How to add warmth to your home
While the weather’s still warm outside, it’s the perfect time to get your home’s heating system in place to ensure your energy bills are kept at a minimum this winter.
Whether you want to add an energy-efficient wood burning stove, a contemporary radiator or a show-stopping fireplace, read on for how to achieve style, warmth and efficiency.
Beautiful burners
1. Stand-alone
If you’re not a fan of traditional-looking wood-burners, try a minimalistic freestanding design like this one, where its clear door allows you to see the flames to the side and to the front. Pictured: Morsø 4340, £2,699, Morsø.
Top tip: Wood burning stoves are usually 60-80% efficient – higher than an open fire, but less than a gas or electric.
Photo: Morsø
2. Colour-match
There’s nothing to say you have to stick to black or grey – go for a colour to complement your scheme and you’ll instantly add interest to your room.This design is ideal for storing your logs, burns both wood and solid fuel, and comes in seven different shades. Pictured: Farringdon small eco stove in Chestnut, from £1,616.80, Arada Stoves.
Photo: Arada Stoves
3. Sitting pretty
If you can’t decide between a stove or a fireplace, a freestanding design like this is a happy medium. By sitting it on top of built-in cabinetry at eye level when seated, rather than on the floor, it creates a more prominent focal point. There’s also the bonus that you can store logs underneath it, too. Pictured: Ecodesign-ready Studio Air 2 freestanding cast-iron and steel stove in Black (alsoavailable in Grey and White) with a heat output of 8.2kW, £2,829, Stovax.
Top tip: as well as classic log burners, multi-fuel or wood pellet stoves are available. Keep in mind that since January 2022, all wood burning stoves purchased need to be EcoDesign compliant.
Photo: Stovax
4. Build it in
Sitting snugly into the chimney breast, this heating system allows you to design and customise a fireplace to your exact specifications to give any living space an understated, modern look. Pictured: i2 fireplace insert stove, from £2,315, Contura.
Photo: Contura
5. Extra energy-efficient
Stove heating systems specialists Schiedel have added two new models to their sleek and stylish range, the Sargas woodburning stove comes in the single glass Model Three and the triple glass Model One – for additional heat dispersal. Both of which are accredited with an A+ high energy efficiency rating of 81% and are DEFRA exempt (meaning they can be used in a smoke control area). They also handily have adjustable legs for uneven floors. Pictured: The Sargas woodburning stove, from £3, 350, from Schiedel.
Photo: Schiedel
Showstopper radiators
1. Double up
Featuring a handy bench seat, this two-in-one radiator is perfect for hallways or boot rooms where space is at a premium and heat is a welcome addition as you come through the door. Its column design has a solid-oak top that’s not only practical, but comes in a range
of sizes, RAL colours and special finishes, so it’s easy to find one to suit your space. Pictured: DQ Bench column seat radiator, from £833, Just Radiators.
Photo: Just Radiators
2. Go slimline
An ideal space-saving solution, this sleek double-panel oval heating system will add a modern feel to your decorating scheme. And
despite its slimline design, it also has a high heat output, making it a great choice for large open-plan and small spaces alike. Double panel oval tube designer radiator in Anthracite, £159.99, Radiator Outlet.
Top tip: Powder-coated steel radiators are a stylish, energy-efficient option that can work with any domestic heating system.
Photo: Radiator Outlet
3. Pare it back
For a strong yet clean look, a flat-panel radiator in one solid block of colour offers a real design-led aesthetic that’s ideal for making a statement in more contemporary style interiors. Suave mild steel wall-mounted radiator in Anthracite, £508.80, Vogue UK.
Photo: Vogue UK
4. Create Art
Adorn your wall as you would with a piece of artwork or decorative mirror but with an eye-catching heating system. Look for different materials and textures; the stone finish of this design provides a rugged contrast to the fixtures of a modern home. Ceramica Pavia radiator, from £2,085.60, The Radiator Company.
Top tip: work with the size of your surface – most radiators now come in both horizontal and vertical orientations.
Photo: The Radiator Company
5. Make it a focal point
Give your space a contemporary focal point with a radiator that’s both practical and super stylish. Choosing the right size for the room is key: calculate the British Thermal Units (BTU) of the design online at bestheating.com to find out the heat output before you buy. Pictured: Milano Windsor column radiator in bronze, from £260.96 from Best Heating.
Fabulous fireplaces
1. Wow-factor centrepiece
Suspended, ceiling-hung fires are particularly suited to open-plan areas, with the latest cutting-edge electric models less costly and easier to install than wood-burning versions. Pictured: Orbit 1.5kW, 340-degree rotating steel fire with Chromalight® immersive LED visual effects system, thermostatic eco handset and flame-only option, £3,295, Onyx.
2. Go landscape
Offering ultra-realistic flames, this stunning heating system is the next generation of modern living. It can act as a room divider in a large open-plan space or designed with built storage solutions to showcase books or homeware, while its landscape style and choice of three flame colours makes it the ultimate focal point in a contemporary home. Pictured: Polaris 1600e electric stove, from £2,062, Charlton & Jenrick.
3. Keep it classic
Love the look of a traditional wood burner but don’t want the upkeep? The latest electric stoves use cutting edge technology to provide instant heat, realistic flames and ambience you can remotely tailor for an authentic experience, from flame speed to the crackling sounds of burning logs. Pictured: Horizon electric stove, £1,049, E-line Solus Collection at Vision Fires.
Top tip: you can conveniently position electric fires anywhere you have a plug point, while a gas fire, which gives out three times the heat, will need to be installed by a registered Gas Safe engineer.
4. Two-side style
A double-sided fire offers the perfect solution to heat a dual-purpose space, while also providing a visual divide between the two zones. This particular design also rotates, so it can be easily directed towards the area in use. Pictured: Nestor Martin THS 15 gas stove (2-5kW heat output) from £3,686, Eurostove.
Top tip: If it’s- purely for ambience, choose a model that allows you to have the flame effect on without the heat.
MORE HEATING OPTIONS