Does anyone out there care to conjecture on the recent Italian affection for radiators (or “radiatori” in the infinitely mellifluous language of the motherland)? After the recent discovery of the warming joys of infrared heating technology by i-Radium, today we’ve got another hot contender in the charmingly unusual and overtly whimsical profile of Milano by Tubes Radiatori. And before anyone answers that opening salvo, allow me: because—and perhaps contrary to popular conception—it’s friggin’ cold in Italy; at least, that is, come December, when the winter gloom settles upon the better half of Europe. I’m born and raised in Colorado, and I can honestly say that my bones were unduly chilled in both Rome and Florence during that month, so no wonder these stylish new ways of imparting thermal ambience are lately all the rage.

Milano. Designed by Tubes Radiatori.

Steam Heat From Steel Pillars

The aesthetic draw of Milano is its innovative structure. The appliance consists of concentric bulges along the axis of a steel pillar, thus resembling, in no particular order, a human spine in zero gravity, an abacus, one of those plastic noisemakers that you twirl around your head in childish delirium each New Years, and an oversized straw for an oversized milkshake from the off-kilter imagination of Dr. Seuss. Milano’s look is sufficient to win my vote, but the piece has multiple functional aspects as well (besides the obvious boon of heating your home). Units are adaptable to electric or steam; they’re stackable—and thus adaptable to the varied requirements of varying ceiling heights—reaching as high as 7.5 ft.; and they can be painted in any of Tube Radiatori’s custom high gloss lacquers. Like their colleagues at i-Radium, the designers at Tubes Radiatori have seized on a niche and taken to it with a full head of steam—it’s an excellent option in a visible home heater for the style conscious.