The radiators are warm when I get out of bed in the morning. That always reminds me that winter is coming and it’s getting colder outside. Today the radiators have a modern shape and are quite different from the ones we used to have when I was a child. I remember those vintage radiators with their robust shape.

Bashing up a radiator into upcycle furniture

So when I came across furniture made from discarded vintage radiators I was immediately intrigued and also struck by the elegance of the design. The collection of chairs and seats is an upcycle design by Boris Dennler | BorisLab, based in Fribourg, Switzerland. First he made the Heater Seat and later the Heater Chair followed.


Boris graduated as a precision mechanic and a decorator, and travelled through Asia during one year. On his return to Switzerland, he was shocked by the abundance and the waste of objects that seemed doomed to obsolescence. That triggered him to start creating objects from discarded items, just like this Heater furniture series.

Boris Dennler: “After seeing a bashed up radiator on a scrapheap, I got the idea of bashing up other radiators up to produce seats. My technique is perfectly rudimentary: I place the radiator on two blocks and jump on top of it. After this, I use a SpanSet to bend the metal and slip wooden boards between the radiator tubes so that it bends in several places. Finally, I weld the feet, which are sawed on old stools, and spray the radiator with enamel paint using a pistol.”

Photo © BorisLab

All of the seats and chairs are unique objects of different sizes, weighing between 25 and 45 kg.

Design by BorisLab