Comparing Luxury Bathroom Taps: Features & Styles Guide

A bathroom tap gets touched more than almost any other fitting in the room, yet it is often the last decision made in a renovation. Style matters, but so does the mechanism inside the bathroom taps, the finish on the outside and how well it matches the basin or bath it serves. This guide from Vitruvius Design breaks down the main types of bathroom taps available, what separates a good one from a great one and how to choose a style that will still look right in ten years.

Understanding the Main Types of Bathroom Taps

Most bathroom taps fall into one of two mechanisms: single lever mixers and traditional two-handle mixers.

A single lever mixer uses one handle to control both temperature and flow, which makes it the more common choice in modern bathrooms. The Vitruvius single lever basin mixer from the Danube collection is a good example, built with DZR brass wetted parts and a Kerox ceramic cartridge for smooth, long-term operation.

A three-hole or two-handle mixer keeps hot and cold control separate, often for a more classic look. Steinberg’s 3-hole basin mixer from its Series 100 range pairs separate hot and cold handles with a swivelling spout, and is built to work with instantaneous water heaters, which is worth knowing if your home relies on a gas or electric geyser system rather than a large hot water cylinder.

Beyond the mechanism, taps are also grouped by how they are fitted: deck-mounted, wall-mounted or freestanding. A deck-mounted basin mixer sits directly on the basin or counter, a wall-mounted tap is set into the wall above the basin for a cleaner countertop and a tall basin mixer rises higher off the surface, which suits a vessel-style basin sitting proud of the counter.

Basin Taps, Bath Mixers and Shower Mixers Are Not the Same Thing

“Tap” often gets used as a catch-all term, but the fittings behind a basin, a bath and a shower are built for different jobs. A basin tap is designed for lower flow rates suited to handwashing, while a bath mixer needs to deliver a much higher flow to fill a tub in a reasonable time. The Vitruvius freestanding bath mixer, for example, delivers up to 30 L/min through the spout compared with the 5 L/min flow rate on its basin mixer equivalents.

Shower mixers work differently again, controlling temperature and flow to a fixed or handheld shower head rather than a basin or bath. If you are specifying a shower as part of the same renovation, our guide to shower mixers covers the types and installation considerations in more detail, and our bathroom mixer guide goes deeper into matching mixers to your overall bathroom layout.

Choosing a Finish That Lasts

Finish is where a tap either blends in or becomes a design feature. Across the Vitruvius and Steinberg ranges, common finish options include chrome, brushed nickel, brushed black and brushed copper or light gold, most applied using a PVD (physical vapour deposition) process rather than traditional plating, which tends to hold up better against everyday wear and cleaning.

Chrome remains the safest choice for a resale-friendly bathroom, while brushed and black finishes read as more contemporary and pair well with matt basins or stone surfaces. It is worth choosing your tap finish at the same time as your basin and handles rather than after, so the whole room reads as one decision rather than several.

Practical Features Worth Comparing

A few practical specifications are worth checking before you decide. Flow rate matters for water efficiency: Vitruvius basin mixers run at around 3 bar and 5 L/min through a Neoperl aerator, and Steinberg’s 3-hole mixer includes a water-saving setting rated at 4 to 5 litres per minute, both useful if you’re mindful of water restrictions or a tank-fed system. Cartridge type affects how smoothly a tap operates over time: single lever taps typically use a ceramic disc cartridge (Kerox on the Vitruvius range), while two-handle mixers use a separate headwork for each handle. Wetted parts and construction are worth checking too, since DZR brass resists corrosion better than lower-grade alloys. The Vitruvius range specifies it as standard, while the Steinberg mixer is listed simply as brass. Finally, check compatibility with your hot water system, since some mixers, like Steinberg’s 3-hole basin mixer, are specifically built to work with instantaneous water heaters, which matters in plenty of South African homes.

Vitruvius also backs its range with a published warranty, worth reading before you commit to a finish or model.

Matching Your Taps to Your Basin and Bathroom Style

The right tap should follow the basin, not the other way around. A deck-mounted mixer needs enough flat surface on the basin to sit on, while a wall-mounted or tall mixer suits a vessel basin with little to no tap deck at all. If you haven’t settled on a basin yet, our guide to choosing a bathroom basin is a useful starting point, and our piece on classic versus modern bathroom finishes can help you decide whether a chrome, brushed or black finish fits the direction you’re taking the room.