A Buyer’s Guide to Kitchen and Bathroom Taps

When updating a kitchen or bath, the taps are one of the first things that most homeowners consider. These items can dramatically change the style of a room, and can also make your sink or bathtub much more user-friendly. Choosing the right taps can make or break the room, so it’s best to consider all the features and characteristics you want before making your final pick.

Special Features

Before you can begin narrowing down the style, you’ll want to consider any special features that are a must-have for your kitchen or bath. For example, many homeowners love having a kitchen tap with a flexible neck, making it easier to wash large bowls or pots. What about a spout that swivels in a complete circle, so that you can move it out of the way entirely to free up sink access for food prep? There are other taps that are filtered for drinking or cooking.

The right tap features should reflect your lifestyle and needs. If you do a lot of cooking and washing up, you’ll probably want to find a kitchen tap with plenty of movement, so you can get water exactly where you need it. In the bath, your needs may be different. Do you enjoy long soaks in the tub, and want a bath to draw quickly? Consider a larger waterfall tap. Many bathroom sink taps don’t swivel at all, but nothing says you can’t choose one that does if you’d like more flexibility on your vanity counter.

Tap Types

If you are fitting a brand new sink, you’ll have tons of options for your new tap. However, if you’re updating an old sink, you’ll need to choose a type of tap that fits the number of holes available in the sink. For a single hole sink, a single lever tap or monobloc tap are perfect. Both require only a single hole, and the temperature of the water is controlled by either a turning lever or two small knobs on the tap itself.

If the sink has two holes, you can choose something like a pillar tap, which is a pair of taps, one for hot and one for cold water. This is often a great choice for stricter budgets, and offers a retro look to a room. A deck mixer tap is another option, where each temperature-controlling knob sends water to a single raised spout.

Tap Styles

Once you’ve narrowed down what features you need, and what type of tap your sink supports, you’re ready to start looking at styles! When it comes to bathroom and kitchen taps, the shape, material, and colour are the three things that usually create that special look you’re going for. Choose a short, blocky tap for a more modern or masculine feel, in either a dark metal or a shiny chrome. Elegantly arched spouts add a classy, feminine feel, and can look great in chrome, copper, or dark metals.

In the bath, you have several style options depending on the function of your bath. Shower tap ware can be simple temperature-controlling knobs if you don’t have or need a bath spout, and bath tap ware ranges from wide waterfall taps to simple spouts that also function as shower controls. When you’re redoing an entire room, you may want to consider matching your tap to the other hardware in the room. If your drawer pulls are dark, a dark-coloured tap will make the entire space feel like a designer room. If you’ve chosen chrome shower tap ware, consider a chrome sink tap to complete the look.