Showers

Showers finished in chrome or gold, from major manufacturers including Mira, Aqualisa, Hudson Reed, Home of Ultra. Bathroom showers will invigorate you, with a fresh powerful shower to get you started in the morning.

Although the love of polished chrome started in 1950’s car mad America it soon filtered into our homes and metallic finishes have been a constant presence since. From practical surfaces, tools and appliances in the kitchen through to modern furniture designs in metals and glass in the living room with finishing touches - from curtain poles to door handles - benefiting from a quality chrome finish.And over the last few years our bathrooms have been enjoying a renaissance, stealing influences from the kitchen, living rooms and even the catwalk. Designed in 1962 by Achille and Pier Casiglioni, the Arco Floor Lamp is made from unforgiving materials including stainless steel and polished aluminium, but it effortlessly manages to be sleek, elegant and functional.

Designer influence

Just as berry and aubergine colour palettes have filtered from the runways of New York and Paris and into our homes; metallic finishes in high fashion accessories from labels including Prada, Louis Vitton, Burberry and Vivienne Westwood continue to feature strongly in their collections. Although many of us look at the pages of Vogue and think ‘I’ll never wear that!’ it takes just a couple of seasons for a watered down version to be flying from the shelves on the high street. The influence of the catwalk over our clothes and home furnishings, however far-out cannot be under estimated.

The new kitchen?

For years the bathroom has played second fiddle to the kitchen in the design stakes, but modern manufacturing techniques and the influence of hip hotels have brought it back into the spotlight, and just as the open plan kitchen marries living and working areas, the interior designed wet room is now taking inspiration from the catwalks and furniture designers to produce practical but beautiful rooms to relax in.Think beyond chrome taps, and you can take your pick from metallic radiators, light fittings, rails, racks and even fitted furniture. But when it comes to electric showering the luxurious polished finish has been hard to come by. The Mira Magna however rewrites the electric shower rule book – digital remote controls, sophisticated electric controls, discreet back-lit buttons, wireless controls – anything but a square white box – and with an unashamedly fashionable chrome finish.

Mira Sport electric showers prove quality, performance and cutting edge catwalk style doesn’t have to break the bank.

The slimline Mira Sport is one of the UK’s most popular showers, and it’s easy to see why even without the new strikingly contemporary chrome finish. Expect an invigorating shower with a multi-flow easy clean handset, a choice of power ratings to suit your home’s system and practical safety features including delayed shutdown and Sensi-flo that turns the heat off instantly if the pressure is interrupted. We endure wet summers, and even wetter winters but unbelievably the UK has less water per person than in the Sudan and of the 150litres we each use each day around 1/3rd runs straight down the plughole without being used.

Water is a precious commodity, but as the number of appliances, power showers and small households continue to increase were using more energy and putting enormous pressure on our reservoirs and treatment works.

Wasting water in the bathroom – the fact

A running tap uses 6 litres of water and a shower uses between 9 – 45 litres per minute. Flushing accounts for 30% of our daily water use – old cisterns can use up to 14 litres per flush, modern dual-flush designs as little as 2.6 litres. Fixing a dripping tap can save as much as 5000 litres a year. Showering (12%) and bathing (21%) account for 33% of our daily water. Baths use 80 litres every time, a five minute shower just 35 litres.

Climate change and the environment

You may not think water use contributes to climate change, but according to Waterwise* the energy used to pump, treat and heat the water in the average family's home produces the equivalent carbon of a return flight from London to New York or around 1.4tonnes CO2. By conserving water you’ll also be helping to protect the wildlife that lives in rivers and wetlands. The more water used at home, the less there is available in rivers, lakes and wetlands, and as water levels fall, food for birds be lost and oxygen levels can become dangerously low for aquatic

Shower power – water saving solutions

Taking a quick shower instead of a bath is an effective way to save water in the bathroom, but you can take it a step further by installing the very latest in eco technology from Mira. The Mira Eco Showerhead uses aeration technology that mixes water with tiny air bubbles to create an invigorating spray pattern you’d never think uses up to 75% less water than a standard shower head. Unlike many eco solutions it’s effortless to install – simply unscrew your existing head and replace. Your choice of shower can also help save water; the Minilite Eco comes with a six or eight litre per minute flow as standard compared to the usual 12, saving thousands of litres over the year, without affecting performance. Similarly, the Mira Miniduo & Eco Showerhead saves up to 75% water and still delivers a great performance