Turning old radiators into furniture art!

When it’s time to get rid of an old and dilapidated radiator, your first thought might be to throw them in a skip or on a scrapheap. However, looking at some of these transformations of old radiators into unique pieces of furniture just might make you think twice before simply discarding an old rad. The radiator chair featured in the main image, was created by the Californian-based Hi Octane Design and was actually on sale in funky New York store, Anthropologie. We love the idea of rads recycled into something else. Although we’re not sure how comfortable this rad chair would be, we’re sure it would make a great centrepiece to any contemporary living space. These two zigg-zaggy radiator seats were created by Dutch designer Jeroen Wesselink and we really like the fact that he’s come up with these designs using a standard heated towel rail and a convector radiator. These two particular types of radiator tend to be more functional in their usual form, so it’s great the way Jeroen has transformed them into something stylish and eye catching! Apparently both radiators are still able to be connected to the central heating system, so you have the added bonus of being able to heat the room and your bum at the same time! This groovy selection of heater seats have been created by Swiss designer Boris Dennler. He got his inspiration from seeing lots of old discarded rads on a rubbish dump in Fribourg and decided to revitalise them and turn them into something cool. His technique to get the bend in the rads is incredibly simple; he places the rads on two blocks and jumps up on down on them until they bend. We think Boris has done a fantastic job with the style and colour scheme, but we’re guessing they must be pretty heavy and wouldn’t fancy being the ones moving them into place! A pair of radiator ‘sun loungers’ for you now, though we’re not sure how fun it would be soaking up the sun on these beasts. The sun would be sure to heat up the metal to high temperatures so you might want to place a towel down on them before catching some rays. The good thing is you probably won’t be battling with other tourists as these loungers are unlikely to be very popular! The ‘Radiator Lounge’ on the left was made by Frankenstein Inc and was a prize winner at the 2012 Seattle Design Jam. The ‘Cosy Chair’ on the right was designed by SMAQ and featured at the 2008 Milan Fashion Week, coming complete with cup and slippers warmers! Article by Benjamin Clarke