House & Garden 
S3 
In an old house where the radi¬ 
ator is set in a window it can be 
concealed by a cupboard which 
makes a plant table 
filled in with some kind of open 
work that will not obstruct the 
passage of the warm air. Rattan 
is the best material for this, from 
both the physical and decorative 
points of view. It does not warp, 
get loose, nor rattle, and is suscep¬ 
tible of a great variety of decorative 
treatments. These effectually con¬ 
ceal the radiator mechanism within 
but do not impede the issue of heated 
air. A lattice of thin wooden strips 
may also be used to fill the panels. 
This device is not as good as rattan 
because the strips warp, rattle and 
become badly discolored. Wire net¬ 
ting is too suggestive of chicken 
coops to be agreeable and does not 
very well hide the radiator behind it. 
Under certain conditions, a well de¬ 
signed metal grille may be used, but 
will have to be judiciously managed 
as the juxtaposition of metal and 
wood in this way is apt to be unat¬ 
tractive. 
Boxed-in Enclosures 
Boxed-in radiator enclosures, pro¬ 
jecting into the room from the line 
of the wall, with metal grille open¬ 
ings in the widened window sills 
are not to be recommended if radi¬ 
ators can possibly be placed other¬ 
wise. When it is not feasible to 
place and conceal radiators beneath 
windows, another good place for 
their installation is in the lower part 
of built-in bookcases. Here they 
may be enclosed in low cupboards 
with the same kind of openings as 
just noted. When this is done the 
radiator must have a metal hood or 
reflector at back, sides and top, and 
the cupboard must be lined with as¬ 
bestos air cell insulation to protect 
the adjacent woodwork sufficientlv. 
Such installation in the base of book¬ 
cases permits the use of the ordinary 
type of radiator which, fortunately, 
may be had in low sections. This 
device also offers one solution of in¬ 
stalling radiators in old houses. It 
may also be used in new houses 
where windows extend all the way to 
the floor or where, for one reason or 
another, installation beneath win¬ 
dows may not be desired. 
Another possible method of con¬ 
cealment is to enclose the radiator 
in the wall. This may necessitate 
either the use of very flat radiators 
of thin material, or else furring out 
the wall several inches farther than 
would otherwise be required. Where 
the wall is wainscotted, or partially 
wainscotted, a rattan or other panel, 
as previously suggested, may be used 
for the opening. When there is no 
wainscot, the covering of the open¬ 
ings will have to be treated in a 
more or less decorative manner. Be¬ 
sides the kinds of covers alreadv 
H? j® 
For sun room radiators one may have built decorative covers 
such as these, which are also useful as shelves or tables 
When shielded by asbestos boards 
the radiator may even be con¬ 
cealed in a bookcase without in¬ 
juring the books 
mentioned, one might, in some cases, 
use a faience, or a wrought metal 
grille where it harmonizes with the 
character of the room. 
Radiator Cupboard 
Still another possible treatment 
which is quite feasible when there is a 
plain wall, is to set the radiator in a 
niche similar to the aumbry-like cup¬ 
boards that often occur in Mediaeval 
or early Renaissance Italian rooms. 
The screen over the opening would 
have to be given some decorative em¬ 
phasis with an open-work pattern, or 
such like device. Doors, ornamented 
on both sides, might be added, to close 
when the radiator was not in use. 
With the doors open, the general effect 
would be that of a triptych; closed, 
that of a cupboard. 
Now we come to the problem of the 
radiator in rooms where no original 
provision was made for it. And here 
a caution is necessary. Do not at¬ 
tempt to disguise a radiator under the 
form of some familiar piece of furni¬ 
ture; to do so is inherently dishonest 
and will eventually prove as revolting 
as any other sham. An outstanding, 
uncompromising radiator may most 
fittingly be enclosed in a low, cabinet¬ 
like structure, the doors or panelled 
front and sides of which are treated 
to accord with the foregoing sugges¬ 
tions. The top of this may be used 
as a shelf or console stand. There is 
no dishonesty in this; the feature is 
still unmistakably a radiator, but its 
unsightliness has been relieved by 
legitimate decorative treatment. 
An alternative to such an arrange¬ 
ment would be to use a circular and 
rather tall radiator. Set it in a cor¬ 
ner, enclosing it with a quarter-cir¬ 
cular structure resembling 18th Centu¬ 
ry Italian quadrant-fronted cabinets. 
