Choosing bathroom pieces from a screen is possible up to a point. But especially with metallic finishes — the subtlety between brushed gold and white gold, the depth difference between matte black and metallic black — only the hand truly understands. Preparation before visiting the showroom is small but essential.
What to bring with you?
1. A floor sample or photograph. A piece representing the ceramic, natural stone, or concrete on your bathroom floor. If you can’t bring a piece, a clear photograph of the floor taken in natural daylight will do. This makes the finish decision possible on the spot.
2. The bathroom plan. The distance of the basin centre from the wall, the position of the bathtub or shower, the door orientation. An architect’s plan is ideal; otherwise, a sketched piece of paper will suffice. It allows us to place every fitting that water will reach.
3. The visual language of the other rooms. The bathroom is not independent of the rest of the home. The wood tones of the living room, the metallic accents of the kitchen — the bathroom should be a continuation of that line.
What to look at in the showroom?
The weight of a fitting matters. Plastic-coated or zinc-cast pieces feel light in the hand; Graffe’s stainless steel body always feels heavier than you expect — this is the first test of quality.
The second test: lever movement. Turn the basin mixer’s lever between hot and cold. A thick movement should feel dampened and silent. Crackling or hollow levers reveal a cheap cartridge inside.
The final test: how the finish holds a fingerprint. Finishes like matte black and brushed gold are the most sensitive to prints. The quality of the PVD coating determines how long the trace stays on the surface. On Graffe pieces, a fingerprint dissipates within 2–3 minutes.
An appointment at our Istanbul showroom is not required but is recommended — at a quieter hour you can examine the pieces more carefully.
