Great Bathroom Heating Ideas

Sorting out sufficient heating for your bathroom is one of the most important choices you have to make when it comes to designing a new bathroom, or even simply desiring a change. It’s not a nice feeling to walk into a chilly bathroom, especially when you're stripping naked to step into the shower or bath, or you want to use the sink and have to wait for the water to heat up. It’s a room we spend an awful lot of time in so we want that time to be as comfortable as possible, and - of course - a treat to the eyes too.

Fortunately there are a few great ideas you can consider when trying to decide on what bathroom heating you want, and you don’t have to settle for something that’s functional but lacking in style or something that’s stylish but has the heating potential of an Antarctic snowstorm. In this hub we’ll have a look at the methods you can get your bathroom as toasty as a trip to a beautiful Cyprus beach; although fortunately you don’t have to fill your bathroom up with sand and random crabs.

The design you choose is obviously up to you, but you're certainly not short on choice. You can get designer radiators with wave patterns, shaped like crosses, rounded radiators, double panels, printed picture radiators, traditional radiators when you’re going for that bathroom wide traditional look, a huge mixture of colours and I even once saw one shaped like the Madonna’s famous cone shaped bra (although quite why you'd want Madonna’s chest on your wall is beyond me!). While there are a massive variety of shapes you can find easily on the Internet, some of them may be custom made. Plus, when you’re looking on some ‘out there’ designs you'll most likely end up paying quite a lot of money.

Modern radiators are no longer just the boring uninspiring models of old. Sure, they may have done the job but they didn't particularly make your bathroom look like it could fit neatly into the pages of a glossy homes magazine. These days there are a thousand and one different designs to choose from, and it doesn't really matter how big your bathroom is or what wacky design style you've chosen for it. Odd shapes, small sizes and even a variety of colours mean that there’s literally something for everyone out there; unless you like your radiator in the shape of a dragon, although I wouldn’t put it past a company actually creating that.

Radiators no longer have to be attached to the central heating system either, although it’s still pretty popular. Electric radiators can be heated through the mains, and you should end up saving on your gas bill through these means.

The great thing about heated towel rails is that you get the triple whammy of somewhere to hang your towels, a great design to show off in your bathroom and something that provides heating. Due to that it’s not a bad idea to think about completely scrapping the radiator and going for a heated towel rail instead.

If your bathroom is on the small side then a heated towel rail is ideally suited, as you can get some tiny models that frees up some much-needed space and also means you don’t have to find somewhere to hang up your wet towels either. As with radiators, there’s a huge amount of choice when it comes to suiting your tastes. It’s definitely worth shopping around.

I've talked about the amazing benefits of underfloor heating before, but let’s quickly touch upon them here. The main benefit is that you don't need to put any radiators into your bathroom, so whether that’s something you wish to sacrifice from a design standpoint is up to you. This is of great benefit to small bathrooms as you can use the space that would normally be home to a radiator to put some much-needed storage space in instead.

It’s horrible when you walk into your bathroom in the morning and your feet are freezing cold as soon as you step through the door, so the second benefit of underfloor heating is that your feet will be warmer. Obviously you'd have to set a timer for it to be ready in time for your morning wake-up call, as one of the main downsides is that it can take time to warm up, but this is perfectly possible using a thermostat. It’s also a toss-up between getting an electrical system or a wet system; the latter is far harder to install and will require a fair amount of work to install.

You may think this is a weird thing to put here when we're talking about bathroom heating, but fireplaces are actually becoming a popular option amongst people who are fortunate to have a bigger bathroom (and a bit more money of course). These luxurious statement pieces will wow anyone stepping into your bathroom, and probably wondering if they've walked into the living room to have a pee by mistake. Just imagine how good it would feel to lie inside a large designer bath with the fire roaring beside you.

They're available in a wide range of sizes, from small stoves to large marble set or natural stone built fireplaces that will fit into the décor of the rest of the bathroom. They're probably out of range of the average person (it would take up most of my bathroom) but the option is very much there if you have the space and money.