Radiator Makeovers That Will Upgrade Your Space
There's no sugarcoating it: Radiators are always an eyesore. Used to heat a home, radiators are typically metal or white and oftentimes appear dirty, as they can be difficult to clean. Further, these items can instantly make your home appear much older, even if the rest of the space has an updated design. This said, switching from a radiator to a more modern heating and cooling system can be quite expensive. In fact, it will most likely cost thousands of dollars.
The good news is that there are many ways to update the look of a radiator. These methods can transform a piece that previously ruined a room's design into something that actually improves the appearance of the space. While some DIYers decide to draw attention to their heater with bold paint or elaborate covers, others attempt to hide the piece by making it blend into the wall. You'll see examples of both these methods in the following before and after images.
Before: Outdated metal
Metal radiators, especially those with a dark tone, always appear old-fashioned. Let's see how these homeowners decided to renovate their outdated feature.
After: Modern wooden cover
These homeowners saved some big bucks by choosing to DIY their own radiator cover, and the result was incredible, as this piece adds warmth and character to the space. As you'll see, radiator covers must have a way for the hot steam to escape, like leaving cracks between panels.
Before: Rusty and dirty
It looks like someone tried to upgrade the look of this heater by painting it white and red, which has now faded and started to rust.
After: Ombré effect
To draw more favorable attention to the piece, this radiator was painted various shades of pink from lightest to darkest to create an ombré effect. What was once an eyesore is now a statement piece.
Before: Basic look
Behind the wooden and white railing, you can see a thin radiator that sits right outside this person's home. They wanted to make this space more purposeful and aesthetic.
After: Plant shelf
To do this, they covered the old piece with a small wooden pallet painted white, which transformed it into a plant shelf. They also hung a mirror above the plants, which made the area more useful.
Before: Covering an entire wall
Because this radiator has quite a few pipes, it basically covers up the entire bottom half of this wall, which doesn't look great and is wasting space.
After: Transformed into a proper entryway
To make the area more useful, it was transformed into a proper entryway by installing a radiator cover below and a coat rack above.
Before: Drawing too much attention
Because this heater is a shiny silver metal, it draws unwanted attention. These homeowners wanted to hide this piece from sight.
After: Cleaner appearance
To do so, they created a modern-looking cover, with a pure white border and a gold mesh interior, which still allows the steam to escape.
Before: Basic white
While there's nothing wrong with this radiator, these DIYers wanted to make this wall interesting by adding a painted detail, and the pure white didn't match the look they were going for.
After: Bold black
After adding black polka dots to their white wall, they then decided to paint the radiator black as well, which gave it a much more modern appearance.
Before: Small but ugly
While this radiator doesn't take up much space, it's also not the most aesthetic piece, either. These owners wanted it to blend into the wall.
After: Blends in better
To do this, they surrounded the radiator with a light gray cover that doesn't draw attention and makes the area feel more purposeful.
Before: Rusty safety hazard
This family needed to do something with their old heater, since it looked rusty and was a safety hazard for their children.
After: Beautiful cover
By covering the old, rusted piece with a white cover, this space under the window appears welcoming — and safe, too.
Before: Wasting space
This is a large, very outdated heater that was wasting a lot of space in this room. The owners wanted to make this area more useful.
After: Window bench
To add purpose, they installed a wooden bench over the radiator, which became the perfect place to sit in front of the window and gaze outside.
Before: Building the frame
As you can see, this DIYer has already begun putting a wooden frame around their white radiator. They're doing this to provide a more welcoming appearance for their front entryway.
After: Chic appearance
To make the space appear more modern and to create an area where things like keys can be placed without getting lost, they built a chic, white table and left small cracks between the boards.