Possible to replace hot-water baseboards? With what?

[yosistah]

Hi - my husband and I are first-time homebuyers and our new house is a 60-yr-old colonial with hot water baseboard heaters. Apparently these were installed in the mid-80s and are, well, ... really ugly.

Part of the reason we purchased the house was the traditional trimwork throughout (except where there are heaters) and we're wondering if these heaters could be replaced with something else (or is that just crazy?).

If we had old-style radiators, we could camouflage them within built-in cabinetry but we have no idea what to do with these things - which is why I'm asking about replacing them. I'm guessing that installing something like a forced-air heating system would be crazy-expensive, right?

One last thing: if replacing them is foolish (or too expensive or beyond impractical) do you have any suggestions about what we could do to make them work with the style of the house??

Your thoughts? Anyone?

Thanks - (sorry about the rookie questions),
Yosistah :confused:

[jadnashua]

Convert to radiant floor heat and take them out. There are some decent looking panel radiators that don't take up much room. Putting in ductwork could be a major pain, but it would give you the option of central a/c. There are high velocity systems out there for forced air - small outlets and more of them often put in the ceiling. They sort of look like a recessed light can on some of them, but smaller.

[Gary Swart]

There are several options as was pointed out. Your best bet is to contact a heating contractor to come in and discuss the options with you. The structure of you house may preclude somethings. I think baseboard heater of any kind are ugly, so good luck in finding a solution you can afford and like.