Bathrooms on a budget

Read article : Bathrooms on a budget

Consumer expert Jennifer Newton investigates the latest basin tap designs and what they have to offer. 

Image above: Water Square Lights monobloc basin mixer, (H) 12cm, £875, Crosswater.

When it comes to fitting a new bathroom, it’s worth prioritising your budget on items with moving parts. ‘You turn a tap on and off hundreds of thousands of times during the lifetime of the bathroom. It therefore needs to be durable and reliable, so spend as much as you can afford,’ says Martin Mongan, UK managing director for Hansgrohe.

Technology features

Manufacturers have, until recently, focused on improving kitchen taps and shower mixers, but technology for bathroom taps is also improving now. Digital and sensor bathroom taps that include hand-drying are possible but, at £700-£2,000, it will be some time before they are considered standard. There are also taps with a light that changes from blue to red, indicating temperature – but the price tag is high. For example, Crosswater’s Water Square basin monobloc tap retails at £315, but jumps to £875 with changing light effect.

Sensor controls

Touch-free sensor taps offer maximum hygiene, with water automatically stopping when the user moves away. Tap specialist Hansgrohe now sells Axor basin- and wall-mounted mixer taps operated by sensors, where the temperature can be pre-set – ideal for areas such as cloakrooms. EcoSmart technology limits water flow to five litres per minute, and the sensor itself saves even more water and energy due to the short run time of 1-1.5 seconds. Dyson has also entered the market with the Airblade, boasting a sensor tap and a built-in automatic hand- dryer, for £980.

Image above: Left: Axor Citterio electronic basin mixer, (H)22cm, £1,236, Hansgrohe.

Image above: Right: Country basin mixer with filtration, in Pewter (H) 23.5cm, £711.24, Perrin and Rowe. 

Digital revolution

Bathroom technology at its best, the Grohe Ondus range is controlled via a smart panel that’s pre-programmed with preferred temperature, flow rate and duration. Taps can be basin- or wall-mounted, and a co-ordinating shower and bath mixer is available. Colours include Velvet Black, Moon White and Frosted Titanium, but this technology is still costly at up to £2,000.

Water filters

Perrin & Rowe claims that Triflow is the world’s first three-way tap technology, delivering hot, cold and filtered water through a dedicated bathroom waterway. Made in the UK, Triflow taps are designed to reduce heavy metals and particles but let through necessary minerals. Or, try the Country basin mixer, which has a handle to mix hot and cold water and a separate handle for filtered water. David Cole, sales director at Perrin & Rowe, says: ‘Opting for a filtration tap ensures clean, hygienic filtered water with the ease of a standard tap.’