30 Years of Radiant Innovation: How WarmlyYours Pioneered the Electric Towel Warmer in North America

In 1995, electric towel warmers were a European luxury that most North Americans had never heard of. Julia Billen was one of the first people in North America to change that — selling one of the earliest electric towel warmers on the market before going on to found WarmlyYours in 1999. Today, they're a mainstream bathroom comfort product found in homes across the continent — and WarmlyYours has been at the center of that transformation from the very beginning.

This is the story of how one company, led by a founder who believed that everyday comfort deserved to be extraordinary, helped build an entirely new product category in North America — and why that track record matters when you're choosing a towel warmer for your home.

From Europe's Hydronic Roots to Electric Convenience

The towel warmer has a long history in European homes. For decades, hydronic models — connected directly to a home's central heating system — were a standard fixture in British, French, and Scandinavian bathrooms. They did double duty: warming towels and adding gentle supplemental heat to the room. But the plumbing requirements made them impractical for most North American homes, where central heating systems aren't designed to accommodate them.

The development of self-contained electric towel warmers changed everything. No plumbing required — just a connection to a standard electrical circuit. The same European luxury, now accessible to any homeowner willing to invest in their bathroom comfort. The technology was ready. What the North American market needed was someone to introduce it.

1995: A Pioneer Enters the Industry

In 1995, Julia Billen became one of the first people in North America to sell an electric towel warmer — a product that was virtually unknown in the U.S. at the time. That early, ground-floor experience gave her an unmatched understanding of the category: what homeowners wanted, what the industry lacked, and what it would take to build something lasting.

In 1999, she channeled that expertise into founding WarmlyYours — a company built from day one around the belief that radiant comfort should be accessible to every North American home. Her entry point was strategic. Julia forged an early partnership with BKBG (Bath & Kitchen Business Group), a national network of more than 150 best-in-class showrooms across the United States. By placing towel warmers in front of kitchen and bath professionals — the people homeowners trust when making renovation decisions — she didn't just sell a product. She built a category.

Three Decades of Innovation: The WarmlyYours Timeline

Building a product category from scratch takes more than a good idea — it takes sustained commitment to innovation, safety, and design over decades. Here's how WarmlyYours has evolved since Julia first entered the industry:

Setting the Safety Standard — Literally

Most companies follow safety standards. WarmlyYours helps write them.

Julia Billen has been an active, voting member of the technical committees that govern electric appliance safety in North America and internationally. This isn't a passive role — it means sitting at the table where the rules are made, advocating for higher performance requirements, and ensuring that the standards keep pace with product innovation.

The result is a product line that doesn't just meet the minimum bar — it reflects the thinking of someone who helped set it. Every WarmlyYours towel warmer is cULus and cETLus listed, IP44 rated for bathroom moisture protection, and UL499 tested for surface temperature compliance.

TempSmart™: Innovation Born from Safety Expertise

One of the most tangible outcomes of Julia's safety standards work is TempSmart™ — WarmlyYours' proprietary overheat protection technology. Built into every model, TempSmart™ is an internal temperature limiter that automatically prevents the surface of the towel warmer from exceeding a safe threshold (149°F/65°C or 167°F/75°C depending on the model).

This matters in a bathroom context, where children and seniors are frequent users and where a towel warmer may run for extended periods. TempSmart™ isn't a regulatory checkbox — it's a design philosophy: that a product you put in your bathroom should be safe for every member of your household, without requiring you to think about it. Learn more in our deep dive: Are Towel Warmers Safe? Everything You Need to Know About TempSmart™ Technology.

Design Leadership: From Functional to Beautiful

Safety and performance have always been the foundation — but WarmlyYours has never been content to stop there. The company has consistently pushed the design envelope, expanding finish options, bar configurations, and aesthetic details to keep pace with evolving bathroom design trends.

• Six finishes: Polished Stainless, Brushed Stainless, Matte Black (powder coat), Oil-Rubbed Bronze, Polished Gold (PVD), and Brushed Gold (PVD) — covering every major bathroom design direction from industrial to spa luxury.
• Multiple bar styles: Round, square, and flat bars across different model families to suit different aesthetic preferences.
• Austrian cut crystal accents: Introduced in 2022, these optional embellishments — available in four patterns — brought a couture jewelry aesthetic to the towel warmer category for the first time anywhere.
• Freestanding options: The Barcelona and Ibiza models require no wall mounting at all, opening the category to renters and anyone who wants flexibility.

The gold finish launch in 2025 is a good example of how WarmlyYours reads the market. Gold had been growing as a bathroom fixture trend for several years before WarmlyYours introduced PVD gold towel warmers — but when they did, the response was immediate. Gold finishes now represent nearly 20% of towel warmer sales, the fastest-growing finish in the lineup. Read more: Why Gold is the Go-To Finish for Towel Warmers in the U.S. and France.

Why It Matters: What 25+ Years Means for You

When you buy a towel warmer from WarmlyYours, you're not buying from a company that entered the category last year. You're buying from a founder who was selling towel warmers before most of her competitors knew the category existed — and from a company she built specifically to serve it, with 25+ years of refinement behind every product.

That track record translates into tangible benefits: products that have been refined through real customer feedback over decades, safety features that exceed minimum requirements because the person who designed them also helped write the standards, and a support team that has seen — and solved — virtually every installation and operational question imaginable.

It also means a lineup broad enough to fit any bathroom, any budget, and any installation scenario. Whether you're a homeowner renovating a master bath, a contractor specifying fixtures for a luxury build, or a renter who wants the experience without the commitment, there's a WarmlyYours model designed for your situation.

Explore the Full Lineup

More than 35 models. Six finishes. Hardwired, plug-in, dual connect, and freestanding. All backed by the deepest expertise in the North American electric towel warmer market.

Browse the complete towel warmer collection, or explore our finish guides to find the right look for your bathroom:

• Best Matte Black Towel Warmers
• Gold Towel Warmers — PVD Finish Guide
• Brushed vs. Polished Stainless Steel
• Are Towel Warmers Worth It?

Have questions or need help choosing? Contact our team — we're available 7 days a week and have been answering towel warmer questions since before most of our competitors entered the market.