Radiators. They aren't very interesting usually are they? They just lurk at the side of the room, sometimes clunking and rattling to themselves in a faintly disgruntled way while you just hope they carry on working when you need them.
There's nothing worse than redecorating or remodelling then realising that all your hard work and hard earned cash has been invested into your home or office project only to be marred by ugly reflowing or even worse, rusting radiators.
Go on, take a peek at the radiator in the room you are in right now. Probably it's hidden behind a piece of furniture and if it's anything like the one inches from where I am working, it's tatty, chipped and neglected.
How about instead of hiding the most useful pieces in your home behind the sofa where most of the heat is probably being lost into the upholstery, why not make a feature of radiators choosing styles to enhance as well as heat your home?
Some homes call for vintage style pieces to complement period features in older homes. Many people however can experiment with stylish modern radiators bringing a fresh new look to dull walls.
I love functional art. I collect pewter and antique cutlery and love the fact that my pieces are both beautiful and useful. Look but don't touch art is great for galleries and stately homes - how great would it be to have radiators so fabulous that visitors comment on them.
Don't be limited by shape, colour or design. You can even get custom radiators to fit in any space. white and cream radiators are obviously still very popular but chrome, coloured and stainless steel are becoming ever more sought after. You can even get a radiator now with a smooth, stylish blackboard finish.
Obviously the main point of a radiator is to warm the space around it and one of the best reasons to replace ageing rads is that doing so will almost certainly improve efficiency, probably save money on fuel bills and ensure that any cold spots are banished.
Obviously situations vary from home to home but an assessment from an expert might mean a slight change in size, position, type or number of radiators could make a huge difference to the warmth of your home and the size of your energy bill.
When central heating was first installed in our home in the 1980's no radiator was fitted in our kitchen. The engineer at the time believed it would not be needed as kitchens tend to be quite warm when the oven is being used. This was before I met and married my husband and moved into the house and for years I endured a shivery start to every morning waiting for the kettle to boil in our freezing cold kitchen.
Fast forward 30 years and we completely changed our kitchen, installing a new range and adding.....a radiator!
No more blue toes and goosebumps in the morning and if I'm planning to cook up a storm I can just turn that individual radiator off.
And guess what? Our energy bill actually dropped as the other radiators were not having to work overtime trying to heat an extra room.
There's nothing worse than redecorating or remodelling then realising that all your hard work and hard earned cash has been invested into your home or office project only to be marred by ugly reflowing or even worse, rusting radiators.
Go on, take a peek at the radiator in the room you are in right now. Probably it's hidden behind a piece of furniture and if it's anything like the one inches from where I am working, it's tatty, chipped and neglected.
How about instead of hiding the most useful pieces in your home behind the sofa where most of the heat is probably being lost into the upholstery, why not make a feature of radiators choosing styles to enhance as well as heat your home?
Some homes call for vintage style pieces to complement period features in older homes. Many people however can experiment with stylish modern radiators bringing a fresh new look to dull walls.
I love functional art. I collect pewter and antique cutlery and love the fact that my pieces are both beautiful and useful. Look but don't touch art is great for galleries and stately homes - how great would it be to have radiators so fabulous that visitors comment on them.
Obviously the main point of a radiator is to warm the space around it and one of the best reasons to replace ageing rads is that doing so will almost certainly improve efficiency, probably save money on fuel bills and ensure that any cold spots are banished.
Obviously situations vary from home to home but an assessment from an expert might mean a slight change in size, position, type or number of radiators could make a huge difference to the warmth of your home and the size of your energy bill.
When central heating was first installed in our home in the 1980's no radiator was fitted in our kitchen. The engineer at the time believed it would not be needed as kitchens tend to be quite warm when the oven is being used. This was before I met and married my husband and moved into the house and for years I endured a shivery start to every morning waiting for the kettle to boil in our freezing cold kitchen.
Fast forward 30 years and we completely changed our kitchen, installing a new range and adding.....a radiator!
No more blue toes and goosebumps in the morning and if I'm planning to cook up a storm I can just turn that individual radiator off.
And guess what? Our energy bill actually dropped as the other radiators were not having to work overtime trying to heat an extra room.