These days, radiators are fabulous. If you’ve got an eye for interior design, you’ve got another element to play with in the room. And because modern homes are so well insulated, you no longer have to put the radiator in the coldest part of the room – you can place it wherever you think it’ll look best (including the middle of the room if that’s what you want), or on the wall as a work of art in itself.

Do the groundwork first

Before you start planning your grand design, you need to consult your plumber to talk about what’s possible, i.e. where you’re planning to place your radiators and where the pipes will need to go.

Modern radiators are very efficient so you’ll probably get away with smaller models than your old ones. Use our simple heat calculator to get a rough guide to the output you’ll need for each room, but always ask your plumber or heating engineer for their opinion as they’ll also take into account features such as your property’s age and other elements that might make an impact to the heat output you’ll need.

If you’re planning a major renovation of your room, ask us to provide accurate pipe centre measurements for the radiator/s you’ve chosen, so you can go ahead and have your pipework installed and floor laid, ready to connect the radiators later.

When you’re thinking about the height and width of your new radiators, don’t forget to think about the depth too. Radiators can be slim or chunky which will have an effect on the surrounding space.

Choose the best material

Radiators come in a range of different materials which makes their style more flexible and gives you a huge amount of options about the best one to match your interior:

Aluminium radiators are lightweight, easy to install, are quick to heat up (though are conversely quick to cool down), and are very efficient.
Cast iron radiators are popular because of their Victorian design. They take a while to heat up, but once they do, they retain the heat very well. They’re also very good at spreading the heat around the room, making them ideal for older, less well-insulated houses.
Stainless steel is a material used in contemporary styles because it’s good for making different shapes as well as being very efficient. Highly polished steel is used to create mirror radiators which are becoming more and more popular.
Glass is proving to be a great material for radiator design, combining colours that don’t degrade with heat or light, as well as a range of styles and finishes.

Have fun!

There are designer radiators to match virtually any interior design idea. Once you know where you can place them and what size they’ll need to be, you can have fun choosing not only the most efficient models but also the designs you like best. Whether your scheme is contemporary, vintage, funky, quirky or jaw-droppingly amazing, your new radiator will be an integral part of the personality of the room.

Visit one of our radiator showrooms in St Albans, Bristol, Leamington Spa, Brighton, Clapham or Islington to get lots of ideas about beautiful ways of adding warmth to your home.