A day with Designer Radiators

Article written by Tony Taylor, 14th Jan 2009

Let's be honest, could there be anything more boring than spending a morning (or even a whole day) looking at radiators? I mean, if someone invited you to come and take a look at all that's new in the wonderful world of central heating, it wouldn't exactly inspire a rush of enthusiasm. At least, those were my feelings when a friend of mine asked me to accompany her on a mission to check out designer radiators. Designer what? You must be joking. Anyway, we set off on a Saturday morning for the long drive to what apparently is one of England's biggest radiator outlets. I won't mention the name, but I will say that it has a rather industrial-sounding ring to it. And about two hours later, we got there. I have to confess that on first entering the shop I was amazed. It was enormous. Radiators were everywhere: traditional radiators, old-fashioned Victorian radiators, bathroom heaters, etc.

Straight Line Radiator

And all of them were available in almost every shape and size you can think of. I never imagined there were so many different types of radiators. Strange to admit, I actually started to find it quite interesting. Maybe radiators weren't so boring after all! After a quick look around (we really didn't have time to look at everything), we headed for the section dealing with designer radiators . And it was here that all of my preconceived ideas about radiators went up in smoke. In plain and very simple English, designer radiators are amazing. To start with, there were these enormous floor-standing radiators that went all the way up to the ceiling. To say that they looked nothing like conventional radiators is an understatement. I don't know how they were made, but they had this elaborate spiral shape that looked like something out of a science fiction movie.

Straight Line Radiator

Extraordinary! Next, we saw a couple of wall-mounted radiators that looked just like modern art masterpieces. One was a sort of montage of pink and red geometric patterns; the other had a sleek blue finish that seemed to me to be about as modern as you can possibly get. Eventually we got to the bathroom section, and it was here that I finally understood the purpose of my friend's visit. You see, she wanted a towel rail. But these were no ordinary towel rails - these were towel rails to die for! I had never before seen such beautiful household objects. And as for the choice well, let's just say that we spent nearly two hours looking at things, and even then we didn't see it all. All in all, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I previously had no idea that something as simple and innocuous as a radiator could be produced in such stunning designs. Admittedly designer radiators are not for everyone, but even so I would encourage anyone to visit their local energy store or DIY outlet to see for themselves all that's new in the wonderful world of central heating!