Warmth by Design 🔥
- Hannah Ashe
- Oct 27
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 28
As we head towards winter in the UK, it felt fitting that I should write about the subject of heating and its role in interior design.
It's an aspect of home renovation that can easily be overlooked and seem fairly dull - up there perhaps with rewiring - yet it can make or break a design and significantly affect whether you want to spend any time in the finished room. Choosing radiator styles and sizes is something I help my clients with during consultation, so do get in touch if you could use some help.
I visited a client for a consultation recently who was feeling somewhat lost and uninspired by the 'middle room' of their Edwardian home. It lacked natural light and often felt cold; a common problem in such homes. They were struggling to see a way forward that would make them want to use the space.
Immediately, I could see that the radiator in this room was very old and not in an ideal location. It was taking up a huge amount of wall space on one of the few usable walls and didn't look like it was particularly efficient. After a short discussion it became clear that the boiler was due to be replaced soon. Aha!
This is the perfect time to consider if any radiators need to be replaced and potentially moved. Now, I'm not saying that moving a radiator is easy; it depends on many factors including whether pipes run under the floor or through walls, and the location of the boiler but it should never be discounted at the start of a project.
Let’s face it, a cold room or home is not a pleasant place to be. It doesn’t matter how carefully selected your paint colours and fabrics are if the room is fundamentally cold. You won’t want to spend time in it 🥶
My advice is to work out where the ideal location would be, calculating the correct-sized radiator required for the room (more on that below), and then getting a heating engineer or plumber round to cost it up and assess what can be done for your budget.
Where possible try to get three quotes as the opinions and prices may differ.
BTU - isn't that a K-Pop band?
No, BTU stands for British Thermal Unit and is used to measure heat output.
In simple terms, it is necessary to consider the size of a room, ceiling height, number of windows/doors and the level of insulation/number of external walls in order to work out what kind of radiator you need to effectively heat a space.
Most radiator suppliers have an easy to use calculator on their website, such as this one: BTU Calculator
Let's use a bedroom as an example. The dimensions are 3.2 x 3.4m, ceiling height 2.4m, it has two external walls and one double glazed window measuring1.2 x 0.9m.
When I put these details into the BTU calculator it tells me that I need a radiator with a BTU output of between 2900-3475.
This is a guide and clearly the choice will depend on how regularly the room is being used and who is using it.
At this point, I can decide which radiator style I'm looking for and then consider the size of the radiator required. In this example I'm going to choose a column radiator because I like the way they look. I've purchased a number of column radiators made by Ultraheat and supplied by Inspired Heating.
If you click on the link you will see that they come in various column sizes. For a narrow space, such as a hallway, a 2-column radiator is ideal. In most rooms, 3-column will look better and for more of a statement in a living room bay window or similar, you might want to go for 4.
For the hypothetical bedroom, I'm looking for a 3-column radiator no taller than 60cm. I'm given these options below and by checking the BTU calculation, I can see that the 731mm width (selected in red) will give me the ideal output for this space. I can select it in either white or anthracite and it will cost either £198 or £224 depending on the colour I go for.
Worth the effort for a cosy home?
It might seem like a laborious task to do this, especially if you have several radiators to purchase, but I promise that it will result in a warmer, cosier home if done correctly.
Equally, if you've read this far and are thinking "I don't have time for all of that..." but still want a warm, cosy home - get in touch. I can include the above for you as part of my Trust Me - Full Room Revamp Service. I will take all of the measurements, do the calculations and select the correct radiators for the space, presenting you with a range of styles that will heat the space properly and look stylish. I'll even order them for you and pass on my trade discount.
You may imagine that interior design is all about mood boards and cushions, but in reality there are many more practical tasks that we often find ourselves doing. Meticulous planning is something I very much enjoy; I love a good spreadsheet and a task which requires me to gather detailed information and then carefully select the best options based on data and evidence. I will then flip my brain into creative mode and ensure that all aesthetic requirements are met - it's certainly not all about number crunching!
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