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On Tap New faucet designs bring eco-friendly elegance into the home by Laurie Jones F rom designs harkening back to the Roman era to modern-day fashionista colour co-ordinating, faucets have come a long way. Freestanding tubs are one of the top bathroom design trends among today's designers. To capitalize on the grow- ing popularity of these tubs with both consumers and designers alike, Moen Canada is pleased to introduce a com- pletely new platform with its collec- tion of freestanding tub filler faucets. Available in two of Moen's most popu- lar collections, freestanding tub-filler faucets will be offered in the tradition- ally-styled Weymouth suite in both a wall-mount and floor-mount option. A f loor-mount option will also be avail- able in the modern Arris collection. "Gone are the days of oversized whirlpool tubs," says Garry Scott, VP, wholesale marketing and brand devel- opment, Moen Canada. "Instead, today's master bathrooms tend to feature free- standing tubs, often as a showpiece or focal point of the room." The Weymouth tub filler features a hand shower with an antique design and cross handles with porcelain inlays. For a more modern flair, the Arris tub filler has distinctive styling and crisp, cylindrical, geometric shapes. Both are available in Chrome and LifeShine Brushed Nickel and offer an optimum flow rate for quick tub filling. Inspired by t urn-of-the-cent ur y charm and backed by Kohler Canada Company's 140 years of quality crafts- manship, the Kohler Artifacts bath- room faucet collection brings a new level of personalization to the bath. "We are focused on innovating through advanced technology and functional- ity, but also in providing our custom- ers a unique user experience tailored to their needs," says Donna Church, manager of marketing and communi- cations. "With its Edwardian roots, the Artifacts Collection can be configured into many unique fashions that evoke the feeling of discovering a unique piece at an antique market, which is exciting because it speaks to the user's taste and personalization." Adding to the wide selection of fau- cets, Kohler continues to transform the way homeowners use water with its pioneering Sweep spray technology. "We're always looking for ways to add something extra to everyday tasks and make them more efficient and fun," says Church. "Sweep spray is an innovation that replaces circular pattern sprays with a wide, powerful blade of water designed to help cut through grease and grime, making even the toughest cleanup easier." Breaking away from traditional metal configurations on water dis- pensing, The Rubinet Faucet Company is stepping up its game with colour in faucet designs. "For example, we offer maroon-coloured faucets that match the knobs on Wolf appliances," says Dominic Luisi, president. "The trend that we are focusing on now is for the colour to be the predominant finish on our faucets and the accent to be the metal rather than the metal being prominent. You can treat the kitchen suite as you would a bathroom suite, with all the faucets co-ordinated in design and finishes from soap dis- pensers to pot fillers." With the return of popularit y in freestanding tubs, Rubinet is offering floor-mounted tub fillers that include a hand-held shower to wash hair or rinse the tub. "We are seeing a huge growth in this department, which is a step back in time to what we had 25 or 30 years ago with cast-iron tubs," says Luisi. Another popular faucet from Rubi- net is an outdoor, stainless steel shower, ideal for a pool area. "It is pressure bal- anced with hot and cold water and has a diverter from the eight-inch shower- head above to a foot rinse, so you have both functions." 2014 has been a good year for Grohe Canada, Inc. with a win of the Red Dot: Best of the Best award for its Minta Touch, a hybrid k itchen faucet of fer ing two modes of operation. In addition to conventional lever operation, the flow of water can be triggered by skin contact with any part of the spout. This means whenever the fingers are dirty from preparing food, a simple touch with the back of the hand or the lower arm will start the flow of cool and cleansing water. By developing this unique touch sensor technology, Grohe has reinvented the kitchen faucet and repositioned it as a modern product that is fit for the 21st century. "When we set out to create Grohe Minta Touch, we started by exploring the boundaries of modern technology in co-operation with our colleagues in research and development," says Paul Flowers, senior VP of design at Grohe AG. "We take pride not only in the fau- cet's technical and visual features but also in the co-operative spirit, which made it possible in the first place." Also new is the Grohe K7 Semi- Pro Medium faucet. This professional sprayer can be pulled out, turned and swivelled 360 degrees and operated with one hand. The high arch and Photo, above: July single-control lavatory faucet from Kohler. Right: Arris Chrome one–handle tub filler from Moen. october 2014 /15 Faucets

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