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Why plain white radiators are disappearing from UK living rooms

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Across the UK, homeowners renovating their living spaces are increasingly choosing designer radiators that combine heating performance with visual appeal. With home improvement spending continuing to rise and interior design becoming more influential than ever, radiators are no longer something to hide. Instead, they are becoming a deliberate design feature.

From sleek vertical models to heritage-inspired column radiators, the modern heating market has evolved dramatically. In 2026, homeowners no longer need to choose between efficiency and aesthetics.

Why Designer Radiators Are Growing in Popularity

Several trends have contributed to the rise of designer radiators in UK homes.

One key factor is the growing number of homeowners renovating their properties rather than moving house. Living rooms often become the centrepiece of these renovations, which means every element of the room receives greater attention.

Open-plan living spaces have also played a role. When kitchens, dining areas and living rooms merge into one large room, radiators become far more visible. This has encouraged homeowners to choose models that complement their interior style.

Interior design trends have also had a major influence. Social media platforms, home renovation programmes and interior magazines regularly showcase stylish heating solutions, helping change the perception of radiators from purely practical objects into design features.

At the same time, modern radiator technology has improved significantly. Contemporary steel radiators heat up faster and work efficiently with modern heating systems, including heat pumps and smart thermostats.

Vertical Radiators: The Modern Statement Piece

Vertical designer radiators have become one of the most popular choices for living rooms.

Their tall, slim design allows them to fit neatly on narrow wall sections that would otherwise be unused. This makes them ideal for modern homes where wall space may be limited by large windows or furniture layouts.

Vertical column radiators are particularly popular because they combine modern efficiency with classic design. In contemporary interiors, finishes such as anthracite grey or matt black create a bold visual feature. In period homes, traditional column styles echo the appearance of original cast iron radiators while offering faster heat response.

For homeowners who prefer a cleaner, more understated aesthetic, flat panel designer radiators offer an elegant solution.

These radiators typically feature smooth front panels with slim profiles that sit close to the wall. Their simple lines work particularly well in modern apartments and Scandinavian-inspired interiors.

Many models are now available in textured finishes such as anthracite grey or raw metal, which add visual interest while maintaining a minimalist look.

Horizontal Radiators Remain a Practical Choice

Although vertical radiators are becoming more popular, horizontal radiators remain a practical option for many living rooms.

Positioning a radiator beneath a window helps counteract cold air entering through glazing. This layout continues to work well in homes with bay windows or traditional living room designs.

Today’s horizontal designer radiators are also far more visually appealing than older models. Smooth front panels, slim profiles and contemporary finishes mean they can contribute to the overall design of the room rather than simply serving a functional role.

Traditional Style Radiators for Period Properties

In older properties, traditional column radiators remain a natural fit.

Victorian terraces, Edwardian homes and stone cottages often benefit from heritage-style radiators that complement original architectural features. Modern versions replicate the classic cast iron appearance but use steel construction, which allows them to heat up more quickly and reduces installation weight.

These radiators pair well with fireplaces, wooden floors and traditional colour schemes, helping maintain the character of period living rooms.

Choosing the Right Finish

The finish of a radiator can have a significant impact on the overall appearance of a living room.

Among UK homeowners in 2026, some of the most popular finishes include:

  • Anthracite grey, which works well with most interior styles
  • Matt black for bold, contemporary spaces
  • Gloss white for traditional or neutral interiors
  • Metallic finishes such as raw metal, which are becoming more common in decorative interiors.

Choosing a finish that complements other elements in the room can help integrate the radiator into the overall design.

Performance Still Matters

While style has become more important, heating performance remains essential.

Designer radiators can heat a room just as effectively as traditional models when correctly sized. The most important factor is the BTU output, which indicates how much heat a radiator can produce.

Homeowners should calculate the heating requirement of their living room before selecting a radiator. Factors such as room size, insulation levels and ceiling height all influence the amount of heat required.

A Shift in How We View Home Heating

Radiators were once treated as purely functional household items. Today they are increasingly considered part of the interior design of a home.

Whether through bold vertical styles, heritage-inspired columns or sleek minimalist panels, designer radiators are helping transform living rooms across the UK.

As renovation trends continue and homeowners place greater emphasis on aesthetics, radiators are likely to play an even larger role in shaping the character of modern living spaces.


About The Radiator Hub

The Radiator Hub supplies modern and traditional designer radiators to homeowners and trade customers across the UK.





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Grove and Wantage fun day boosts cash for community groups

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Money raised from the event will go towards helping local people in the OX12 area (Image: Ed Nix)

The free summer extravaganza, held on Saturday, June 13, was jointly organised by Grove Rugby Football Club, the Ray Collins Trust and Grove Scouts, with more than 40 stalls raising money for charities and community causes in Wantage and Grove.

Bands, soloists and choirs performed from midday (Image: Ed Nix)

From midday, bands, choirs and soloists performed as children tucked into a free picnic and parents enjoyed hot barbecue food served by Scouts.

READ MORE: Award-winning RHS Chelsea Flower Show designer from Oxfordshire gets MBE

A giant funfair offered classic attractions such as hook-a-duck, alongside bird of prey displays.

There was lots of dancing and singing at the fun day (Image: Ed Nix)

American Dance School led line dancing and showcases, with further demonstrations in rugby and martial arts.

Live music played from 12pm to 11pm (Image: Ed Nix)

Dog owners could also enter their pets into a show run by National Animal Welfare Trust Berkshire and sponsored by Larkmead Vets.





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Akamai launches AI agent traffic security framework

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Akamai has introduced a security framework to manage AI agent traffic, aimed at businesses that need to verify whether automated requests should be allowed to act.

Built into its Bot & Agent Control products, the framework combines identity checks, traffic monitoring and enforcement at the network edge. It targets merchants, publishers and other organisations facing a rise in automated requests from AI agents acting on users’ behalf.

The launch reflects a broader industry focus on whether an AI agent can be tied to an authorised human user and whether its behaviour can be trusted. That question has become more urgent as agents begin to shop, retrieve content and carry out tasks previously completed directly by people in browsers or apps.

Akamai’s model is built around six areas: verified identity, user-linked authentication, trust analysis, edge enforcement, content monetisation and traffic visibility. It is working with several partners to connect those elements.

One part of the framework focuses on agent identity in commercial transactions. Akamai is working with Visa on the Trusted Agent Protocol and with Skyfire and Experian on the Know Your Agent framework, intended to let agents declare identity, origin and intent while linking them to the platforms they use and the users they represent.

The approach is designed to help businesses distinguish between a legitimate AI shopping assistant and a malicious bot that may appear similar when it first connects to a website. It also aims to provide an audit trail for transactions carried out by software acting for a person.

Visa said agent identity will be a basic requirement if automated commerce is to expand.

“Without trusted identity and explicit permissioning, AI agents cannot participate in commerce at scale,” said Rubail Birwadker, Senior Vice President, Head of Growth Products and Partnerships, Visa. “Visa’s Trusted Agent Protocol provides the identity layer that defines how agents are authenticated, authorized, and trusted at the transaction level so businesses and consumers can transact with confidence.”

Experian described the issue as one of transparency and accountability in AI-led interactions.

“AI agents are quickly becoming part of digital commerce, but trust will determine how far and how fast adoption grows,” said Kathleen Peters, Chief Innovation Officer at Experian. “With the Experian Agent Trust framework, we are helping businesses bring more transparency and accountability to AI-driven interactions by verifying identities, assessing risk, and strengthening confidence in every transaction. Our collaboration with Akamai and other ecosystem leaders reflects the industry’s shared commitment to building a secure foundation for agentic commerce that consumers and businesses can trust in real time.”

Skyfire, which is also involved in the identity effort, said commercial use of agents depends on a recognised trust layer.

“AI agents can’t participate in the economy without trusted identity and the ability to transact,” said Amir Sarhangi, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder, Skyfire. “Skyfire provides that foundation – enabling agents to authenticate, operate within policy, and access global payment rails. With Akamai, we’re bringing that trust layer to the edge, so enterprises can securely enable trusted agents without re-architecting their existing systems.”

Identity checks

Another element covers the hand-off between a human user and an AI agent. Integrations with identity providers including Auth0 and Ping Identity allow organisations to apply existing checks such as behavioural analysis and multi-factor authentication to the agents their customers use.

The idea is that a company should not rely only on a session or browser signal when an agent is involved. Instead, it should be able to assess who the agent represents, what it is permitted to do and whether its actions match the user’s established profile.

“AI agents introduce a new trust challenge because session-based trust alone is no longer sufficient. Organisations need to understand who they represent, what agents are allowed to do, and how their actions are governed in real time,” said Loren Russon, Vice President, Product Management, Ping Identity. “By combining Ping’s Runtime Identity capabilities with Akamai’s edge enforcement and visibility, enterprises can extend identity and access controls to AI-driven interactions with stronger accountability and oversight.”

Akamai said the framework also moves beyond a simple allow-or-block approach. Its trust analysis layer is intended to assess interactions across browsers, bots and agents on a spectrum, helping organisations decide which requests support commercial goals and which may signal fraud, abuse or operational risk.

Publisher model

For publishers and content owners, the system also addresses how AI agents access and pay for web content. Partnerships with TollBit and Skyfire support models in which access can be negotiated and charged on a pay-per-request basis.

That could give media groups and other content businesses a way to distinguish between ordinary visitors, beneficial agents and scraping activity, while also setting commercial terms for machine-driven access to material on their sites.

The framework is tied to Akamai’s traffic analysis tools, including TrafficPeak, which can provide a view of how human users, useful AI agents and malicious bots interact with websites over time. Security teams and business managers can then use that data to adjust access rules and revenue strategies.

At the infrastructure level, enforcement happens at the edge of Akamai’s distributed network, allowing decisions on incoming requests to be made quickly without shifting checks to a central system.

Patrick Sullivan, Vice President, Chief Technology Officer of Security Strategy, Akamai, said the goal is to give businesses a way to tie identity to decision-making as automated interactions increase.

“AI agents are replacing clicks, acting and handling commerce for us. For that to work, businesses need to recognize not just the agent, but who is behind it and what it’s trying to do,” said Sullivan. “We’ve built this so that identity informs visibility, visibility drives trust, and trust powers the decisions that let companies safely grow and monetize these new AI interactions. We’re giving businesses the confidence to open their doors to AI without compromising security.”



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UK pest control company enters administration after three years

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LPPC Environmental Ltd, which operates as Pest Control Aberdeenshire, provides environmentally friendly pest and bird control services for households and businesses across the UK.

The company was founded in April 2023 and has bases in Aberdeen and Bolton.



The Pest Control Aberdeenshire website reads: “We’re passionate about the environment and providing pest control solutions that help wildlife and humans co-exist.

“We’re dedicated to deterring pests naturally, using traditional pest control methods such as hawking and falconry.

“Our pest control methods are both effective and non-toxic, and we always try to use a natural solution to deal with vermin where possible.”

LPPC Environmental Ltd falls into administration

After just three years in business, LPPC Environmental Ltd looks set to shut down after falling into administration.

A petition to wind up the company was presented to the Aberdeen Sheriff Court back in March, according to The Gazette.

The petition requested permission for the company to be “wound up by the Court and to appoint a liquidator”.

An administration order was granted on May 8, while Kevin Mapstone of BTG Begbies Traynor was appointed administrator on June 5.

Other UK companies that have closed or entered administration/liquidation in 2026

It has been a tough year for the UK high street, with several other retailers entering administration and others announcing widespread store closures.

Major high street brands LK Bennett and Claire’s both closed all their stores in April, having previously fallen into administration.



UK fashion retailers Leading Labels and Quiz are also set to close their remaining stores after falling into liquidation.

Other retailers have been forced to close stores this year, including:

Four UK travel companies have closed in 2026:

Luxury UK holiday company Salamander Voyages also shut down back in April after entering administration.



Meanwhile, four UK airlines have fallen into administration or liquidation:

UK delivery company Yodel is set to be phased out over the coming months after being acquired by InPost.

It’s also been reported that Morrisons is looking to sell some of its in-store pharmacies as it continues to cut costs.

It’s not been all bad news for the UK high street, with several major brands announcing new store openings for 2026, including Aldi, M&S, and Superdrug.

Plus-size clothing brand Evans has also returned to the UK high street in 2026 after closing all its stores and concessions in December 2020.

Have you used Pest Control Aberdeenshire before? Let us know in the poll above or in the comments below.





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