Hot topper

(photo by Eric O'Connell)

I saw Tom Silva make a really kick-ass radiator cover on Ask This Old House recently – it had MDF sides, curved legs, and a metal-mesh front. A great way to make furniture out of something that takes up a much-needed chunk of wall. Looks like a lot of work, though.

But I actually like a little idea I discovered a couple of years back in an 1842 carriage house I was renting. Someone had scavanged a cut-off piece of soapstone and put it right on top of the radiator to make an extra shelf. It had rough edges, which fit the rustic feeling of the house. But I think a nice polished marble or granite would work too. The stone gets warm to the touch when the radiator’s in use, but not so much to damage most things you’d put on it. (Your ice cream might melt, but that’s about the extent of it.)

Some stoneyards will just give this stuff away – a cut-off from a piece of counter or patio slab that’s less than 6 inches isn’t of much use and probably will end up in the Dumpster anyway. You could also prowl salvage yards for old hearths or marble mantels, though these might need to be cut down a bit to fit the narrow radiator top.