OPEN SIX DAYS A WEEK – OPEN TIL 7PM ON WEDNESDAYS!

SALES & TECHNICAL HELPLINE: 01257 452 879

SALES & TECHNICAL HELPLINE: 01257 452 879

It dazzles, glimmers and shines in the sun, and moonlight dances across its shimmering surface by night. Chrome is the icing on the cake for any shape it takes; furnishings to complete a luxury bathroom, bright shining alloys to complement a sports car, the plating on a roaring low-rider motorcycle, and chrome radiators to brighten and enhance your home.

However, not all chrome is made equal and so it certainly pays to pay close attention when thinking about what type of radiator you are going to buy, and which brand that radiator comes from. Having to replace a dodgy Chrome radiator 2-3 years after purchasing it is going to cost you a lot more than paying a little bit more now for a quality radiator with a genuine guarantee.

CHROME RADIATORS

Chrome’s magical sheen is only topped by its versatility in application, making it perfect for completely unique shapes, especially dramatic designer radiators. Truly chrome is the choice for dreamers, but sadly it’s also the choice for schemers…

The consequence of cheap Chrome might not be seen for a year or two after you’ve purchased it, but they can begin to deteriorate within 12 months depending on the environment they are in. In bathrooms where the air is humid every day, poor quality Chrome simply cannot stand up to the moisture, it starts to peel at the corners and welding points, rust sets in and it only gets worse from there.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

The three most telling signs that a Chrome radiator might not be what is promised are the price, guarantee (the supposed quality) and heat output. Let’s delve into this further;

VERY LOW PRICE

Chrome radiators cost a good deal of money to manufacture. If the radiator you are looking at is exceedingly cheap, especially for larger sizes, then this is a tell-tale sign that it is too good to be true. The aphorism goes; ‘you get what you pay for’, and this certainly applies to Chrome designer radiators

BIG GUARANTEE

The absolute best quality manufacturers in our industry, for example the likes of Zehnder who have been manufacturing radiators since the early 1900s, even they only offer a 5 year guarantee of Chrome.

If you are seeing a 15 year manufacturer’s warranty being offered for a big Chrome radiator at £195, then chances are that within a few years the ‘manufacturer’ won’t exist anymore – no manufacturer, no warranty, no obligation for the company you bought it from to help

BIG HEAT OUTPUT

If we compare a steel radiator finished in Chrome versus one which has been painted, the Chrome version would provide between 20-30% LESS heat output. This is a big one, the radiator industry is plagued by misinformation regarding heat output from less reputable manufacturers – Naturally if they say that their radiators produce more heat and they cost less, then that’s a guaranteed buy, right? Wrong.

This is a bit trickier to spot as a customer, but if you are looking at a Chrome designer radiator and it’s heat output is drastically higher than a similar alternative (by more than say 10-15%), then take your medicine and consider the thought that the information for that radiator might just be smoke and mirrors

All of our designer radiators, including our brilliant range of Chrome models, are manufactured by well-established and reputable designer radiator brands. View our whole range.

Today we’re looking at a delight for the bathroom from a luxury manufacturer; the Vogue Stendy. It’s the age old bout of Form vs Function, so read on today to find out more;

VOGUE STENDY

You might be reading this, nodding your head and thinking, quite rationally, that you would always choose something which works over something which looks the part.

Well, a lot of time we let ourselves fall prey to good marketing communication so it’s not quite that simple. We like shiny and fast and extravagant and irrational, it’s why we have cars which drive 3 times the national speed limit and trainers worth a fraction of what we pay for them.

Trying to even the playing field, the Vogue Stendy’s inoffensive shape might seem all about function, but its folding shape is so distinctly unique that the Stendy is most definitely trendy. Let’s dig deeper.

FUNCTION

When you really boil down what your bathroom is about, what else is there but comfort and ease of use;

Comfort – You want your bathroom to be a cosy space, somewhere you can relax. The exact details differ from person to person, but the crux of a good bathroom is the ability to close your eyes and relax yourself in preparation for the day ahead (or the thermal journey before bed).

Ease of Use – The more steps you need to take each time you use your bathroom, the more of a chore it is, and one thing that really should be hard labour is having to stressfully jam your towel into your radiator’s tiny slots.

In the bathroom we should be striving for fewer steps with a more efficient design and ultimately a room you can easily unwind or prepare for your day in. The Vogue Stendy is a perfect way to make warming, storing and hanging your towels a pleasure each time.

With no word of exaggeration, it feels almost as if your butler is handing the towel to you (why your butler is in the bathroom with you we don’t know…).

While seeming like a pretty normal rail at first glance, the Stendy is able to fold out each of its sections individually to create multiple shelves as and when you need them. You can have the top half warm the towel you are about to use, while above or beneath that you can fold and store your others, making this a neat solution, removing the need for damp towels hanging on pegs or overlapping each other on a small rail.

FORM

We often have customers in the showroom who know they are redecorating a room, and they’ve got work going on, a wall has been taken down to make the bathroom twice as large, but they’re still unsure of how exactly they are going to decorate their new bathroom, and how it is going to be laid out.

Designer radiators like the Vogue Stendy are things of beauty able to capture our imagination, and customers can easily position exactly where they want their new radiator, how they’re going to leave the shower and be presented with their towel. Imagination is kick-started and the creative juices begin to flow.

The Stendy’s form is available a good selection of sizes, and two very distinct designs;

The Vogue Stendy, which features soft round curvature and cylindrical tubes throughout, giving it an easy on the eyes look. Available in 6 sizes from 889mm tall to 1747mm tall, and 512mm wide to 612mm. https://designerradiatorshowroom.co.uk/vogue-stendy

The Vogue Stendy Quad, made with four distinct flat sides on each tube, devoid of any rounded angles, and superbly suited to lovers of a good straight edge. Available in 2 sizes; 905mm x 480mm, and 1305mm x 480mm. https://designerradiatorshowroom.co.uk/vogue-stendy-quad

Both versions are made from high quality steel and finishing in premium grade chrome in order to create a bright and dazzling effect. Priding themselves on the quality of the Stendy, Vogue provide each model with full 15 year guarantee, which is 10 years longer than industry standard for normal steel radiators.

If you are interested in any version of the Vogue Stendy you can purchase them here but if you have any questions at all then please feel free to contact us on 01257 452879 or sales@designerradiatorshowroom.co.uk

Continuing our series on designer radiator valves, we are today looking at the Ellipse Oval Valve Set, a striking pair which suits the most popular radiators our industry manufactures – find out more today.

WHY OVAL?

Oval shaped radiators make up a large proportion of the designer radiators sold in our market, in fact they are so popular that most of our manufacturer’s will have some version of an elliptical tube radiator.

Some, like DQ Heating, have a base oval design like the DQ Cove and have made it into the Cove Horizontal and Cove Vertical, Cove Stainless Horizontal and Vertical, the Cove Mirror, Cove Towel Rail, Cove Stainless Towel Rail and so on! Because they are so popular, and they make this oval shaped for so many designs, they have become extremely efficient at it and they are priced tremendously well.

As a result, it is one of the only designer radiator styles to have the perfect 100% matching valves made to go with it, and the resulting visual flair is tremendous.

THE ELLIPSE OVAL VALVE SET

The set itself is made from high quality brass, and is available in either shining Chrome to suit bright living spaces, or a Satin Nickel finish for a softer, more contemporary look. Due to its oval shape the Ellipse set is a manual valve only because the head can only be flush with the body if it is either on or off position. If it was thermostatic and you turned it to setting 3 for example, the oval head would be completely the opposite way around.

With an inlet and outlet suitable for 15mm pipework, the Ellipse valve set is suitable for all modern radiators. Even if you have smaller 10mm or 8mm pipework, by using microbore reducers you can still combine your designer radiator with these wonderful valves to achieve an enviable effect.

You can find all of our manual valves including the Ellipse Oval Valve Set right here. If you would like any help in picking your valves or designer radiator, don’t forget that we are always available to help, just contact us on 01257 452879 or email us at sales@designerradiatorshowroom.co.uk

The Realm TRV set is the perfect accessory. Like a brand new Mercedes Benz, BMW or Audi, designer radiators are luxury products which fill you with satisfaction. You are treating yourself in style as a reward for your success. What you wouldn’t do while selecting your new high performance car is have it fitted with some big, tacky hub-caps.

Equitable to this is letting your plumber fit your stunning new designer radiator using their normal, unattractive stock. At DRS we believe in better, so join us today for a look at our main designer TRV and a chance to win 10% off your next DRS order!

REALM TRV SET – COLOURS

The Realm TRV has a simple design. What it lacks in ornate detail it makes up for in clean, attractiveness and fantastic utility. It is available in 4 finishes:

  • Chrome – Lovely and shining, the Realm TRV set in Chrome is bright and matches very well with Chrome radiators, light fixtures, fittings and door handles – The standard choice
  • Satin Nickel – Modern and sleek, the Satin Nickel finish is a brush treated silver which is a little quieter than Chrome, but quite a bit more refined – If you can match this to your them then you’re onto a winner
  • Black Nickel – Visually similar to Chrome, just as reflective except with a very dark coloured nickel as a base, the Black Nickel finish has an almost oily visual quality, perfect to match with dark flooring, radiators and granite worktops
  • White – Exactly the same as the Chrome version, but with a long, white band around the TRV head’s middle section, coordinating it nicely with White radiators while still accentuating the Chrome features present near by

SHAPES

Function is the name of the game when it comes to valve shape, but appearance is a part of it too. For some designer radiators the pipework which your valves need to connect to is coming up from the floor, other times it’s coming out from the wall, and beyond that depending on the radiator design you might need to connect to the side or the underneath of it.

For all of these possible outcomes we have a valve to suit each case;

  • Angled – Perfect when you have floor pipework and side connections on your radiator
  • Straight – Perfect when you have floor pipework and underneath connection on your radiator
  • Corner – Perfect when you have wall pipework, and either side or underneath connections on your radiator

SIZES

Our Realm TRVs are one size only and made to fit 15mm pipework, which is the standard in most homes today, however if you have an older property it can be common to find that you have 10mm or 8mm microbore pipework instead.

To fix this there is a neat accessory which discreetly fits into your valve named a Microbore Reducer. These constrict the size of the valve’s opening for the pipework to connect into, making it fit correctly without having to buy a specially sized valve.

If you do have either 10mm or 8mm pipework just specify in the notes which you have and if you have ordered valves with us at DRS we will include a set of Microbore Reducers with each valve set on your order.

See our full range of Realm TRV Valve Sets here today!

Designer Radiator Showroom Logo

Your perfect radiator is here! We are dedicated to keeping our prices competitive! Call our dedicated customer service team and we will be happy to help. 01257 452879

Unit G Grove Mill, Grove Park Industrial Estate, Eccleston. PR7 5TZ

Latest News