The Best Bathroom Taps For A Splash Of Style

GROHE has a strong reputation for quality, and the BauEdge lives up to it with a 5 year manufacturer's guarantee. It's an XS size single-lever pillar tap with a monobloc fitting, so it goes through a single hole in the basin. UK retailer listings describe it as a single supply tap that gives cold water only, so a basin needs a pair for hot and cold, or it suits a cloakroom basin as a cold tap. Check the listing before you order, as at least one retailer now shows this size as discontinued.

The finish resists scratches and wipes clean easily, which matters on a tap that gets handled every day. GROHE's EcoJoy aerator cuts water use, with retailer specifications putting the flow at 5.7 litres per minute. Listings give a minimum pressure of 1.0 bar, so check before fitting it to a gravity-fed system. The tap is fairly compact, so on a large basin or a bath it can look too small and the spout won't reach as far into the bowl.

The Funime is the tap to buy if you want the whole job in one box. It's made from brass with multi-layer chrome plating for a durable, bright finish. It delivers water in a smooth waterfall stream, and the quarter-turn ceramic disc cartridge goes from off to full flow in a small movement of the lever.

Everything needed for the fit comes in the box, including a pop-up waste, flexible hoses, fittings and instructions, so you can do the whole swap in one go. We couldn't verify a minimum pressure figure for it, so check the manual against your system before you buy. The brand isn't as well known as GROHE or Bristan, which puts some people off, but the build and the kit included make it good value.

This Hapilife tap is for people who like to see the water spill out in an open sheet rather than a stream. It's a solid brass monobloc with several layers of chrome for a lasting mirror finish, and at 1.1 kg it has a reassuring weight to it.

Hapilife backs it with a 10 year warranty, uses a tested ceramic disc cartridge and supplies UK standard fittings and an instruction manual. The flexible hoses in the box can be too short for some basins, especially deeper vanity units, so measure from the tap hole to your isolating valves before you start.

The Celala is a cheaper waterfall mixer that still comes with a 10 year warranty. It's made from H59 brass with a scratch-resistant chrome finish and a modern ceramic disc cartridge for smooth control.

In the box are UK standard hoses and detailed instructions. Its shape is close to the Funime but straighter and less curved. The one thing to check is pressure, as Celala recommends at least 1.0 bar for the best flow, which is more than the Funime or Bristan. In a home with a combi boiler or mains pressure that's rarely a problem, but on a gravity-fed system with a loft tank the flow can be weak.

These Hapilife taps take their look from the Victorian era, with twin ceramic handles and a classic chrome spout. They suit a traditional bathroom with a roll-top bath or a pedestal basin, where a square modern mixer would look out of place.

The body is brass with a multi-layer chrome finish, UK standard fittings come supplied, and there's a 10 year warranty. The overall quality could be better, but for the price they look the part and do the job.

Bristan is best known for its showers, but its Cobalt basin taps, a pair in a contemporary chrome finish, are made to the same high standard. The Short in our testing section shows a different Bristan basin tap, so it isn't a demonstration of the Cobalt itself.

Their real strength is how little pressure they need. They work from just 0.2 bar, so a gravity-fed system with a tank in the loft still gets a proper flow. Inside are quarter-turn ceramic disc valves, and the taps are held on with metal back nuts rather than plastic. Bristan designs them to BS EN 200 and backs them with a 5 year guarantee. They're the most expensive taps in this roundup.