Ikea Hack: Radiator Cover

I was fed up with looking at my 1960s looking radiator so I hacked it using Ikea Lack tables to make it more contemporary.

Here is my modern ikea radiator cover. It requireD these parts:
1) 3 Lack side tables (Ikea)
2) 1 large decorative aluminum sheet metal (Home Depot, Lowes or equivalent comes in other colors too)
3) 2 long metal hanging brackets (Home Depot, Lowes or equivalent)
4) 4 "L" shaped brackets (Home Depo, Lowes or equivalent)
5) packet of screws
6) Tape Measure

AND these tools
1) metal snips or heavy duty scissors (to cut sheet metal)
2) electric drill (or screwdriver)
3) Circular saw (or equivalent) to cut the lack tables (if necessary)

I started out by screwing in the hanging bracket I bought at Home Depot. I chose this particular bracket because it came with a level built into it (definite time saver) and the metal looked a little mailable so I thought it would be easier to cut.
If you too are trying something like this you want to MAKE SURE you attach/cut this bracket in a manner that would still easily allow you access to open the radiator for repair or cleaning. As you can see I put 1 on each of the small sides and 1 in the middle.

I started out by measuring the radiator. In my case I have 3 exposed sides that equated to 56 total inches of length. Given my calculation I knew I would need 3 lack side tables to complete the job. Because I thought the look of putting to cut tables flush against each other in the middle would look like a bad do-it-yourself job I chose to put a space in between and give it a modern look.

Using a Circular saw I cut the lack tables (unfinished side up) to my decided lengths for me that was two of both 11", 18 3/4". In my particular the width of the table was and adequate size so I did not need to cut that.

Once cut to length I secured 1 side piece to 1 front piece with 2 of the L Brackets I bought at the hardware store (and then repeated for the other side). To measure for the right placement of the other half of the hanging bracket I went to the radiator and measured the distance between where the the bracket would lye and the top where the cover would be flush

Attach the two sides and make sure everything is proportioned on both sides. As you can see in the second picture the hanging bracket matches up perfectly

As you can see in this picture older radiators tend to have a caked on painted look that does not to go well with modern furnishing. So after I covered up the sides I had to come up with a solution to both cover the top and still allow air to circulate

My solution for an relatively inexpensive cover for the top of the radiator was a decorative aluminum sheet purchased at the local hardware store. There was no real measuring involved. I simple placed the sheet on top of the radiator to get a gist of where I would have to cut it. In my case I cut the larger sheet into 2 rectangular sheets and bent the ends so to would have a snug fit around the top

Lastly I placed the decorative sheets on top and I was finished. I got a new stylish look for my radiator that still allows easily access for cleaning, air circulation and future modification. If you liked this hack please let me know