Long gone are the days of yellowing white paint on your radiators. Although white is typically a colour used to complement (or at the very least, not clash with) the walls and décor in your home, you might be pleased to hear that you no longer have to stick to the bog-standard white gloss for your rads. Many homeowners are now branching out and bringing coloured radiators into their homes to work with their décor, rather than against it. It’s a simple but effective way to finish off a room and add a personal touch to your décor theme. Read on to learn more about painting radiators to match walls.
1. Pick your wall shade according to your radiator paint
Perhaps you’ve found the perfect radiator in an existing colour, or maybe you want to find the perfect colour match and don’t know where to begin. A good tip is to choose the wall paint by matching it to the radiator colour. This can help get a good colour match as there are many more colours available for walls than there are for radiators (despite the variety still being very large). Try to choose paints from the same company for the best match and always get a swatch to compare side by side to make sure they’re identical before getting stuck in with a brush.
2. Choose a contrasting colour
If you’re not confident in your colour matching skills, you don’t need to fret. Rather than matching the shade of your radiator to your wall exactly, why not opt for a contrasting hue to bring a pop of colour into the room instead?
Pick a colour that brings out other details in the room such as the colour of the sofa or another piece of décor and paint the radiator the same colour. Dark grey walls are complemented by pops of purple perfectly, a terracotta orange works well with neutral tones, or go with green if you love your plants. 
3. Pick a colour from patterned wallpaper
If you have wallpaper that features some pretty colours or patterns, pick out a colour to feature on your radiators. This is a fun way to turn your radiators from a purely functional essential into part of the décor and can work with any existing wallpaper. Choose a shade that stands out to you, or pick one you want to feature more. Pink and purple flowers in a floral pattern, jade green from a tropical themed paper, or even a stunning metallic from a geometric print - the only limit is your imagination. Match your chosen shade to swatches of paint for the best effect.
4. Make sure you swatch before you go all out
Whether you're bringing out a shade from the room, or you’re looking to match your radiators perfectly to help them blend in, make sure you’re making swatches before you start painting - especially if using paints from different brands. To successfully swatch colours, paint a couple of thin layers onto a piece of paper side by side and allow to dry fully. You won’t get an accurate representation of the shades when the paint is wet so allow it to completely dry before deciding if the colours are for you.
5. Paint the radiator (and wall) before you install it
When painting a radiator, it’s important to do it properly, otherwise you could be left with unpainted sections behind the radiator or patchy sections that don’t look particularly good.
Make sure you either paint the radiator before installing it, or remove it from the wall and central heating system to give you full access to every side. Check out our guide on what to know before to painting a radiator to help it go smoothly.
6. Check your warranty!
If you’re seriously considering painting your radiator, double check your warranty. If your rads are quite old then this might not be a problem but some radiator warranties consider painting the radiator as surface or external damage. Make sure you check with the manufacturer before making such a big change as a voided warranty can spell trouble if something goes wrong down the line.
7. Forget all of that and buy a radiator from UK Radiators instead
Painting radiators is a lot of work and can be a bit of a hassle. The end results can be worth it, but when there are so many amazing colour options ready-to-install, there’s no need to take on such a project. With the wide range of radiator options available here at UK Radiators, you can refresh the feel of any room with just a few steps (that don’t involve getting messy or voiding warranties).
Browse our full range of Designer Radiators in a wide variety of different colours including White Bathroom Radiators, Anthracite Bathroom Radiators, Black Bathroom Radiators as well as much much more to fit any space in your home.
