apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

radiators are the BEST source of heat, but such an eyesore in the room. and do you guys notice how their placement in the rooms usually present a challenge when it comes to layout? well, mine do. this is great. now i need to do something abt my radiators...

That project is gorgeous, but what to do if you have the old traditional coil radiator that sits in the corner of the room? The project above works because the radiator has a flat space to be used as a canvas. Couldn't use pretty stencils with mine. Ideas?

ive seen those boxy "covers" that fit over the radior yr talking about. i have the same one yr talkiing abt, the coil radiator. they all sit in the WEIRDEST parts of the room too.

Wary Meyers has a few ideas for traditional radiators! Go here for examples:

http://designboner.blogspot.com/2006/10/radiator-lust.html

I actually like the look of traditional radiators. Mine currently have covers on them, but I'd like to have them sandblasted and cleaned up so I can leave them exposed.

I suppose I could google it, but does anyone know if you can get replacement covers for just the kind of radiator in the photo? Mine has been painted a thousand times and is a little dented, rusty etc... would be good to know if they are standard sized and I could just pop a new one on. Thanks!

that looks great - now does anyone have any ideas about unsightly air conditioners projecting out from the middle of a wall? i just think screen with lighting behind it or something. thanks

I just had my my "Wooden Radiator Cabinet Company" covers delivered today (from an AT tip a few months ago!). They are beautiful and the company did a great job measuring & matching the existing wood finishes -- they look like built ins that came with the house. Radiators are often placed in "weird" parts of the room for reasons -- under windows, for example to warm the coldest air OR because steam and hot water piping is very tricky -- it has to run on very specific angles in order to work correctly.

As for Olga's handiwork -- it is spectacular !

Chester -

Someone here in AT there's an archived thread or two about that.

Oh what a surprise! Jill!!!

Thanks for the kind words, everyone. As for trad coil radiators: I wish I had em, I would've stripped off the paint to reveal the gnarly iron beneath, just like one of my clients, a high-end interior decorator did in her own apt. She had them sort of stripped in places and in other places left with the paint peeling off. Looks great and old and crusty and fits in with the old world look in her place. Her motto: don't fight the pre-war, clumped-on paint reality of an old place, go with it. To that end, her walls are glazed beige.

If it ain't modern, don't force it.

Conversely, those old coil radiators ARE charming, these boxy cheapos aren't and neither are base board heating strips. So this is my solution. I have 2 more narrower radiators to attack, one in the living room, one in the kitchen. I intend to paint them all black to make the grates invisible, but I will be doing a different treatment on each one. I was thinking a black and white moroccan stencil thing in the kitchen and an oxidized copper thing in the living room. We'll see.

I wouldn't have necessarily chosen black as the predominant color but needed to make the grates disappear and that is the most effective way, seemingly.

I've had no issues with the acrylic paint and the heat generated by the radiator before I turned the radiator off due to the inordinate amount of heat it was generating.

Good luck and keep being inspired!

Hi Olga,

the tour of your place is one of my all time favorites on AT (together with Curtis's home). and I have checked in (flickr) to see the progress to your kitchen :) Love the way it is coming together the glass tiles and copper sink.... mmmm.

I now have a question. Could you please give me the source for the oriental styled table in front of your radiator. I have been looking for the exact same style for a coffee table but have not found one with storage (like yours). Thanks!

Nisha,

http://stores.ebay.com/Chinese-Antique-Wholesaler_W0QQsspagenameZADMEQ3aBQ3aFSELQ3aUSQ3a3QQtZkm

this guy, Robert imports old provincial furniture from china. His stuff is ridiculously cheap and rather a treasure trove. Many decorators there on the sly. Now the stuff is cleaned up but not impeccable. He sells on ebay but the shipping kills the deals. However, his warehouse is in a storage space in queens, out in Whitestone, so if you're local and get a car to drive out there and pick up, it's perfect. He has open hours sundays, 10am to 2pm. Email him to let him know you're coming. I keep wanting to go and buy more stuff, but really am so not ready for more stuff:(

These types of tables would be found in the 4th or 5th pages of the link, in the $70-90 range. Actually I think when i bought this table I never saw it online but in the warehouse only. It was off a new shipment or something. Be prepared for them to have a funky old wood shed smell and need a bit of cleaning. Smell dissipates and applying wood cleaner to a nice piece of antique wood like this elm is just pure joy.

Thanks for the kind words and for watching the kitchen fiasco/progress. I haven't posted any pix recently due to not much changing. I've been oiling the teak countertop and OBSESSING OVER BUYING THE RIGHT STOVE. Oy.

Next sunny day, i'm taking some more pix and loading them into flickr, so keep checking in :)

There are so many directions that people can go in to make utilitarian things look nice, and this has really hit one out of the ballpark. I saw this same one in her House Tour, but it's nice to see it isolated like this, too.

Thanks for the tip Olga and good luck with the stove hunt.

Olga, I'd love to see how your kitchen (and rest of your apartment) is progressing, how do I find your flickr set? You are an inspiration!!

Michelle,

thank you, good luck and:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/27913133@N00/sets/72157594240769263/