The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
‘Lazy’ celebs install taps above kitchen stoves
Gadget used by Sussexes for access to boiling water without a walk over to sink becomes widely popular
THE latest kitchen trend has found its way from Hollywood homes to British hobs thanks to Kendall Jenner, Amanda Seyfried and even the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“Lazy” taps, installed above a cooker to make filling saucepans quicker and easier, are the new must-have gadget, according to kitchen designers.
The taps, which can cost between £150 and £1,000, are breaking into British
kitchens after appearing on television shows and tours of celebrities’ homes. The Duke and Duchess appear to have one in their Frogmore Cottage kitchen, as seen in their 2022 Netflix documentary. Their renovation of the Windsor property cost at least £2.4 million of taxpayers’ money, which they have since repaid.
The appliance has also been seen in fictional kitchens. sequel featured Charlotte York, played by Kristin Davis, in her airy New York kitchen complete with pot filler tap.
Real-life New Yorker Seyfried revealed her tap in a tour of her property for saying that it “looks stunning in a kitchen” and makes the room seem “gourmet”. Other fans include
star Jenner, who showed off her appliance in a similar video. “My pot filler,” she beamed in a 2020 tour of her California home. “I use this every day because I’m a tea addict, so it’s perfect.”
Jen Nash, Magnet’s head of design, said that the taps are now “one of the biggest kitchen accessory trends of the year” and can add a premium to property prices of as much as 3.2 per cent.
“A pot filler flows approximately three to four gallons of water per minute, which is more than double the rate of a traditional sink tap,” she said. “This lets you fill larger pots very quickly so that you can get on with your cooking.
“This convenience is driving their popularity in middle-class homes as well as celebrities’, according to Nicolle
Whyte, the design director at the shaker kitchen manufacturer Olive & Barr.
“Typically, pot taps are seen in luxury kitchens,” she said. “However, due to their convenience, we are starting to see them becoming more popular in ordinary family kitchens too. For those that cook a lot and often boil water for pasta, rice, et cetera, it makes a lot of sense and adds another layer of convenience, which for some homeowners is exactly what they’re looking for in a kitchen design.”
Helen Parker, the creative director at the bespoke kitchen makers deVOL, said the taps are now “the must-have addition” for big families and cooking enthusiasts, not only the wealthy.
“Our customers are often happy to pay for this additional tap for functional and aesthetic reasons, in the grand scheme of things it is a little luxury that is not too expensive,” she said. “It tends to be people who love cooking and put their money into the things that they are passionate about.” Nigel Palmer, of Rohl UK, Perrin & Rowe’s parent company, said: “Any labour-saving device in the kitchen could be called a lazy appliance – the dishwasher, the washing machine, et cetera – but eventually these new ideas become universal.”
Demand for the handcrafted brassware manufacturer’s £675 pot fillers rose by 10 per cent last year.
Tom Howley, design director at the eponymous kitchen designers, said that his company was yet to see “big demand” from UK customers for the “very American” trend. “They are probably more an aesthetic fashion statement to finish your kitchen,” he said.