Our Favorite Space Heater

Cold mornings in our house start with a scrum. Six kids padding out to the family room in bare feet, everyone wanting the warm spot, and a furnace that takes its sweet time reaching the far corners where the little ones like to pile up with blankets. We needed something that could take the chill off fast, right where the crew gathers, without us worrying about it once small hands were nearby.

The heater we plug in is the DREO 25-inch tower. Mom’s take is simple — it warms the whole family room fast on cold mornings — and the oscillation spreads that heat around instead of roasting whoever’s closest while everyone else shivers. The tall, narrow tower shape tucks into a corner out of the traffic path, which in a house where someone is always running through the room is no small thing.

We compared little cube heaters and a bulkier space heater, but the DREO won on the safety features we won’t compromise on with kids around. It has both tip-over and overheat protection, so a knocked-over heater shuts itself off rather than becoming a hazard, and the exterior doesn’t get dangerously hot to brush against. It heats a big room quickly, stores easily in the off months, and at around $79.98 it’s an easy yes for something that makes those first freezing minutes of the day bearable for everyone.