apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I tried positioning my desk over a heating vent, but the heat just seemed to get "caught" under there and left the rest of the room cold. I have to fit a desk and a bed in one room, and it's frustrating to see that big chunk of unused space. :(

My old apartment had a beautiful built in bookshelf on either side of bay windows - below them on one side was a cabinet and the other side housed the radiator behind slatted wooden strips. The shelf above it was a favorite lounging place for my always-cold African kitty. Never had problems with books getting too hot or heat getting trapped.

This is what my brother did in our apartment... The radiator is under the window, so the poplar slats let heat escape, and the top piece of walnut also has holes to let out heat. And, of course, the cats practically live there all winter. Flanking it are two built-in bookcases he also built. The "after" pictures of our place are old, there's now a bunch more crap everywhere ;)

BEFORE:

http://flickr.com/photos/kdkaboom/444010000/in/set-72157594582252178/

DURING:

http://flickr.com/photos/kdkaboom/444009998/in/set-72157594582252178/

AFTER:

http://flickr.com/photos/kdkaboom/418413235/in/set-72157594582252178/

oh, and P.S., the walnut piece slides out, the poplar slats come out, and you have full access to the radiator if need be.

Grace:
There are many styles of radiator covers, so I don't see how it would be more of a fire hazard than any other cover. Unless they made it out of nitro glycerin or something. Ha!

There is a Google ad right now for covers that takes me here:
http://www.colorsfurniture.com/radiatorcover/

Made of wood. There only needs to be an opening at the bottom to draw in cool air and an opening at the top to let all the heated air escape.

I love that idea shown in the picture. Over the radiator shelf, I can see them doing even more shelves or ledges. That could be a wonderful display area for photos and art. Small collectibles, anything from teacups to handbags. Books or magazines that have the cover facing outwards (like bookstores and magazine kiosks) so you can take advantage of the lovely cover art or great ideas shown.

And in the hot summer, I can just imagine sitting there daydreaming a bit, staring at the green trees and the way the windows on buildings form grids and patterns while the air conditioner blows on my legs. Ahhhh.

After all, it's not the room that is hot. The room doesn't care what temperature it is, if it's cold or hot. It's us, the room residents, that have temperature preferences. And if WE are cool, sitting in that niche, with the A/C on a LOW setting (which saves energy), we are very happy.

Spaceagemouse:
If you put anything over the floor vents, like a desk or sofa, you probably want to get something like this:
http://www.floorregisterresources.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Air-Deflector-Extend-A-Vent

That looks like it was installed by Techline Studio New York...
...as long as there is sufficient ventillation, there would be no fire hazard.

Oops - I meant to include the link:
http://abc.eznettools.net/techlinestudio/index.html

In a recent discussion with a Fire Marshall, he told me something I had never thought of before:
Exposure to dry heat over a period of time, will actually alter the molecular structure of almost all materials (wood, plastics, etc.) and lower their combustion temperature. A substance that would burn at, say, 300 degrees could, over time, become combustible at 150 degrees. A good reason not to store things near your hot water heater or in a furnace room. If you want to cover a radiator safely, I would say you should probably stick to marble, brick, or something of that nature. Just my guess...I'm no expert.

Are radiators dry heat? I was under the impression that they released humidity as well as heat.

here in nyc, we've got no shortage of humidity.
please, take some. especially come august. it's all yours!

Radiators provide only heat no humidity, because the heating source is elsewhere they do not dry out the air directly. A gas furnace "burns up" the local air and the moisture in it and tends to draw more air from through the walls, doors opening and closing that tends to be drier than the original air.

A friend that went from an underground apartment with a radiator was shocked when she moved to a house with a gas furnace. All of her wood furniture started to show dryness and some cracking, her doors changed size and her hands dried out and all. She had lived in the old apartment for 20 years and forgot about the winter dryness the rest of us suffer from.

"necessary evil"? I love radiator heat.