And the answer is... ... ... A render!!! Thank you for all your participation :) Well done to those who go it right!

We have just finished renovating two bathrooms and I was adamant I didn’t want shiny chrome. I insisted on Astra Walker’s brushed platinum tapware and fittings. Whilst it does look a bit gorgeous, I’m afraid it’s not worth the extra 25-30% we paid for it (shhhh, thank god my husband isn’t on Houzz!!). With all special finishes I find you need to be quite particular about wiping down the fittings otherwise they look grubby with water stains. Hindsight you marvelous thing, you’re always 20/20 aren’t you??!! I’ll be sticking to good quality chrome if we ever renovate again. Especially since you can get such a wide variety of styles that suit anything from a Victorian style bathroom to pure minimalism. Good luck.

If you look at reviews on Appliances Online and Winning Appliances , it has very good customer reviews , about 4.7 .

Yes just look for a new bath spout and a new shower head set up. Take a photo to your plumbing supply company and they will recommend a good retro fit design. I would not replace the mixer in shower and bath. Just clean it with gumption. Unless you want to go a completely different profile or colour. Then yes replace as is, otherwise it will be a costly plumber job.