28 August 2014
Since we moved into our fully renovated offices in central Glasgow, we have continued to tweak and refine the interior.
The Trade Radiators office is now a very stylish and comfortable place for us to conduct our business, while continuing provide a top quality service to our customers.
Naturally our office is full of products available on our website, and below we offer a selection of photos showcasing our eclectic interior design choices, which is a subtle mix of contemporary and modern!
We opted for cast iron radiators because, not only are they elegant & fit in with the period of the building, but they are great when you have large single pained windows. This is because of the nature of the material - once hot, they stay hot and cool slowly - This means you avoid large spikes in temperature and also don't face the issue of condensation forming on the windows.
We decided on the Victorian slim radiators as they have the classic cast iron 'old school' look which is in keeping with the period (our office was built late 1800's). But the design, with the three wide columns, means the heat output is comparable with the regular Victorian (which has the 4 columns). The Slim is slightly narrower which means it is easier to lean over to open the large windows.
Regarding finish, we always wanted a neutral bright colour scheme on the walls and opted for Farrow and Balls James White. We wanted the radiators to make a statement in the rooms and to contrast with the walls. We considered getting a custom paint finish from the Farrow and Ball colour range, but instead opted for our natural cast because, being a metallic colour, we felt it had a lot of depth to the finish and would easily fit in with the bright colour scheme.
Regarding radiator valves, we went for the the Balmoral Antique Nickle, as they add a contemporary finish to the cast iron.
1. Below was an old cast iron radiator we had lying around and we decided to get a local artist to do his thing. After a overwhelmingly positive response on Facebook, we decided to permanently display it in our office and we think it looks great! The radiator is a Knightsbridge Cast Iron Radiator.
2. Below is our Kitchen/Relaxing area. The radiator we've installed under the beautiful period sash windows is the 745mm high Victorian Slim Cast Iron Rad.
3. In the main office room, next to our amazing fireplace, we've installed another 745mm high Victorian Slim Cast Iron Rad, which slots into that gap perfectly.
4. The photo below shows part of our meeting room where all the big decisions get thrashed out and decided upon. Again, in keeping with the other rooms and the period of the office, we've installed the trusty Victorian Slim Cast Iron Radiator.
5. Below is a close up of the Victorian Slim Cast Iron Radiator that sits next to our fire place in our main room. The slim profile of these rads means its actually very easy to lean over them to open a window without having to stretch, which is obviously very convenient in an office space.
6. In the bathroom (below), after using the heating calculator to make sure we knew what heat outputs we needed for the room, we decided to go for the Pisa 1200x450mm Heated Towel Rail. These are perfect for getting a towel bar on so we could hang a hand towel off the rail.
7. Finally, to make use of the cheaper electric rates at night we opted for a storage heater which takes the chill out of the main room before the heating kicks in. This results in making the office nice and toasty when we come in in the cold winter mornings.
Article by Benjamin Clarke
