This Vintage-looking Space Heater Is Just What I Needed For My Freezing-cold Bedroom — It's Cute, Too

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My wife and I recently discovered that the HVAC in the house we just bought doesn't do a great job of getting heat or air-conditioning upstairs. Over the summer, our bedroom was burning hot, and in the winter, it was getting down to the low 50s overnight.

I like it to be a little chilly when I sleep but not so cold that I can't feel my face. One $13,000 quote from an HVAC specialist later, and I knew I needed to find the best space heater for the winter was probably going to be our fastest and cheapest way forward. The challenge was finding one that didn't look like a chunk of plastic.

After a bit of research, I landed on this cute, vintage-looking Vornado space heater modeled after the company's original 1945 Vornado fan. It doesn't have many bells or whistles, but it's been super effective at warming up our large, 250-ish-square-foot bedroom.

Using the Vornado Vheat Vintage Metal Heater

The Vornado Vheat Vintage Metal Heater can be set to low or high on 10 different heat levels. It has an internal thermostat that turns it on and off throughout the night if the room reaches the heat level of the chosen setting, but it's a little inconvenient that the settings don't display the exact temperature. 

It does however, do a great job of heating a room quickly and can maintain the desired temperature, cycling on and off to keep my space at my desired comfort level.

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As far as noise, even on the high setting, it's no louder than a gentle white noise machine. We keep it on low at night, which provides just enough warmth that I can comfortably sleep half-in, half-out of the blankets, and is virtually silent. The high setting actually worked too well for us, so it does take a little experimenting to find what works for you. It also has a swivel head so you can point the fan upwards or straight forward depending on where you keep it. 

If this is as much a concern for you as it was for me, you'll be happy to know the heater has safety features like an automatic shutoff if it's tipped over at all (something I tested vigorously when we first got it), and it shuts off immediately if it overheats — though that's never happened to us. 

It's not the prettiest thing on earth, but it's also not a complete eyesore! The vintage vibe is kinda cute.

Cons to consider

There are two features that I wish it had, like an app or remote control and more exact temperature settings. Like I said before, it doesn't have many bells and whistles, but I was willing to sacrifice these features because it looked so nice. And, anyway, I plugged it into a smart outlet that I can control by voice through our Alexa speaker, which has pretty much replaced the need for a remote. 

Now, I recognize that you can get a space heater that works just as well as this one for much cheaper. But aesthetics were a big priority for me in deciding which space heater to buy, and this was genuinely the nicest-looking one I could find.

The bottom line

The Vornado VHEAT heater is $160, which isn't cheap, but I think about it the same way I think about functional decor items like lamps. I'm generally willing to spend a little more for something that looks good, but if that's not your biggest priority, you might want to check out some other options we recommend in our guide to the best space heaters, but in my opinion, none of them compare to the vintage aesthetics of the Vornado VHEAT.