The heat is on: seven hot looks for radiators

1. THE HOT SEAT

Dial up the physical heat in your home with a hip radiator upgrade starting with the Ancona bench seat, a stylish and practical space-saving solution that can do double duty in halls, kitchens and bathrooms. It comes in vertical, pictured, or horizontal options and is topped off by a timber bench. In a small kitchen it could be positioned against a wall with the table covering it when not in use to save space, providing a very welcome perch from which to eat breakfast on a cold January morning. In a bathroom it can warm towels but also you as you dry off after ablutions. UK-based The Radiator Company can supply the design in either option. The vertical style range in price from €1,289 to €3,091 while the horizontal option costs from €1,645 to €3,790, depending on colour and size, ex delivery. theradiatorcompany.co.uk

2. RING OF FIRE

Wrap period home panelling in a warming ring of fire with the Donut, a new designer radiator by Franca Lucarelli and Bruna Rapisarda for Italian company Scirocco H. It comes in hydraulic and electric options with a steel wall heating body, formed by an outer circle with a diameter of 70cm, and in a selection of neutral shades of blacks and greys. It also comes in the cool blue that is Pantone's colour of this year. Prices for the hot water style start from €409 while the electric costs from €449, ex delivery from Italy. sciroccoh.it

3. HOT TOWELS ALL THE WAY

A floor-mounted towel rail radiator in a bathroom is both functional and looks good and this Adelaide style by Hudson Reed is in keeping with the art deco revival that is trending at the moment. It costs from about €353, ex delivery, from Victorian Plumbing and is pictured here in a suite at the Pulitzer Hotel, Amsterdam where it works really well with the honey-coloured rustic oak herringbone Havwoods solid wood parquet flooring, about €52, per square metre, ex delivery. The blocks measure 70cm by 280cm in size. havwoods.co.uk; pulitzeramsterdam.com; victorianplumbing.co.uk

4. CLASSIC COLUMN

The Versatile Group in Navan has one of the most interesting ranges of designer radiators in Ireland. One of its best-selling designs is Bisque's classic column, a Victorian-inspired style whose popularity lies in the fact that you can get in an any size and RAL colour imaginable from fashionable metallics such as rose gold to on-trend shades that can contrast with the paint colour of your walls. The designs also come in bathroom options so that you can match the radiators throughout your home. Prices start from €200 for a small 37.5cm size in standard white. Decoristas might prefer its Jaga Heatwave. Designed by artist Joris Laarman in the Rococo style and made of heat radiating polyconcrete it offers an element of ornamentation that will suit any interior. It comes in monochromatic matt black or light grey only and costs from €1,500. versatile.ie

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5. HEAT IN THE KITCHEN

This is a really smart kitchen idea to try and emulate. The radiators, pictured, have been designed into the island giving it a cool, industrial feel but are not plumbed so if you want to marry form and function then plumber Thomas Donegan of Kildare-based Total Heating suggests you use reclaimed six-column standard hospital radiators to try and achieve this look. His go-to firm is The Radiator Centre where you can buy a counter-high design, albeit with legs so off the floor. Heavac also sells them. The standard colour is plain white. Stelrad's classic columns is another option but these are only 75cm high so not counter height unless you build a base into which to set them. A three-column design costs from €823 from branches of Heat Merchants. The worktop is Cullifords Quartz, a smart range of nine quartz shades from the London-based wholesale stone merchant. Pictured in concrete and cut to measure it costs from about €520 per square metre, ex delivery. geraldculliford.co.uk; totalheating.ie; theradiatorcentre.com; heavac.ie; heatmerchants.ie

6. WARM UP IN THE BATHROOM

An electric towel warmer is a god's send in a bathroom, transforming cold spaces into a warm environment and also turning fluffy fabric into a warming wrap post-shower or bath. There are many models but if you fancy something with serious good looks then Antonio Lupi's Stecca is a slick bar style that looks more like a smart towel rail than a radiator. Its furrowed front has light parallel marks, designed by Nevio Tellatin, comes in a wide range of colours including grey, white and on-trend coral and in three lengths; 60cm, perfect for small washrooms; 90cm ideal for the average sized family bathroom; and 120cm for a top of the range ensuite. It can be installed at any height and costs from €999 at Ballymount-based Tilestyle. Antoniolupi.it; tilestyle.ie

7. HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT

If you don't want to invest in new radiators but would like to conceal the plain white ones that you already own then there is a myriad of smart radiator cabinet options available. While they look good all will reduce the effectiveness of the rads functionality. Instead why not hide them in plain sight by painting it the same colour as the wall. This works best if you opt for dark and moody shades. You can then conceal the radiators in a living room and hall behind this slim, 20cm wide, Circlet console table, a lightweight structure that measures 121cm by 76cm and costs about €476, ex delivery. It will give the look of a radiator cabinet without any loss of warmth. audenza.com