DIY foot rest / warmer ideas?

This morning while sitting at the breakfast table, I focused on my cold feet. Despite wearing wool slippers, my feet are cold. The icy tile-on-concrete-floor with no thermal break is part of the problem. Another issue is that sitting on the chair eventually reduces circulation at the back of my legs when my feet rest on the floor. The final issue is that the cold, flat floor surface leads me to lean forward, rest my feet on the table base and wreck my posture.
I looked at the offerings online and saw recommended design features: thermal break, raised platform, angled surface for toes higher than heels. Some used heat from a lightbulb inside the riser, though I want to avoid electric options.
What I came up with for a quick and comfortable solution was a 2-pack of paper towels: flat raised platform, rounded edge for dropping heel and raising toes, thermal break, high enough for good posture but low enough so my knees don’t hit the table. The solution works great (my feet are warm) but it’s ugly.
Surely, permies have come up with something more attractive and earthy than a 2-roll package of plastic wrapped paper towels.
Please share your approach to DIY warming foot rests.

I wear flip flops all the time.

At night my feet are really cold to the point that I get cramps in them.

I have not found an easy solution other than wearing socks.  I hate wearing socks.

Maybe a set of rechargeable hand-warmers might work.

I have a heating pad named Trouble, a Dog though she does not like to be that far under the covers.

Have you tried the rechargeable hand warmers?

These are only $9.99:

https://www.amazon.com/Hand-Warmers-Rechargeable-Christmas-Accessories/dp/B0DHZLP7WM/

Quick and easy is folded up towels or other easy to fold items, in a pillowcase, pinned shut. You can make some really neat multi/level ones that way, and they wash easy. Mom's favorite is 2 towels, one folded in quarters, so it large and flat, one on top of it folded into thirds so it's higher, kinda like 2 steps. The high end is right for when she stretches out her legs, the low end when her knees are bent.

Thanks for replying Anne. Your post gives me the opportunity to clarify the criteria for solutions to the foot rest / warmer thread:
1. DIY from stuff around the home
2. Upcycle or repurpose
3. Natural materials preferred
4. No buying the foot rest from online or other retailers
5. Must meet requirements of ]Form & Function
6. One starting shape that works well looks like this:

Store-bought rechargeable hand warmers are not acceptable.

Pearl writes:

Quick and easy is folded up towels or other easy to fold items, in a pillowcase, pinned shut. You can make some really neat multi/level ones that way, and they wash easy.

A+ for function
"Needs improvement" for form
Is it possible to make something stunningly beautiful?

Amy Gardener wrote:Pearl writes:

Quick and easy is folded up towels or other easy to fold items, in a pillowcase, pinned shut. You can make some really neat multi/level ones that way, and they wash easy.

A+ for function
"Needs improvement" for form
Is it possible to make something stunningly beautiful?

Do you need stunningly beautiful for your feet?  I'd put a pretty pillowcase on it if I wanted beautiful :D  I think easily washable and easy to modify is higher priority. And these also have the added function of you don't have to keep it someplace over the summer, all the parts go back where they came from till you need it again :D
Comes down to what matters to you.  As always, "it depends!" :D

And yes, it's always possible to make something stunningly beautiful if that's your highest priority.  

And yes, it's always possible to make something stunningly beautiful...

Thank you for encouraging this idea of form & function Pearl!
Balancing priorities or finding the middle way between our needs for beauty and sustenance is a challenge in permaculture. I agree that "stunningly beautiful" is taking things too far. Maybe the goal is harmony between practicality and artistry. Anyway, thank you for enlarging the conversation.

Engage your creative motor and see what you can house your paper towel package inside of.



The feet and tail were from a badly engineered "something" that had broken and I was able to buy them cheep at a garage sale.
We made a wooden base with a support under the center at the right height to fix the bad engineering.
The top is salvaged layers of corduroy pants and sewn with a mixture of machine and hand sewing.
Stuffed with leftover scraps of unloved soft toys, but some day when I have access to scraps of fleece, it would be warmer for me if it had wool stuffing. I have lots of feathers, but I suspect they would crush too quickly. As is, I have to beat Artuin into submission regularly - need a shaped inner liner to hold the stuffing more securely.
The outer layer is easy to remove for washing.
He lives under my computer table.

Wow, Jay; incredible!
Completely unexpected. Thank you.

Highly recommended - socks made from Alpaca - my perennially cold feet have improved remarkably.  Make friends with a spinner/knitter if they prove elusive at retail.
I have an old (less than pristine) pillow that I've folded in half and stuffed into a 10kg calico flour sack - this might work as a footstool, although I use it for finger weaving bands - it's similar to a lace-making pillow.
I'm in love with Artuin!

Jill writes,

I have an old (less than pristine) pillow that I've folded in half and stuffed into a 10kg calico flour sack - this might work as a footstool

Give it a try; sounds like a helpful way to discover the ideal height and angle for comfort and warmth from improved circulation in the legs while sitting.
This morning I've switched from the too-slippery paper towel pack to my rolled up sleeping bag in a stuff-sack. The squishy sleeping bag is an improvement over the paper towels for comfort, circulatory warmth and posture. Still working on aesthetics....

If you need heat (I have an electric foot warmer on top of a raised footrest under my desk -- that is SO NICE in the winter!), hot water bottles would do the trick.  Put something down under them to keep them from losing heat into the floor, and cover your feet and the hot water bottles with a towel or a blanket or something.  You'll have to change the hot water bottles out when the water cools off, but it's a good non-electric solution.  Alternatively, if you have a wood stove, you could keep a few bricks on top of it, and use them the same way as the hot water bottles, just change them out when they cool off.  

OOH - hot bricks - an 18th century [and probably before and after] solution - remember reading about that - coach travel in historical novels.   See my reading wasn't wasted after all.

I got an electric food warming tray at a garage sale for a footrest.  I added a dimmer switch to get the temperature down, a light to remind me it is on, and tapered supports at each short side to give it a bit of angle and make it easy to slide around with my feet.  

i'm a hot water bottle type girl (but usually my feet are fine between fleece socks and wool slippers).
However, i know i've seen "Foot hammock" type things for on your desk. Personally I keep a box full of fabric scraps under my desk and I put my feet up on that, but if I didn't have that I'd rig up a hammock.

Funny what kinds of projects appear during snowy season.
All these ideas are helpful; thank you so much for considering this exploration. I'm sure they are sparking creativity.
After trying lots of attempts at DIY and/or upcycling options from around the house -- sleeping bag, rolled up camping mat, yoga blocks, rolled up sheepskin pelt, little footstool, and so on -- I realize that sitting still eventually leads to the chill.
I'm shifting my focus to incorporate moving my feet while sitting.
I'm now looking around for parts to make something like an under-the-table elliptical to generate my own feet heat. Back to the camping locker, I have a large bellows style foot pump for a river raft that seems to offer some possibilities. I'll look into Tereza's hammock idea too!