Turn Your Ugly Radiator Into Something Beautiful—a Functional Seat

The Brooklyn-based woodworker Chuck Van Dyck, founder of Current Flow Woodwork, wanted to help find a cover-up solution for a radiator that was occupying valuable space in his clients’ apartment.

“They loved sitting on this radiator underneath a big window that is excellent for people-watching,” he says. “But because it was their favorite place to sit, the top of the [sheet-metal] radiator had started to bow.”

So Van Dyck designed and fabricated a solid white oak cover that essentially functions as “a sturdy bench, which is the way we approached it,” he says. The cover he created not only hides the radiator completely, but it also provides about an extra 8 square feet of surface area, “which, for a New York City apartment, every inch matters,” he adds.

But, as Van Dyck explains, there were a lot of factors to consider prior to assembling the piece. “Part of my design practice is educating and communicating with people about the reality of hardwood. It’s a living, breathing material and it moves with the humidity and temperature changes,” he says. In short, wood contracts in the cold and expands in the heat, sometimes up to a quarter-inch.

Ahead, Van Dyck elaborates on his design and build process, and what homeowners may want to know before commissioning a similar  project.

Keep it natural

“Solid wood is infinitely repairable versus a veneered or painted plywood, even though in the short term, plywood might look better to a lot of people,” says Van Dyck, who specializes in hardwood pieces. Solid wood is long-lasting, which is why it’s also generally more expensive and heavier. This particular radiator cover has an inch-thick top—it’s built for “a lifetime or two,” says Van Dyck, as long as it receives the occasional refinish.

Think dimensionally 

The cover is as long as the radiator, but slightly deeper to make it “more useful and really comfortable,” says Van Dyck. (The cover is about 20 inches deep; the radiator itself is about 12 inches.) The top backs right into the window frame and hovers above the radiator since you wouldn’t want wood to sit right on the hot metal. There are no fasteners holding the cover in place, so “it’s really like freestanding furniture that’s supported by the window sill,” says Van Dyck. “I made it a pretty snug fit.”

Do a test-drive 

Before diving headfirst into the project, Van Dyck took measurements of the window area, and created a template for the top bench piece. (There are pipes along the sides of the radiator so appropriate notches and accommodations had to be made.) He then returned on-site with that template to ensure it fits into the window frame. Once that anchor piece was good to go, Van Dyck used that template to build out the rest of the radiator cover.

Don’t lock it in 

It’s still a radiator, so it needs to be accessible. Instead of using a construction adhesive to glue the cover in place, Van Dyck felt the cover should be designed to be easily pulled out in case the homeowners need to get into the unit. “The nice thing about a slat design is that it gives access to the controls on the radiator,” says Van Dyck. (This particular radiator is a hybrid-electric, and has three buttons on the front that can be accessed through the slats.)

Finish it well

“I pretty much use one wood-finishing brand called Osmo. It’s an ultra low VOC (volatile organic compound) blend of oils and waxes which can be really harmful if you breathe it in,” says Van Dyck. There are two types of finishes: a maintenance finish and a film finish. This radiator cover has a maintenance finish, which requires the occasional upkeep but “will last basically forever with proper care,” says Van Dyck. A film finish, on the other hand, is a coat of polyurethane—it dries like a hard plastic on the surface, which is technically less maintenance, but if it gets scratched or damaged, it means having to strip the whole thing and reapply the lacquer. With a finish like Osmo, you can repair a scratch more easily by scrubbing more of the mixture into the damaged spot since it bonds into the wood, rather than sitting on top of it.

Let wood wiggle

Shockingly, none of the slats are nailed or screwed into place. “They each have their own mortise and tenon, which is a traditional way of joining wood,” says Van Dyck. (A tenon is a nub of wood from one piece that fits into a recessed hole or groove in another piece called a mortise.) This radiator cover, which required carving 78 mortises and tenons, was time-consuming and labor-intensive, but Van Dyck was adamant about keeping this au naturel. “I made the slats fit knowing that they were going to get blasted by dry heat from the radiator in the winter, but then swell with the humidity in the summer if the windows are open. The joinery allows for all that wood movement, whereas if the slats were screwed in, they would probably loosen over time,” he says.

If you, too, are interested in hiding your exposed heaters but can’t go the fully custom route, we’ve rounded up a few cover options below .

This New York-based millworker creates easy to assemble radiator covers—customized to a height and width of your choosing (all styles are 10 inches deep)—made from Medex, a “medium-density fiberboard material,” writes the seller in the description, that can be painted. 

These cabinet makers from Connecticut offer fully customizable radiator covers with fun and interesting front-panel designs, including one with cut-out waves. It comes flat-packed in four pieces that require assembly with a screwdriver.

This slatted radiator cover looks like it emerged from a sauna. This Etsy seller, based in Turkey, works with customers on fully personalized covers to ensure a perfect fit. You provide all the dimensions, including where the pipes and valves are located, so there’s no need to take chances with guesswork.

Finally, if you have baseboard radiators (instead of the standing ones underneath windows), you can find options with different finishes that sync with your decor. 

Photos courtesy of Chuck Van Dyck

We love the products we feature and hope you do, too. If you buy something through a link on the site, we may earn an affiliate commission. 

Related Reading:

If You Can’t Commit to a Table, a Set of Hairpin Legs Will Set You Free

We Designed and Built a Custom Headboard and WFH Station for Just $865