How to Choose the Perfect Faucet for Your Beautiful Kitchen

So, you’ve designed your dream kitchen, fitted with everything you ever wanted, making the very best use of the space you have. Have you given any thought to what sort of faucets you would like, to complement the look, while still offering you the very best in functionality and convenience?

There are so many types of faucets available on the market today, that we are somewhat spoiled for choice. Faucets can be divided into a few main categories, ie pull out vs pull down kitchen faucets, and one handle vs two handle faucets.

Regardless of what type you prefer, you can be assured that you will find your preferred type in style to suit both your needs and your décor. There are also many finishes to choose from, ranging from traditional chrome, to a matte black finish, and a good few in between. Find out what's our verdict.

Let us unpack the different types of faucet.  Both pull-out and pull-down faucets, offer an extendable hose-like section. What is the difference?

A pull-out faucet is better suited to the smaller sink, because it’s usually “stubbier” and shorter, whereas a pull-down faucet, is usually mounted on a high arc and better suited to the larger sink.

The pull down faucet usually comes with a spray nozzle, which is a wonderful feature, but is not well suited to small sinks either.

The one- or two-handle (or lever) options are simply about what suits your needs the best. A single lever or handle has a built in mixer, operated by moving it from side to side to find the perfect temperature; whereas the two handle faucet requires the user to do the mixing.

To know how to choose the perfect kitchen faucet, there are many things that you need to look into and many factors that you need to consider. 

How much space you have around your sink? Do you have fairly low overhead cabinets? Is your sink hemmed in by cabinets on either side?

If so, you will need to look at the more compact faucets, and remember to take faucet height into consideration. This will make it easier for you to work within a limited space. If you have a small, single sink, then another factor you will need to look at, is a faucet that can be swivelled out of the way, when not in use.

A good example of this would be the Pfister Marielle one handle pull out faucet. It is neat and compact, and the entire fitting can be swivelled against the wall while you are busy in the sink.

Of course, if space is not an issue in your kitchen, then you won’t need to worry about the above-mentioned factor.

What will you need your faucets to do? If you do a lot of entertaining and tend to cook in large saucepans, you may want to add a speciality feature, like a foldable pot filler. These are very useful and can be tucked away when not in use. A lovely choice for the contemporary kitchen, is the Delta Contemporary wall mounted Pot Filler.

Likewise, if you entertain a lot, you might want to look at a touchless or motion sensor faucet, as these have the double advantage of saving water, and saving you the time and effort of switching the water on and off. There are some lovely options available, in a variety of finishes. 

Moen seems to be ahead of the game for this type of technology, and they offer the largest range.

Next you will need to consider your décor or theme?

If you have chosen the ultra-modern look, it stands to reason that you would want your faucets to blend in with the look. A great example of the ultra-modern faucet is the Moen Align Matte Black one-handle high arc pull down faucet. Its clean lines and simple look will blend perfectly with the modern simplicity of your kitchen.

On the other hand, if you have decided on a country or farm style kitchen, you might want to look at a more traditional looking faucet that lends itself to the older style theme. The Delta Victorian range, available in both one- and two-handle faucets, has the lovely curved lines of a bygone era.

As with everything, another factor to consider when choosing the perfect faucet, is the budget. However, you will find that there are plenty of options, regardless of your taste, across the pricing spectrum. Prices range from just over $100 to a few thousand. When browsing the prices, however, it is notable that faucets there is something for everyone.

The four market leaders in the manufacture of faucets, are without doubt Moen, Pfister, Kraus, and Delta.

Moen offers a vast range of both modern and traditional faucets and are definitely the leaders in terms of their no-touch range. Prices range from around the $200 mark for entry level faucets, to $1500 for top notch touch-less faucets.

Pfister offers prices from around the $200 mark, moving up to around the $500-600 mark. They offer some creative styles in a variety of finishes. Find out what are the top models here.

Delta’s entry level faucets also start at just under $200. They also have a variety of styles to choose from, although fewer that would fit the ultra-modern label.

Kraus appears to have the most unusual designs, with some very funky designs viewed online. The least expensive of the Kraus family is roughly $200; but when you start browsing the most unusual designs, the prices rise significantly. For a detailed review on Kraus faucets, check out this article.

Brands such as Grohe, Kohler and Danze are also making sophisticated design to improve the beauty of your kitchen interior.

Once you have decided exactly what faucet would best suit your kitchen, you will need to know how to clean your kitchen faucet for hygiene purpose and so they are durable. So how do we do that?

The simplest and most common way of cleaning faucets is by simply using warm water with a couple of drops of dishwashing liquid in it. This will keep the average faucet looking brand new.

However, if you live in an area where the water is hard, you might find a calcium build-up starts to form, particularly at the base of the faucet. You might want to use a few drops of white vinegar (remember calcium is alkaline, so the acidity will break it down) on an old toothbrush to gently remove this build-up.

If it’s very stubborn, a few inches of floss will dislodge the worst of it, and the rest can be cleaned off with the toothbrush again.

To finish off, wipe the faucet with a dry microfiber cloth, without any detergents, to prevent streaks.

These days, there are faucets available to go with every possible style or décor. Matte black finish (cast iron), Matte white finish (glacier and ivory), chrome, brushed chrome, bronze finish, or spot resistant stainless steel.

There is so much to choose from, and so many factors to consider, aside from just the aesthetics. When choosing all kitchen appliances, you need to remember how much time you actually spend there. 

One thing is certain, there is no shortage of options, when choosing the perfect faucet to finish off your ideal kitchen. From a purely practical point of view, it is probably advisable to stick with something more ageless and classic, since you have to live with your choice for years to come.