If there’s one thing that most people have commented on in our kitchen remodel so far, it’s my gold sinks and tap. And for good reason, I suppose, as it’s certainly not your usual chrome look and it actually creates quite a statement against my marble-effect worktops. It’s a funny thing that unusual finishes have been big news in interiors the last few years – with gold, copper and black all becoming increasingly popular and yet, UK suppliers have been incredibly slow of the uptake to create products that reflect these trends.

It was in April that I actually came across my own Monarch gold sinks via Instagram, strangely enough. I followed @Elinjormhage in Sweden who has a pair of gold sinks and I fell in love immediately. Despite the fact that all her posts were in Swedish, I sent her a direct message asking about it in English, praying that she could speak the language. Thankfully, not only could she write English fluently (yay!) she also provided a whole bunch of information to me in terms of who makes it and how the sinks are manufactured. What a super star, right?

Grateful for the lead, a few quick searches on Google for Monarch brought me to Alveus by Olif who the UK arm of the Italian-manufactured sinks and taps here in the UK. I was over the moon!! I had a look through all their offerings and was quickly overwhelmed by the choice they had on their site. Not only were they kicking the usual rather plain options to the curb with their beautiful bronze and gold sinks and taps, they also had some other stunning finishes on offer. I sent a request for their free finish samples to help me make a decision and their customer service was super helpful, made a few recommendations to me and I quickly received the samples in the post.

They got in touch with me recently (after installing my own sinks and tap and sharing with you here on the blog) and asked if I’d be happy to share some of their other offerings with you here on the blog. Like I always say, I only ever work with companies on Swoon Worthy that I’m happy to recommend and as you know, I’m absolutely thrilled with my gorgeous gold sinks and tap. So working with them on this post was pretty much a no-brainer. Not everyone wants a typical looking sink and tap and so sharing some of their other finishes with you for your own kitchen or bathroom is actually my pleasure! SO. MUCH. GORGEOUS.

So first up is of course my own models in the Bronze (a deep gold) colourway which you’ve seen before. I have had so many people asking about how the sinks are holding up so I want to be honest and say we’ve been using it multiple times a day now for over a month. It is very very much like a typical stainless steel sink and still looks gorgeous. There are just a few small light scratches here and there (nothing major and nothing I’m worried about) and nothing that would be unusual in any other stainless steel sink.

The models I purchased are the Alveus Monarch Variant 40 Bronze Undermount Sink and the Alveus Monarch Variant 110 Bronze Undermount Sink.  I combined this with the Alveus Monarch Slim Bronze Kitchen Mixer Tap. As you can tell, I’ve not once regretted my choice and am genuinely happy to recommend the ones I have.

I decided on the bronze finish rather than the gold finish (and yes, they carry both) simply because I liked the bronze finish more – it was slightly deeper and richer and married well with the other gold finishes in the room – I realise that sounds weird but gold has so many different tones so it’s worth checking out both ranges.

You can see the ranges here: Gold Sinks / Gold Taps / Bronze Sinks / Bronze Taps

The finish is not just ‘sprayed on’ as you might think or simply plated. Here’s the science-y bit: It’s made from a fusion of stainless steel and ceramic boron nitride. The stainless steel surface is coated with a thin film of ceramic nitride via Physical Vapour Deposition (PVD). Nitride-produced precious metals are vaporizes and ionized in a vacuum chamber. The nitride is then accelerated with high energy in the vacuum and deposited finally as an extra thin, extremely durable ceramic layer of nitride on a stainless steel sink. The result is a stainless steel sink with not only a unique color tone but also superior scratch resistance.

Okay, don’t ask me exactly what that means but it’s freaking impressive, no?

Olif sent also sent me a brushed copper tap just so I can see the finish myself in “real life”. It’s absolutely stunning and while I’ll always be a ‘gold girl’ through and through, I do think copper is an extremely pretty finish and a great alternative if you’re not a fan of golds, bronze or brass.

Obviously I couldn’t install this in my home (I simply borrowed it to share my thoughts). This model is their Alto Brushed Copper Kitchen Mixer Tap and it has just the warmest loveliest finish.

You can see below how it compares here to my own – the Alveus Monarch Slim Bronze Mixer Tap. It’s a slightly larger model with a more subtle finish than my own.

My blogging buddy Maxine from We Love Home recently updated her kitchen with all copper finishes and it’s absolutely gorgeous and an amazing demonstration of how much style you can fit into a small space. She also used Olif’s Alveus Monarch Slim Copper Kitchen Mixer tap – the same model as my own only in the copper finish. It has the same bright sheen as my own combined with a beautiful copper sink. I’d encourage you to have a look at that here. Gorgeous, isn’t it??

Copper looks equally beautiful in a more traditional kitchen, adding so much warmth. I adore this look!

Here are a few other copper goodies from Olif that they carry – you can see there are a few different variations of the finish so bear this in mind when combining taps and sinks although I love a good mix as well. My recommendation is to ask for their finish samples before purchasing to be sure.

And finally, Olif also sent me a sample of their new range of matt velvet black taps. YOU GUYS. I have honestly never seen anything like it before. The finish on these is soft and completely matt, almost like a velvet-y rubber material. Sounds odd, looks amazing.

My first question to them about these was, ‘How hard are they to keep clean?’ Olif told me this new finish has undergone some rigorous testing to ensure it’s easy to clean and remains looking great.

I keep seeing bathrooms and kitchens with black taps and they really are such a gorgeous statement look and so different.

Here are the matt black velvet taps that Olif are currently carrying with more to come.

I love that Olif has been so forward-thinking in their offerings, clearly identifying a gap in the market for beautiful finishes that go well beyond what most retailers are carrying right now.

They do a wide range of different styles and finishes (including silver, chrome and anthracite which is a really deep silver colour) that would fit any kitchen or bathroom that you might be considering and their customer service is absolutely top notch.

So tell me… which finish would you prefer? Gold, copper or black?

 

Disclaimer: This post is in cooperation with Alveus by Olif but all words, opinions and images (unless otherwise stated) are my own. I only ever work with companies I really like and as I said, I’m thrilled with my purchase so was happy to share more about them on my blog today. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Swoon Worthy!