It's not everyday that I'm intimidated into submission by a bathroom faucet, but that's exactly my reaction to Graff's Stealth line of fittings for shower and bath. The collection is aptly named: Stealth-very like the aeronautical purveyor of explosives familiar to any who watch the news-is all hard angles and deceptive metallic planes. Graff describes the line as "the perfect marriage of form and function… a geometric conglomeration of angles and planes, the Stealth series call to mind modern art sculptures more than a simple bathroom fixture."

A Pared Down Look for the Modern Bath

A brief glance at faucet models G-2200, G-2250, and G-2251 will suffice to testify to the truth of that last statement. Each of these suggests to me the many conundrums of post-modern art, since all three of them play with perspective and texturality, all sharing the basic structure of a triangular shaft angled ever so slightly forward courtesy of a supportive triangular wedge. The faucet's shaft, in turn, abuts the similarly triangular spout, joining it at a 90 degree angle-the geometry of the whole creating Stealth's signature downward inclination.

The irony (or the cleverness) of Stealth's tri-partite juxtaposition of triangles is not lost on the observant, though it took that last paragraph for me to notice. Whether or not the secrets of the structure remain hidden is perhaps beside the point, since the upshot is a stealthily intriguing construct that will give your bathroom the most distinctive look this side of 2011. The subtle variations of the three models are an additional boon-different heights, handle options, and a choice of finishes in polished chrome or steelnox only add to Stealth's appeal.