Bathrooms are a space where we can feel the cold the most. They also have a talent for never quite catching up with the rest of the house when the heating’s on.
Here are the ideas that we’d reach for to warm everything up. Starting at the floor and working up through radiators, heated towel rails and the different fuel sources, to get your bathroom winter warm ready.
Plus, our Black Friday 2026 sale is now on, so you can warm up your bathroom for even less!
Start from the ground up
A tiled bathroom floor does look lovely, but it’s not exactly cosy. It holds onto the cold and passes it straight to your bare feet, which is quite a shock when you step out of the shower.
Electric underfloor heating turns that around. It comes as heating mats or cables that sit underneath the flooring hidden out of sight. Switch them on and warmth spreads across the whole floor rather than coming from one spot on a wall.
Electric mats warm up quickly and run from a thermostat or an app, so you can set a schedule that matches your routine. Time it for just before your alarm and your feet land on a warm floor straight away, no tiptoeing required!
A big bathroom floor has the most to gain, but a compact bathroom can benefit too. Fitting does mean lifting the floor, so it’s a natural job to pair with new flooring if that was already on your to-do list.
Pair the mats with a heated towel rail and you've got warm feet and a warm towel in one go.
Radiator, towel rail or both?
A heated towel rail dries your towels while taking the chill off the room, and in a smaller bathroom, that can be all the heating you need.
Bigger bathrooms do ask for a little bit more. A rail on its own can leave the corners cold, so a radiator alongside it takes on the room while the rail looks after the towels.
Vertical or horizontal?
Compared to other rooms, bathrooms don’t often have a lot of open wall space which can make radiator choices more limited. And that’s where vertical radiators come in.
These radiators use the height of the wall instead. You get heat top to bottom not just down low and the upright shape draws the eye up the wall too. That gives you heat and a feature in your bathroom at the same time.
Our Toasty Axis radiator is a good example. At 1800mm tall and just 380mm wide, it’s tall but narrow which maximises where it can go. It has sharp rectangular tubes different from the usual rounded tubes or flat panels, and the larger surface area on each one means high heat output. In anthracite grey, it’s a high contrast statement radiator that gives you serious good looks as well as heat.
Horizontal radiators sit lower and wider, which works especially well in bathrooms where the top half of the wall is already taken by a mirror, storage unit or even a window.
Which type of radiator suits your bathroom?
Column radiators have a traditional look to them. Their rounded vertical tubes hold heat well and give a touch of Victorian character while they are at it. They suit a larger bathroom best, and they come in a wide range of finishes so you have lots of options when it comes to matching it in with your bathroom.
The Toasty Mellow is a horizontal 2 column radiator that comes in white or anthracite. It’s a more modern version of the traditional column radiator, with large rounded tubes made from high grade steel.
Flat-panel radiators sit closer to the wall and are often fitted upright to save floor space. They’re the all rounder of radiators, heating up quickly and giving your room plenty of warmth. These radiators work in a small bathroom as well as a bigger one.
The Toasty Radiance is a slim horizontal flat panel radiator that comes in a range of sizes and options, including single or double panel if you need a higher heat output. It’s modern looks and slim profile suits a wide range of bathroom styles.
Convector radiators are the familiar ridged radiator with a grille on top. The grooves on the front are for looks, but metal fins tucked behind them do the real work, warming the air as it rises.
Our Brenton Type 11 single panel is a slim and compact choice for a smaller bathroom. We’ve also got the Brenton Type 22 which is a double panel giving more output for a bigger room that needs an extra push of heat. Both are welded from mild steel in glossy white enamel finish that wipes clean easily.
Choosing a heated towel rail
The classic heated towel rail is a ladder, with straight bars between the two side rails. For an extra edge, an offset design hangs the bars from just one side rail, so a towel slides on with no tucking in needed.
Our Toasty Cocoon Anthracite rail is a modern looking heated towel rail with a loop design so you can hang up even thicker towels to dry without a second thought.
Heated rails come in a range of different heights and widths so finding one to fit your space should be a breeze.
Material and heat output
The radiator material matters too. Mild steel is durable and good at holding heat and aluminium heats up fast, so you feel the difference sooner.
You'll spot BTU on radiator listings. It stands for British Thermal Unit and it simply measures how much heat a radiator puts out.
The right BTU number for your bathroom depends on how big your room is, how many windows it has and how well insulated it is. Go too low and you’ll be back to chilly. Go too high and you’re paying for heat you don’t need.
Read our guide for more on making sure the radiator you choose is the right size for your bathroom. We also have a handy BTU calculator that’s quick and easy to use if you already have your room’s measurements ready.
Central heating, electric or dual fuel?
A central heating radiator or heated towel rail is connected to the same pipes as your radiators around your home. As you fire up your heating, that hot water heated by your boiler flows around the house and into all the radiators.
Electric radiators and rails skip the pipes completely. Most models work like a kettle for your towels. Flick a switch and the built in heating element heats the liquid stored inside them and your bathroom and towels are toasty warm before you know it. This means you can heat your bathroom without needing to heat the whole house.
Dual fuel gives you the best of both in one radiator or rail. It connects to your heating pipes and has an electric element inside. In the winter when you need it the most, your central heating does all the work. In the spring and summer you have control at your fingertips for that warm towel right when you need it, without turning your home into an oven.
Switching between the two means working the valves in the right order. A plumber will have this up and running for you in no time. If you'd like the full picture, here's how dual fuel towel rails work.
If it’s time to switch up your bathroom heating, our Black Friday 2026 sale has deals on radiators and heated towel rails and they are available right the way across November.
Browse everything from column radiators and slim ladder rails to electric and dual fuel options, to take the chill out of your bathroom and turn it into a warm winter retreat.
