Grohe Hand

March 19th, 2007 admin

Grohe+Hand

High-end and Designer Faucets for Exceptional Comfort by Vittorio Bergossi

Now a day's consumers are offered a very wide range of faucets and fixtures for their daily use. There are almost unlimited possibilities of selection in terms of shape, finish and material. With so many choices available it is not always easy to make a good decision. Too often in a kitchen the tap is simply selected by the kitchen designer without paying too much attention to this very important detail. One should not forget that the kitchen faucet usually is the most used piece of equipment in a home, and it is also at the center of attention in a kitchen.

Mostly consumers select the tap that best reflects their style and desires, but there are several factors to be considered. A high-end faucet should not only be stylish and beautiful, but also of excellent quality, produced and assembled with attention to detail. Of course the finish is also very important in consideration of the appliances and furniture in the room: a stylish fixture will enhance the overall look of the kitchen or bathroom. Some designer faucets are only focused on beauty, but it's important to consider also the other aspects.

Well selected faucets will give an extraordinary and distinctive look to your home and they will enhance the value of the property. Most manufacturers offer nice designs but very few combine it with excellent execution, functionality and the great attention to detail that is necessary to guarantee a smooth use free from vibrations and to guarantee long lasting quality.

Shapes and installations can vary a lot: single hole, two hole or three hole mixers, with a single handle or with two handles, with or without side spray or pull out shower, semi professional or wall mounted. The designs and finishes offer even more variety: contemporary or classic, luxury faucets are available in chrome, nickel, brass, copper and many more finishes. There are endless choices of exquisite models to suit every kitchen design and theme.

In the last few years stainless steel faucets have been constantly gaining popularity. A stainless steel faucet will match perfectly your appliances to obtain the ultimate look in the kitchen and it will also give a contemporary sleek look to your bathroom. In this case as well there are different options that the consumer must be aware of. Many manufacturers offer a "stainless steel finish". These are traditional brass faucets that are plated through a chemical process: they look similar to steel, but their finish is more delicate and subject to flaking like all plated faucets. For example Dornbracht has a "platinum matt" finish that looks like mat steel bit it is not.
Other manufacturers use an actual stainless steel casing over a brass interior: amongst others Grohe and KWC offer such models. These fixtures offer the beautiful look of stainless as well as some other of its advantages: a stainless steel surface is less porous and therefore more hygienic; the finish will not flake and it will remain beautiful. Scratches can be removed by hand polishing with specific products.
Finally very few manufacturers such as MGS actually use solid stainless steel to produce their mixers. Producing fixtures made of solid stainless steel allows to offer all of the above characteristics, but it also has some very important additional advantages: it is 100% lead free, it allows an ecologic production exempt from chemical processes and it is fully recyclable. Solid stainless steel faucets are also ideal for outdoor installation as they are much more resistant to humid or saline air than a plated faucet.

About the Author

The author is associated with Copama SA. Copama is a Swiss company, Mother Company of MGS Progetti SRL in Italy. MGS stainless steel fixtures merge Italian luxury and style with the innovative precision of Swiss engineering, creating slim silhouettes that represent the perfect harmony of aesthetics and technology.