No longer simply white panels emitting heat and taking up wall space, radiators are increasingly becoming part of the aesthetic of a property. PHPD caught up with radiator manufacturer Stelrad to discover the options now available.
Housebuilders and developers are constantly looking for new and exciting options to enthuse homeowners and, until recently, a heating system wasn’t necessarily the most obvious target. But the increase in options for radiators – the arrival of vertical radiators, decorative and designer radiators and the advent of coloured radiators as a realistic option – have turned them from a simple heating appliance into a part of the décor. It has elevated the humble radiator to the status of ‘eye catching accessory’.
Radiators are far more energy-efficient than they were pre-2000 and the improved design and manufacturing has made them much better at what they are designed to do: share heat around the home. Radiators are still responsible for sharing the heat in more than 90% of all homes in the UK and the radiator sector has risen to the challenge by producing and offering some exciting radiator designs that have changed the way many people look at radiators. For the first time perhaps, we are ‘looking’ at radiators as positive additions to the home, rather than necessary additions to ensure it is kept warm.
Consumer demands
The trend for having a heated towel rail radiator in the bathroom is now set in concrete, with more than a million of these products being sold into the UK marketplace every year. Pretty much every new-build property features some kind of towel rail radiator in the bathroom, or bathrooms – as the increase in en-suites in new build properties hits an all-time high, as well.
High quality decorative or designer radiators in the kitchen are almost as popular as the bathroom trend and many more homeowners are looking to feature designer radiators in the key rooms in the house: the lounge, the entrance hallway and perhaps the master bedroom as well.
The options are wide and the opportunity to impress family and friends is a very real one with the wide range of options now available. While a designer radiator will be more expensive than a standard panel radiator, it’s well worth asking the question and taking a closer look at the options. Especially with vertical radiators becoming a realistic option in the kitchen and hallway or where wall space may be limited.
A larger colour palette
One of the most obvious changes in radiators in the past few years has been the increase in colour options. To paraphrase the famous quip by Henry Ford, traditionally you could have radiators in “any colour, so long as it was white”. Stelrad now offers many of its models in up to 36 different colours – with a small delivery waiting time – but a time wait that is worth it to get exactly the right colours and shades for interior décor purposes.
“Coloured radiators are already proving popular with interior designers for homes where an extra splash of colour will make a home come alive.”
The latest colour additions to the company’s range are its Vita Column Concept – available from stock in anthracite grey. This new addition to the Vita range is proof that far from just seeing coloured radiators as ‘specials’, they will increasingly be seen as mainstream options in the months and years ahead.
Focal point
Coloured radiators are already proving popular with interior designers for homes where an extra splash of colour will make a home come alive. It’s a whole new outlook for a heating source that has tended to fade into the background for decades. It’s now becoming a focal point of the décor.
Anyone who makes the effort to see what is out there radiator-wise will be surprised at the range of options available to feature in your designs and décor. Shapes, sizes, designs, colours – a radiator is still a radiator – only now it can be a fashion statement or a design feature, not just a heating appliance.
