar between the pieces with each wood type offering its own tones. Design wise both of these pieces feature clean bold lines with subtle details that have made both of these items showroom favorites.

You can safely mix and match almost any of the Asian furniture pieces sold at Tansu even if made of differing wood. If you are unsure about a combination, give us call. We can help you decide whether individual pieces from different collections will complement each other.

The rest of the decorations you see are items unique to us that we’ve picked up at various places ranging from the exotic markets of Asia to the not so exotic corporate stores of America. If you see something you like let us know, perhaps we can pick it up next time we are out in Chiang Mai or Target: )

New Asian Furniture Retailer

June 4th, 2009

Tansu.net has changed ownership in the fall of 2006 and is now offering Asian furniture importers and manufacturers an online market place to feature their products. Tansu.net http://www.tansu.net/ was purchased from hand made tansu furniture maker Petra by LTDTrading, a privately held internet retail group. LTDTrading specializes in Asian furniture import and sales including Asian Platform Beds, Asian bedding, bedroom furniture and more.

Tansu.net changed hands to its new ownership in the fall of 2006 but has been under construction until now. The new site offers visitors an easy to navigate online shopping experience complete with product details, general buying information as well as educational resources about Asian furniture. Tansu.net hopes to become one of the internet’s top selling Asian furniture retailers by providing casual shopper and furniture connoisseur alike a great selection of quality imports at a competitive price.

When we asked Tansu.net owner Benjamin Harvey how his new business has gone until now, he replies with a smile, “so far I’ve been really pleased with the progress of the new website. Our web development team has done an excellent job with the design of the site, but more than anything we are pleased with the quantity of traffic we have received. I am very excited to finalize which suppliers we will be working with and begin adding products to the site.”

The types of products that Tansu.net will be featuring on the site varies from small Asian decorations such as Buddha statues to complete Asian platform bed sets. Most of the larger furniture pieces are made of reclaimed wood and are one of a kind pieces rather than mass produced items. I had a chance to see some of the products that will be featured on the site and was impressed by both the diversity and uniqueness of the products. “We try and select modern Asian furniture pieces that have a distinct ethnic flair, yet will blend well with contemporary American homes” says Harvey. Harvey predicts that his best selling products will be platform beds. Platform beds he says have become increasingly popular with designers and home buyers in recent years and can really make a statement in the bedroom. They are simple, sleek, low to the ground and work well with most types of mattresses including popular memory foam mattress.

When asked when Tansu.net will be open for business Harvey had this to say; “we already have some bedroom furniture products for sale on the site though had originally hoped to be fully operational by spring of 2007. We may still meet that goal but due to the vast selection of Asian furniture imports, we have been taking more time than expected to decide which products to carry. We do expect to be fully operational by the middle of the year at the latest.”

You can visit Tansu.net at http://www.tansu.net/ or click to view the Asian bedroom furniture products that are ready for sale. But for the larger Asian furniture pieces that I had a chance to preview, shoppers will have to wait just a little bit longer.

Lamps, Lights and Chandeliers for Your Asian Furniture Collection

June 4th, 2009

oriental lightingNothing makes a bigger statement when it comes to Oriental home décor than the lights you choose to accent your home. Whether it’s a hanging paper lamp, glass chandelier, iron chandelier or Asian partition lamps, it is essential that you choose the lights that will not only complements your Asian furniture, but cast the right glow over the entire room. Of course at Tansu we love the paper floor lamps and wicker partition lights found on our site, but we recognize that they are not for everyone. For those with few or no Asian furniture pieces there may be more appropriate lighting solutions for you.

If your home is filled with classic furniture or European style contemporary furniture we recommend the Chandelier Warehouse. They offer a complete collection of crystal chandeliers, iron chandeliers, glass chandeliers and contemporary chandeliers that are more suitable for homes with few or no Asian furniture pieces. You’ll find quality lighting ideas for every room in your home that won’t break the bank.

Finding the right chandelier can be a tedious process, but luckily for today’s consumer, the internet makes shopping through 1000’s of pieces as easy as clicking a button. Now you can shop by size, material, style or price until you find the perfect chandelier to light your home. Whether your looking for an iron chandelier to hang in your entryway, a new wall sconce for your bathroom or a beautiful crystal chandelier to add ambience to formal meals, we recommend the Chandelier Warehouse.

Of course if you’re as keen on contemporary Asian furniture as we are then we’re confident that we will be able to satisfy you Asian lighting needs. We carry a complete collection of partition lamps, paper lamps, wall lights and more. Our Asian lighting collection is imported primarily from Indonesia and brought here for you. Give us a call and we can recommend the right light to accent your Asian home décor.

Memory Foam Mattresses with Japanese Platform Beds

June 4th, 2009

Japanese platform bedOne of the benefits of Japanese platform beds is that they usually don’t require box springs to work with popular memory foam mattresses. Because of this many customers looking to upgrade to a memory foam mattress will pair their purchase with a new Japanese platform bed. The result is more than just an authentic Japanese bedroom look; but a complete bed system that offers maximum support and functionality.

Platform beds with just a memory foam mattress have an attractive low profile that’s easy to get in and out of. Many traditional beds complete with box springs and luxury mattresses have a very high profile and can be difficult for people to get in and out of. Japanese platform beds eliminate this problem by offering a lower profile bed solution that looks just as good as it feels.

For those who have never had the pleasure of sleeping on a memory foam mattress, we strongly suggest that you give it a try. Sleeping on a memory foam mattress literally feels like sleeping on a cloud because memory foam does not transfer any vibrations. The first time you have a chance to try a memory foam mattress you will understand what a wonderful feeling it is to sleep on a still vibration free sleep surface.

Memory foam also is better at supporting your body than traditional spring mattresses. Traditional mattresses tend to buckle in the middle where most of the weight is causing a hammock effect that very bad for backs. Memory foam on the other hand will not buckle in the same fashion and will contour to your every curve rather than simply bend to your center of gravity. Of course even a memory foam mattress can not save a bad bed foundation. If you have a sagging box spring or bed frame you should consider replacing it with a new Japanese platform bed frame.

For the best memory foam mattress, we recommend you choose a Sleep Aid mattress we recommend SleepAid mattresses. Made in America with an environmentally friendly manufacturing process that offer equal if not better quality than Tempurpedic at about half the cost.

Feng Shui Properties of Asian furniture and Indoor Fountains

June 4th, 2009

One of the mainstays of Asian inspired homes is to enhance both function and comfort through feng shui design. Feng shui disciplines recognize that everything in the world is made of up energy charged atoms that are in constant motion. Through Feng Shui we can learn to balance these energies. Choosing the right Asian furniture and specialty home decor items such as wall fountains can help to balance these energies and improve the look, feel and function of your home.

Feng Shui focuses on a maintaining a balance of five elements; water, metal, earth, fire and wood. It is quite common in today’s contemporary home to have ample metal. Metal can be found in some obvious places such as furniture, appliances and hardware but also in our walls in the form of plumbing and electrical wires. Fire of course is less common but can easily be added to a home through fireplaces and candle. Earth can be found quite commonly in the form of stone tiles and brick. Wood and water or most commonly underrepresented elements in contemporary homes and can greatly improve the atmosphere of a home if added.

At Tansu we import beautiful wooden Asian furniture that has been handmade from eco-friendly reclaimed teak or plantation grown teak. You can also find specialty Asian furniture pieces that are made of reclaimed mahogany. To us, how your furniture is made is just as important as how it looks. We only purchase quality crafted Asian furniture made from sustainable materials by well paid laborers. We also carry a limited selection of indoor wall fountains to add the soothing sight and sound of water to your home.

Indoor fountains can come in many shapes and sizes. Most of the indoor fountains we import are smaller fountains designed for desktops or for corners. For customers looking for a larger wall fountain we recommend Wall2WallFountains.com. Any of these style fountains will bring balance to your home through the introduction of flowing water. As water flows it releases negative ions which are clinically proven mood enhancer’s.

For more information about indoor wall fountains or our teak Asian furniture collection please browse our site or give us a call. We would be happy to help guide your Asian furniture selection so you can create the Feng Shui home of your dreams.

The Importance of Massage and its Effects on Sleep Disorders

June 4th, 2009
Sometimes, an extremely comfortable bed just isn’t enough: no matter how well-suited a mattress may be to their body, some people simply aren’t getting enough efficient sleep. This may be due to a number of factors, but most commonly, stress is the main culprit. The inability to fall or stay asleep, insomnia, is often caused by stress or anxiety. Insomnia, incidentally, is the most common sleep disorder. It affects approximately 58% of the American adult population at least a few nights per week. And you might have the most elegant and comfortable platform bed, but that won’t necessarily relieve your stress and improve the quality of your sleep. So, what can you do?One proven way to improve the quality of your sleep is to receive a nightly therapeutic massage, and the easiest and most convenient way to get this nightly massage is to invest in shiatsu massage chairs.

The alleged “healing power of touch” actually does have some instinctual merit; imagine a newborn, having trouble going to sleep. The baby fidgets and cries. What do you do? If you want to lull your baby into a relaxed state, you rub his back or his belly until he calms down. This is because massage activates a person’s parasympathetic nervous system: the system that controls digestion, concentration, and relaxation. It works as a complement to the sympathetic nervous system, which is activated by stress and anxiety.

Shiatsu massage chairs are specifically engineered to replicate the touch of an experienced masseur, so many of these robotic massage chairs provide invaluable stress relief and total body relaxation. With your muscles relaxed and your stress alleviated, you will find it much easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. This also means that you will wake up feeling refreshed and totally rejuvenated after an efficient slumber.

Shiatsu massage chairs also act on specific muscle groups to alleviate pains that may interfere with effective sleep patterns. Pains that commonly affect sleep include back pain and joint pain, but robotic massage chairs are designed to knead out any discomfort in these regions with innovative rollers and body scanning technology.

A good therapeutic massage even improves circulation, lowers blood pressure, and may even improve the effectiveness of your immune system to help fight disease. While a shiatsu massage chair may not guarantee a completely sound sleep every night, it undeniably and significantly improves general sleep patterns and provides plenty of valuable health benefits. For the best night’s sleep of your life, spend some time in your very own shiatsu massage chair before going to sleep in your comfortable platform bed. Your mind and body will thank you.

Shiatsu Massage Chairs and Modern Asian-Style Décor

June 4th, 2009

The benefits of personal shiatsu massage chairs are fairly well known and obvious, but many people seem to be hesitant to buy them. Often, the reason is that many consumers think a massage chair will look tacky or ugly in their homes. But with revolutionary new designs and modern production methods, this is no longer the case.

While modern shiatsu massage chairs look fine in any kind of room, they are particularly attractive in Asian-style rooms. Since most shiatsu massage chairs are manufactured in deep earth tones, like beautiful teak hardwood and elegant black leather, they complement the sophisticated styles of modern Asian furniture. Installing a unique, affordable, and effective robotic massage chair may be the perfect way to bring your whole Asian styled room together.

Consider installing your shiatsu massage chair near a corner, so it is still visible in your room but not obtrusive. If you place an Asian style armoire or bed stand near it, you will surely accentuate its natural majestic and luxurious qualities. Setting some romantic ambient lighting in your room will complete the look, making your room stand out as a strikingly well decorated and visually dramatic facet of your home.

Shiatsu massage chair provide an easy and comfortable way to alleviate stress and anxiety. Of course, they also help relax your joints and muscles, especially up and down your back. Aside from the apparent moment to moment benefits of this kind of relaxation, a good therapeutic massage will also improve your sleep. Relaxing your body and clearing your head allows you to fall gently into sleep, and stay asleep. Combine a therapeutic robotic massage chair, right before bed time, with an elegant and extremely comfortable Asian style platform bed for unparalleled restfulness and orthopedically beneficial relaxation.

These robotic massage chairs are pre-programmed to deliver a wide selection of unique massages that can be tailor-made for your body. Most modern massage chairs boast innovative body-scanning technology. These chairs will scan the unique curves and shape of your body, and the rollers will adapt accordingly. This means you can enjoy personalized, stress relieving, and comfortable massages every night before you go to bed.

Of course, massage chairs look great in any home, no matter what the theme. But if you have Asian style furniture in your home, and you could use a little less stress in your life, consider investing in some quality shiatsu massage chairs and start improving your health and your home’s aesthetic today.