Same color as the trim

Play it up! Choose a metallic color, not silver, to make it stand out. Benjamin Moore has a great palette of metallic colors. Choose a color that you love to accentuate this cool retro piece!

The current color looks okay in the photo.

Wondering if you are not missing opportunity to create shelving here? A cover on radiator?

A glossy blue, red or yellow. Embrace it!

Just for fun, this Houzz story shows what some people have done with their radiators: https://www.houzz.com/magazine/how-to-make-peace-with-your-radiator-stsetivw-vs~833437

Look around I literally (spray) painted mine a color called flat nickel bought at home depot.

Look for the hammered metallic finishes that is available at HD. I would suggest pressure washing to old rad until your down to the cast iron. I used the gold finish and it turned out fantastic. Two coats!

If you're looking for retro, go with a semi-flat gold!

I see there is a door right beside the unit, so putting some kind of cover on it will only enlarge it and make less room for the door to open. I think painting it striped - blue and beige - to match the blue
stripe in the wallpaper and the beige trim.

I am shooting for a color in the wallpaper print. It looks as though it is a gray green of some sort. The photo color could well be significantly off, but hopefully it's close enough to convey the concept.

I was told by the man who installed a new boiler furnace to take the covers off the radiators and not to paint them in order to have more efficient heat. Is this true?

My husband won't let me paint our radiators either. Guess I'll go for a cover. :(

Do not cover, heat hold back ca be a fire hazard, do not cover.
Sand blast and paint with heat resistance paint matte nickel is so cool with any color combo !!

Sn8ppy,
I'm with you for the "Retro" look! My whole home is "Primitive"/"Old Country" so I like things as they WERE!! As the two previous ppl said you're better off to bring it down to it's original state and then use a flat gold. However, if you don't like the ORIGINAL LOOK, still after bringing it down to it's original state, you CAN go with a flat pewter. Try either color on the BACK side of the radiator BEFORE you go FULL STEAM AHEAD!! Good luck!!
PS: the reason you want to go down to zero paint is bc that way you'll have a good heat conductor and also it won't peel and look awful!!

We have radiators like that in our entire house and my husband wants to have covers built but I think they are actually much nicer as is. I'd just repaint (after a good scraping with steel wool, industrial "strength") using the same color as the trim.

re paint v not paint and how it effects heat. We've always had painted ones. We've lived in 3 old (OLD) houses over the past 30 years and they all had paint on them when we moved it and they do fine with heat. Maybe they'd be slightly "better" without the paint but we live north of Boston on the water and it gets cold here but the painted radiators work fine.

I have radiators and have always heard flat paint and no covers for best heating. I paint mine the wall color so they aren't a focal point. If they are fancy radiators, you probably would want a contrasting color.

Architectaia With respect there are no fire hazards with water filled radiators. You can quite happily paint them or put towells on them to dry. Perhaps you are thinking of electric radiators where there can be a definite fire hazard. Painting will slightly reduce the ouput perhaps imperceptibly but the heat will not be lost as it will be retained within the system.
Sn8ppy. Spray paint is a great idea, a bit tedious with a brush getting in to these crevices. Good luck.

Crappy Flaked paint will burn if it get hot enough so will wood in a confined space all things gave a flash point ; except water that is.
Buy heat resistant paint it can come in many colors in spray cans too is great , have fun though as you can !!!'

I don't want to get into a tennis match about the dangers of water filled radiators, but we should not frighten people into thinking that their house could end up burnt to the ground because of a water filled radiator.
Your statement about flash point is quite correct but a central heating radiator will never get that hot. Mabe just over 80C . Wood will only start to char at the lowest 120c. The radiator's temperature is limited to prevent burns to the occupants, children , old people etc.
You can quite happily use normal paint but one word of caution . MAKE SURE THE RADIATOR IS TURNED OFF AND COOL. The fumes could be very obnoxious

Benjamin Moore has a nice line of metallic paint. You could also try Modern Masters. They have a gorgeous line of metallics, which Ben Moore carried until they created their own line. We have used them often and they have both a shiny and a matte finish available. Lots of metallic colors. We use them on ceilings frequently. With regards to the painted radiators and covers.... we have lived with painted radiators with covers for 42 years without any issue. We have repainted and replaced covers without any issue. The company we work with has been very clear that is is safe to paint water filled radiators and cover them, although the cover will decrease the heat output in the room fractionally. Best of luck!

Not to belabor the point BY belaboring it because I am about to but from a non-professional but a homeowner of 3 houses that had painted radiators, just want to agree with Ianblue-our heating is forced hot water and they can get hot but never so hot in my personal experience to ever even burn skin unless, for some reason, you wanted to and could somehow withstand the pain. We raised 3 children in these 3 houses (well, in the first 2) and I was typically neurotic with the first and asked a professional "baby proofer" and I don't remember her exact words but it was that they didn't need to be changed or covered. But Ianblu is right about when/how to paint them. We have always had a plumber come and drain them and shut off the heating system (or in our current house and just this past June, the zone) and also remove them to a place where they can be painted without dangerous fumes being inhaled. Reminds me that I have to call the plumber to reinstall them in the master bedroom we just rewallpapered. The radiators are sitting on the outside (covered) porch. Painted. To match the trim. Because I think that looks the best. No more on painted radiators from me. Pinky swear.

I spray painted all 36 radiators in my home and most are in a metallic finish. Too many coats of paint can reduce efficiency and if the paint is cracking, peeling or flaking it's a good spring time project to drain the system and get them sand blasted then refinish them. I used marble slabs in top of many of my radiators. I took dimensions and got a great deal buying waste or trimmed off pieces. They hold the heat, provide a surface for some display and by leaving the radiators open they really allow them to function. Some years ago when I added on I scoured scrap yards for vintage radiators to add character to the new spaces. The scrap yards were far less expensive than the restoration salvage places. ( I love the restoration/salvage places too but budget is a big item) I found a tall, ornate one for my foyer that dries mittens, scarves and even socks in the winter and on cold rainy days. As someone above said, "embrace them" they really do add character.

Your radiator is a great color...almost neutral. Get a slab of composite marble and lay on top....instant towel warmer while in the shower or bath.

Use paint made for radiators, it's color will hold longer and it's heat resistant.

I would think that putting marble on top is really just going to absorb the heat that would have otherwise been going into the room?

If you find a color you like but it only comes in a 'shiny' sheen, you can knock it down with a final coat or two of matte clear coat.

After all this wonderful information can I suggest you look at auto paints. The selection of spray cans in most auto stores gives the idea of fun and retro. I have recently completed a metal gazebo in metallic blue for my clients swimming pool.

Have fun.

I painted the radiators in my office with metallic silver high heat paint during the summer. Don't do it during the heating season. It does not look sparkly, just slightly metallic.

I brought all six of my radiators from a former home (pre-war apartment) to an auto paint store. They painted them with car paint- gorgeous!!

I would strip it,than varnish it...but that is a lot of work.
Ask a pro if we can mix metallic paint with a bold color?
We used a metallic silver paint for ours,don't worry it's not that "flashy"

We went with hammered copper spray paint, I believe rustoleum. Scraped with a wire brush anywhere the old paint was loose. The copper color gives a nice warm tone to the room ( I like silver/nickel but it is a cool/cold color). I will upload a pic later.

put a cover over it with a screen front: also put a towel holder on it so that it become a towel warmer when the heat is on during the winter!

We have an 1895 Queen Anne - our third Victorian with beautiful (big) radiators. While most were in great shape, some had been badly painted and the paint was chipping. We had our plumber purge the system (hot water) and remove the radiators to be sandblasted. This was done by an auto body shop. Once sandblasted and primed, we used "Modern Masters" metallic paints - large selection, beautiful colors (that can be mixed for a "custom" color). This was eight years ago and the finish still looks like new.

Martha Stewart has a line of metallic paints too, and she has one in white. I think it should blend very closely to the wall, not be a standout color. They are very nostalgic looking. I love them.

I highly recommend Rustoleum!! (so you don't get rust breaking through)...and they have great metallics...including a nickel.

here are a couple pics

The grayish metal colors are popular right now, but they are drab, lifeless and unrelated to the scheme you have in there. Look at your base moulding. This is an old home. The closer you move to original the better. Some of the coppery tones from these contributors look amazing, but look around the house really well. "Have a chat with the builder" so to speak, and do whatever he says.

I painted mine bright colors (fire engine red, sapphire blue) and loved them. It's best to apply some zipstrip first if there are heavy layers of old paint. I never had any issues with heat, as these were hot water radiators with water n tem, not steam which is much hotter.

That aged copper suggestion makes for a beautiful radiator, but I would also rethink the color of your moldings and door. You need color! I don't remember anything in my lifetime,and it's been a long one, to be sooo beige.

It is some time since I commented on this subject but since then I have painted my radiators. Initialy his was a bit of a disaster. The radiators were turned off when painted and only turned back on when completely dry. But once warmed up the smell, and fumes were awful and took a very long time to stop smelling, I mean weeks. I had used solvent ie oil based paint which did state on the tin it was suitable for radiators!

For the next batch I used water based paint and there was very little smell at all. Someone mentioned auto paints and I think this is be a great idea . Very quick to dry and a great range of colours.

Hey, good to hear from you and your progress.