Winter is coming. And with it, cooler temperatures. Okay, colder temperatures. Brrrr.
Why not consider adding a home radiator for supplemental heat? I know, you’re probably thinking of those ugly portable radiating heaters that while efficient, don’t have much going for them in the design department. Puleeze. We would never suggest that.
Not only is each radiator on our list functional and decorative – they do double duty on the functions. At least double duty. Each is a heater, of course. But they all have second (and third) purposes – such as towel-warmer, a shelf, a room divider. And many more great ideas. You don’t have to hide your radiant heat any longer – it’s had an upgrade.
And then there’s some awesome radiant heat art – yes, you heard me right. Radiator art. It may sound slightly bizarre but there are some very nice pieces. There are utility pieces as well – picture frames, mirrors, benches. And very high-end vintage reproduction pieces. You had no idea modern home radiators had come this far, did you?
Towel Ladders
Scaletta Floor Standing Radiator by Tubes
This decorative aluminum radiator has a blanket-holder ladder design and would look great draped with some southwestern towels. Designed by Elisa Gargan Giovannoni, the freestanding version (above) has both a towel holder and shelf in addition to its heating functionality. The more traditional ladder version which leans against the wall does not have the shelf – it is featured below.
It’s portable and plugs into any standard power source. The line is called Tubes’ Plug and Play and comes in a multitude of colors. The yellow example above is playful and modern – equally at home in a child’s or adult’s bathroom. The ladder version below is shown in rich gold. Source
Scaletta Gold Limited Edition Radiator by Tubes
Scaletta glams up with the new special limited edition gold finish. This rich color embraces current interior design trends and, in the same breath, is timeless. The Scaletta heated towel rail is a nomadic, iconic, pop object that works with many different design styles. It’s perfectly suited to this modern bathroom, but would also be perfectly suited to a Rococo style bathroom with heavy, ornate tones.
Available in a multitude of colors, it has a thermostat designed to keep constant the surface temperature set for the heated towel rail. Source
Towel Hangers
Graffe Hot Water Towel Warmer by Scirocco
These steel paper clip towel warmers, radiators and pop art pieces are perfect. Modern, iconic, elegant and refined, the Graffe line is designed for Scirocco by Lucarelli-Rapisarda and Bruna Rapisarda. The circular steel tube runs without pause around the design. The valves and brackets are designed to blend with the tubes and the design is offered in chrome or a number of polished and matte colors. The chrome, of course, looks most like a real paper clip but they are all outstanding design pieces. Source
EOS Wall-mounted Towel Warmer by Hotwave
The fluid, dynamic, curvilinear shape of the EOS wall-mounted towel warmer is hard to deny. The mirror effect of the chrome provides a strong design element. It would be equally at home in a modern or traditional bathroom – and would look particularly good in a mid-century modern, we think.
The radiator function warms the room and your towels while providing a true design statement to the room.
Two sizes are available in a wide range of colors. And it can be mounted vertically or horizontally, depending on the space. Source
Bubbles Towel Warmer by Hotwave
Hotwave’s Bubbles collection is a playful, pop art group of colorful wall mounted radiators and towel warmers. It’s rounded features means it heats up quickly, making the bathroom nice and toasty when you step out of the shower.
It is available in two sizes, and a wide range of colors including a chrome finish. Also suitable for horizontal and vertical hanging, its simplicity of design is its strength. Source
Shelves
Rebel Panel Home Radiator by Caleido
This sleek minimalist design by Francesco Lucchese is a carbon steel panel radiator – but that’s not all. It’s also a towel holder. And has two shelves. A trifecta of products.
While available in assorted (muted) RAL colors, we think any of the metal matte colors are the most appealing choice, particularly when used against cement or faux cement. (RAL is the European color standard, much like Pantone colors in the USA.)
You would never guess this was a home radiator – the shelving and towel holder disguise both the heater and the towel warmer.
Available in two sizes. Source
Magazine Electric Towel Warmer by mg12
Monica Freitas Geronimi designed the Magazine Radiator / Towel-warmer / Magazine Rack for mg12 and we think it’s a clear winner. Available in white or matte black with sleek design – it serves a double purpose – as both a towel warmer or magazine holder (although we don’t recommend turning the towel-warmer function on if you are using it as a magazine rack).
The aesthetically pleasing piece will hold (and hide) up to two bath towels at once and is made from aluminum with matte finishing. Source
BitLight Horizontal Decorative Radiator Shelf by Antonio Lupi Design
It’s a radiator, a towel rack and a shelf. Not to mention – a high design piece that will elevate your bathroom. Made from horizontal extruded aluminum and designed by Brian Sironi, BitLight home radiators are available in two lengths.
Dynamic, tailored and sustainable – the BIT Light can be painted to personalize your color. Source
Mirrors
Magic Decorative Radiator Mirror by K8
Nobody could ever imagine that this mirror is a heat source. Magic was designed by Marco Pisati for K8 Radiatori in Italy, this piece is composed of aluminum, steel and mirrored glass.
It has an optional concealed LED lighting system – and you can use it in any room. The modern appearance features a slim frame but considerable depth. Magic can be placed in a vertical or horizontal position for maximum flexibility – use it in the entryway, the living room, the bedroom, the bathroom – anywhere you’d put a mirror. Source
SuninX Radiant Wall Panel Mirror Combo by Infralia
The SuninX Radiant wall panel is many things. It’s a mirror, it also provides light and it functions as a towel dryer.
This infrared heater has an ambient LED source of high-lumen LEDs, touch control, wireless remote, multiple fixture towel holders and is actually a medical-grade environment sterilizer.
The stainless body also serves as a mirror – between the handy shelves and towel racks. It would be a perfect design piece in an industrial-style bathroom. Or a minimalist bathroom. Or a contemporary bathroom.
Because clever design fits just about anywhere. Source
Benches and Coffee Tables
Square Bench Electric Home Radiator by Tubes
The Square Bench Radiator also doubles as a coffee table. Designed by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba for Tubes Radiatori, it falls into the new Plug and Play collection. The bench certainly stands out for its design and ability to fit into every setting. People’s lifestyles and needs are changing – as we embrace smaller living spaces, we need our appliances to do (at least) double duty.
The interior part of the bench is made of aluminum and it is coated with steel. The heat is diffused through a particular profile made specifically for the Square line. This product uses 100% recyclable aluminum for the internal frame and steel on the exterior. Available in more than 260 RAL colors (the power cable is white). Source
Wall Art
Frame Picture Designer Radiator by Cordivari
This attractive new range of home radiators for Cordivari Design features art (and design) created by architect and artist Mariano Moro. And the best part is, you can customize this work of art with your own favorite photos! There are two models, Frame and FramePlus, and either is customizable. Or you can choose one of the multiple styles available off the shelf.
Constructed of painted carbon steel – they aren’t just art (we tend to lose sight of that). They’re also hidden radiators – the heat panel created from carbon steel plates. The heat source is natural gas and a variety of fittings are available. Source
Robe Warmer
Robe Double Vertical Towel Warmer by mg12
A mirror and a robe warmer. That also warms towels. The Robe by mg12 is also a radiator, designed by Monica Freitas Geronimi and is constructed of aluminum and mirrored glass.
This model can also be purchased in electric or combined (electrical + hydraulic) power. In addition to warming the room, it can also heat two bathrobes at the same time with low power consumption.
It is available in black or white painted steel with a mirror on the front surface. Source
Serie-T Vertical Wall-mounted Towel Warmer by Antrax
Designed by Matteo Thun, Antonio Rodriguez for Antrax, the Serie T vertical wall-mounted towel warmer is constructed of lightweight extruded aluminum with an electric power source.
Available in both the vertical and horizontal versions and two off-the-rack sizes, the length can be customized.
The aluminum provides excellent heat output with very small water content, meeting the ever-increasing needs of homes with high heat efficiency.
The Series T is a useful and efficient home radiator that does triple duty as a heated towel rail and bathrobe holder, in addition to its main function as a radiator. Source
Portable Fixtures
Donut Bag Portable Decorative Radiator by Scirocco
Designed for Scirocco by Lucarelli-Rapisarda, Donut BAG is a mobile, free-standing piece of art and a radiator.
Extremely portable, thanks to its low weight and innovative ergonomic packaging, Donut BAG becomes the star of every room. Colors are totally customizable. Source
Eve Portable Electric Heater and Light by Tubes
Another Tubes Radiatori offering – this one, Eve from the Plug and Play Collection was designed by Ludovica and Roberto Palomba. Portable decorative home radiators are the most practical – you can move them from room to room.
The power source is electric and the Eve design will compliment almost any style of room. Not content to be simply a heat source, it also has a luminous sphere of light. Nomadic in its function and in its style – Eve can be used in the home or office – on the floor or sitting on a desk (or table). It provides a nice, warm light on those cool, dark evenings.
Eve has a touch control set on the top of the sphere but it also has its own app for controlling the device through your Android or IOS phone via Wi-Fi, working inside the home. The dimmable light, like the heat, is diffused from the lower part of the sphere and also part of the controls.
Available colors include polished chrome, matte gold, matte white and glossy oxide red. Source
Industrial Style Decor Pieces
Metropolitan Towel Warmer by Bleu Provence
Emanuele Pangrazi designed this metal, wall-mounted industrial style towel warmer for Blue Provence. It’s just one part of a beautiful collection of washbasins and bathroom fixtures and appliances in a pure industrial style.
The matte black pipe towel warmer screams industrial and would look incredible in a cement loft, don’t you think? We love the decorative industrial faucet handles at the bottom. Source
Room Dividers
Screen Decorative Radiator by Scirocco H
Wow. An electric stainless steel room divider and radiator – what will they think of next? Designed by Lucarelli Rapisarda and Bruna Rapisarda for Scirocco, its style is sophisticated, its shape linear, its design clean. Screen is an extra-large electric radiator made from brushed steel and designed with a large rectangular frame and a tartan grid of thin circular pipes.
Screen’s appearance is changeable: for example, floral motifs, laser-cut from a thick steel sheet, can be hooked onto the orthogonal grid as shown above. This allows basic, technological benefits to be masked by the design. This particular model is offered in one size with a range of different decorations. It can be placed on the wall, with a side swing mounting, or in the center of the room thanks to an elegant stand (and the limited technical constraints of its electrical operation).
Also available in black chrome or copper. Source
Art Pieces
Diamond XS Designer Radiator by FourSteel
The Diamond line of electric-wall mounted radiators by FourSteel was named after its geometric shape. No one would ever guess that this was a heater – it looks like a work of modern 3D art.
Made of stainless steel, it can be finished in any RAL color to match the room you choose. It is available to work with either an electric or central heat source. Clean and modern, the Diamond radiator is a choice that will elevate your decor as well as your ambient temperatures. Source
I Gioielli Square Designer Towel Warmer by mg12
Design by Monica Freitas Geronimi for mg12, the I Gioielli line features this square, high-design electric towel-warmer. Made of powder-coated aluminum in high-resistance epoxy paint, the line is available off the shelf in black or white. The stainless steel laser-cut cover is available in other custom finishes such as bronze, brass and copper.
The low consumption towel warmer (90 w) can conceal the towel completely to give the bathroom a more organized look. Also sold in round, rectangular and slim models. Customization is available for hotels and spas. Art, in the bathroom – art that dries and warms your towels. Source
Flower Power Design Radiator by Ridea
A sculpture and a work of art – that’s the first thing you see when you look at Flower Power, the wall-mounted aluminum radiator by Ridea Italy.
The technical parts remain hidden, making it hard for one to imagine this is actually a radiator and towel heater. But that’s what design is all about today – functionality and style. Why settle for only one? Source
Add-On Decorative Radiator by Tubes
The Add-On radiator and towel warmer, from the Elements collection (by Tubes Radiatori) frees the radiator from its valves – thanks to a patented built-in unit. And the result? It looks like art. And a towel holder. And again, no one would suspect the element of heat.
The Elements collection was created by architects and designers who want to create radiators that are more closely linked with the aesthetics of the home. An appliance with the sensual warmth of heating products is seamlessly integrated into the architectural space. This is a combination of design and technology that will fill your room with warmth. Source
Heatwave Art Radiator by Jaga
Playful curves emerge out of a concrete shell in this intricate radiator. This gorgeous bas-relief hangs on your wall like a work of art. Compatible with central heating, the Heatwave unites the fine details of art and pure craftsmanship with industrial efficiency. The delightful frivolous curls form a deliberate contrast with their intractable concrete shell. Functional art at its finest. Available in four sizes from small to extra large. Standard colors include matt black and light grey. But a full selection of RAL colors is available for custom pieces. Source
Designer Art Radiators by Hotech
One of the secrets of Hotech’s success lies in its advanced technological manufacturing. Radiators are created with a patented technique involving the three-dimensional processing of metal.
These are very powerful home radiators – each as thin as a smartphone – and true works of art. The entire surface of each of these metal sculptures maintains the thermal capacity.
Electric or hydraulic versions are available. Source
The Anastasia radiator is a complex and eye-pleasing design. Source
The Gecko design is one of our favorites – available in a wide variety of finishes. Source
The Romanov radiator imparts up an old-world flavor. Source
Vintage Decor Pieces
Roi Soleil Cast Iron Decorative Radiator by Scirocco
All the charm of the Art Nouveau floral style can be found right here in a refined and seductive cast iron radiator. Perfect for classic settings, Roi Solei embellishes the chicest and most elegant environments. The carefully selected finishes and accessories complete the refined look. Just look at that detail. Source
Traditional Towel Warmer Radiator Combination by Vogue
The OG006 traditional towel dryer radiator combines the industrial look with the old. It not only provides a high heat output and elegant towel hanging space but will add an element of luxury to any bathroom or wet room. Wall-mounted or floor-standing versions are available.
There are so many ways to use these radiators as design elements – and so many choices from traditional to ultra-modern. The high design pieces you’ve seen are certainly room centerpieces. And many make handy conversation starters. Where’s that heat coming from? Wait, I thought that was a piece of art… or a mirror… or a picture frame… you get the idea. Form and function, the two stars of today’s home radiator lines. Source