Stylish Kitchen Radiator Ideas

Regardless of whether you have a small kitchen or a large kitchen, this list of kitchen radiator ideas shows that there is a radiator option to suit all kitchen sizes and styles.

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Image courtesy of deVOL

When designing a kitchen, maximising storage and creating a practical layout tend to be the first priorities that are front of mind for most people, resulting in the room’s wall space for heating to become more limited.

For those of us who are not installing underfloor heating in our kitchens, it can be difficult to plan and visualise what kitchen radiators are going to work best in the space - both in terms of adequately heating your kitchen, as well as knowing what radiator will compliment your kitchen design.

Thanks to researching about radiators for my own kitchen renovation, in this post I’m able to share what I found out about best practices for heating the space, and also provide different kitchen radiator ideas that will suit a wide range of kitchen designs. There’s sure to be an option that you’ll warm to …

If you already know the heat output that you require for your kitchen, skip straight to this list of kitchen radiator ideas. If you’re not sure, then this information may help.

TRAME by Tubes Radiatori

How many radiators do I need?

It’s important to calculate the heat output needed to efficiently warm up your kitchen. This will help you to know how many radiators you’ll need in the room and know what size the radiator(s) will need to be.

The heat output of a radiator is measured in British Thermal Units (BTU). When calculating the BTU value for your kitchen there are various factors that you should take into consideration, such as:

• the dimensions of the kitchen;

• the type of windows and doors in your kitchen (i.e. single or double glazed doors and windows);

• whether or not the room is insulated; and

• the type of flooring in your kitchen (i.e. solid flooring on top of soil or air under a suspended floor).

Make it easy on yourself by measuring the length, height and width of your kitchen, and input these measurements, along with any considerations, into an online heat loss calculator. This will help you to obtain the BTU value required to heat your space and provide you with a good starting point, it’s always worth having a second opinion from your heating engineer.

Now that you’re equipped with your BTU value you can begin looking for radiators. The BTU value of a radiator will be labelled on the radiator, therefore once you have found a style that you like you can double check that its heating output will efficiently heat your kitchen.

How To Choose A Radiator

It’s also necessary, when choosing a radiator, to know how you want it to be heated. There are 3 options: central heating radiators, electric radiators and dual fuel radiators.

• Central heating radiators – this type of conventional radiator is essentially a metal container that fills with hot water that has been heated by your boiler. The heat from this type of radiator is then released at a rate determined by the radiator’s material and size.

• Electric radiators – as the name suggests, this radiator is a container full of fluid (usually thermo-fluid) that is heated by electricity. The power for the radiator will need to come from a nearby power socket or be wired directly into your electricity mains supply.

• Dual fuel radiators – this type of radiator can swap between being a central heated and electric radiator. This enables you to choose between the radiator heating up with the rest of your system or for it to work independently. This may be ideal for bathroom radiators, for example in summer you may not want the central heating on but you may want to turn this particular radiator on to dry towels.

Now that the calculations have been done and you know what type of radiator you need, we’re on to the more fun bit – looking for the perfect radiator style to compliment your kitchen.

Kitchen Radiator Ideas

Fortunately, there are so many different sizes and styles to choose from and these ideas will help you to find a radiator to suit your requirements.

Horizontal Radiators

This radiator orientation is the most widely known, possibly because of in the past the best place to position a radiator was underneath a window. However, with advancements in building applications, such as double-glazing and home insulation, it can still be efficient to position a radiator in a variety of areas within your kitchen. Plus, there are plenty of stylish horizontal radiators to choose from.

1. The Cast Iron Radiator

Traditional

It’s worth bearing in mind that when you’re planning on where to place radiators in your kitchen, it doesn’t always need to be against a wall.

You may have limited wall space but, depending on the layout of your kitchen, you may have an island or a run of cupboards with an open end. Remember to be savvy in terms of placement, so that the radiator doesn’t become a nuisance to the flow of the room, but as you can see from this example a radiator can be tucked discreetly by the side of an island if space allows.

Image courtesy of deVOL

These particular examples showcase how a traditional cast iron radiator compliments kitchen’s with period character. The white colour of this radiator seamlessly coincides with the rich black and green colours used throughout the kitchen and seamlessly blends into the background.

Image courtesy of deVOL

Whilst this dark blue cast iron radiator provides a complimentary contrast to the pink undertones that run throughout the room, and helps to add to the period charm within the kitchen.

Image courtesy of deVOL

Traditional cast iron radiators are available in a variety of sizes which provides the opportunity to utilise any space in your kitchen, no matter how big or small.

Image courtesy of deVOL

If you’re based in the UK, I can personally recommend the company that I have purchased my own cream cast iron radiators from, Cast Iron Radiator Centre. My experience of their customer service was flawless and delivery was extremely prompt. Their prices are extremely competitive so I’d highly recommend including them in your comparisons. It’s worth knowing that, as far as I’m aware, they only provide ‘curb-side delivery’ so be sure to have help available to carry them into the house – each radiator weighs an absolute tonne!

Colourful

Opting for a traditional styled radiator doesn’t mean that you have to opt for a traditional colour. The colour choice of your radiator can take it from being a practical object in the room, to an element that can elevate the design and character within the space.

Long gone are the days where conventional white radiators are the only accessible option. For those looking to purchase radiators that are as colourful and as bold as their kitchen design scheme, there is now a huge array of colour options and finishes available.

Solid colours are not the only application method available either. Take for example this ombré design by Bisque, who enable you to choose between four and six colours that are then applied from light to dark on their classic radiator and made to order options.

Image courtesy of Bisque

For those wanting radiators that blend into the background, regardless of your chosen wall colour, there are now numerous companies who can arrange for their radiators to be professionally painted in colours that match popular UK paint brands.

Image courtesy of Bisque

Bare Metal

There’s beauty in imperfection and these lacquered bare metal radiators exemplify this by proudly showing a finish that exposes all of the manufacturing marks that occur during the production process. Each bare metal radiator is unique as there will be slight differences in the manufacturing techniques used.

Image courtesy of deVOL

This radiator would undeniably suit industrial style kitchens but as this example shows, the style of this radiator creates a beautiful juxtaposition in both modern and period style kitchens too.

2. The Flat Panel Radiator

This approach is particularly useful for those with smaller kitchens as you often want to ensure that you’re maximising space for storage whilst also ensuring that you have a warm and pleasant environment.

A flat radiator, that meets heat output requirements, will facilitate having features in small kitchens that otherwise may not be feasible. Take this example for instance, which features a compact breakfast bar that benefits from having a flat and compact radiator.

Images courtesy of deVOL

3. The Tube Radiator

As the name indicates, these are tube shaped radiators. Designs come in different variations such as the typical round shape with gaps, or square and horseshoe shapes.

ARPA12 horizontal radiator by IRSAP.

Due to their more modern design, this type of radiator tends to suit more contemporary kitchens. As with all of the horizontal radiators, tube radiators are commonly seen as a vertical radiator but they can look equally as stylish in a horizontal orientation if space permits.

Vertical Radiators

Vertical radiators offer a practical and fashionable way of achieving enough heat output whilst not compromising on wall space. Many vertical radiators are adaptations of horizontal radiators. Therefore if you wanted the same design throughout the room, or indeed your house, it will be possible to get the same design in the various sizes and orientations required.

4. The Hot Spring Radiator

This fun styled radiator was launched in 1997 by Geoffrey Ward and designer Paul Priestman. This unique design is ideal for contemporary kitchens when wall space is limited. Available in over 50 colours, this radiator will make a statement as well as keeping your kitchen cosy.

Image courtesy of Bisque.

5. The Ribbon Radiator

The tall and narrow design of verticals, enables them to be placed in unused areas. They are also a great way to alter the look and feel of your kitchen, with designs like the ribbon creating a big design statement by making a striking focal point, rather than blending into the background.

Image courtesy of Victoria Plum.

6. The Mirrored Radiator

You may have heard that by reflecting light around a room you can help make the space appear bigger. For smaller kitchens where wall space is already a premium, or for those who don’t want to make a wall look ‘busy’ with numerous items, a mirrored radiator provides the opportunity to make your kitchen feel more expansive and create the illusion of depth within the space.

Designer Radiators

Just like how the possibilities are endless when it comes to colour, if you have the budget, the possibilities are also endless when it comes to the design of a radiator. Award-winning designs have taken the conventional approach to radiators and flipped it on its head by creating radiators that look more like a piece of art than a radiator. It’s not style over substance either, each of these radiator provides a respectful heat output – remember to cross check your BTU requirements – with the added benefit of creating a stylish focal point in your kitchen.

7. The Brick Radiator

This one is for all the Lego lovers out there – I know there are a lot of you!

With open plan living being increasingly common in numerous houses now, creating different zones in your living area may mean that you want to inject design elements that suggest a difference between the function of each space.

This fun design called BRICK by Marco Baxadonne, could be ideal for the ‘playroom zone’ of the space. This radiator comes in a range of colours that can be hung individually or in a combination of colours, to create a fun yet delightfully warm feature on a wall.

Image courtesy of Scirocco.

8. The Marble Radiator

The inspiration behind this Livingstone design is the Gran Sasso, the tallest mountain in Italy outside of the Alps. It uses marble powder, a by-product of the marble cutting process that is reused and bonded with water and binding agents, to make this beautiful stone-like texture.

This radiator showcases quality craftmanship - each item is manually made - and is created through a cold-working process which is claimed to produce lower CO2 emissions.

Image courtesy of Archiproducts.

I hope this article has provided some food for thought when planning your kitchen space and helped you to be aware of the different types of radiators that are available.

If you’re planning on renovating your kitchen or a kitchen remodel, my posts on ideas for kitchen extensions and single storey rear extension ideas may be of interest.

If you’d like to see what approach I take with my own kitchen renovation, including what radiators I have chosen, then be sure to follow my renovation diaries on my YouTube channel and progress updates on my Instagram account.