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Our New Kitchen Faucet and 8 Easy Tips for Choosing the Right Faucet

Kitchen faucets don’t have to be difficult to choose with my 8 easy tips for choosing the right one!

Our new kitchen faucet and 8 easy tips for choosing the right faucet poster.

Choosing a kitchen faucet can be tricky.

It may seem like a strictly functional piece of hardware in your kitchen, but the truth is that your new faucet is often a major focal point to the space.

Usually sinks and stoves are the focal points in a kitchen. And a beautifully designed faucet not only complements a newly designed kitchen, but can also be the perfect finishing touch to a DIY-renovated-on-a-budget kitchen makeover as well.

Faucets and hood fans are kind of like the lipstick and mascara of the kitchen. They can perfectly complement a beautiful space (or face), or they can mask and distract from spaces (and faces!) that might be a little less then perfect, if you know what I mean.
Truth be told, I had a hard time selecting a faucet for our new remodelled kitchen. And I did a lot of research before making my final decision. Here are the key factors to consider for choosing the right faucet for your kitchen….

styleThink about your the general style of your kitchen as well as the style of the sink that you have selected. Pairing a cast iron farmhouse sink with a super modern faucet may not work together unless you are going for a very edgy or eclectic look. Similarly, a strongly modern stainless sink would not suit a traditional bridge style faucet.

Sink and faucet styles as a moodboard.1 / 2 / 3 / 4

Finish

Faucets generally come in three main finishes: shiny chrome, nickel (or other brushed metal), or bronze. Consider the nearby cabinet hardware, as well as lighting and other metal finishes in the space. It doesn’t all have to match exactly, but choose a faucet whose finish works well with the other finishes in the space. Because I chose chrome and nickel finishes throughout the space in the cabinet hardware and lighting, I selected a chrome faucet to complement these finishes.

Kitchen finishes moodboard.

(see all my sources and plans)

Spout height and reach

Faucets with a high arc are very on trend these days… but you need to consider the amount of space you have above your sink. If you have low cabinets or shelves above the sink, you may not wish the arc to be too high. Another thing to consider is the size of your sink…. a large sink may require you to select a faucet with a larger reach. The farmhouse sink that we selected is quite wide and deep, so choosing a faucet that had a spray option that would reach all the corners of the sink easily was critical.

Showing the height of the faucet in the sink.

Sprayer optionsA sprayer on a faucet is an amazing tool… a good sprayer can remove all kinds of gunk and mess for you, and it also can help to keep your sink cleaner. Often faucets with a separate side spray are not as convenient or effective as a sprayer that is built into the faucet itself. Some faucets, such as the one we chose, even have a little button on the faucet head to turn the spray on and off making this feature super convenient and easy to use.

Spray options for the kitchen faucet.number of holesIf you are renovating or updating your kitchen and keeping an old sink you may need to consider how many holes your sink has. Many single stem faucets do come with a bridge piece in order to cover extra holes, but be sure about that before selecting your faucet. Also, different styles of faucets may have their holes in different spots – so just make sure that your sink and kitchen faucet will work together.

number of handles

Traditional faucets may come with two handles to use in order to control water flow and temperature. I personally love this style for my bathrooms, but prefer one handle for the kitchen. I think that when you are working in your kitchen you need water so much more frequently then you do in the bathroom – and you want the temperature and water flow to be more readily available and controllable while you are cooking.

One additional factor to consider when selecting a faucet with one handle is how far back the handle reaches. We had our countertop company make sure that the bridge behind our sink was wide enough so that the faucet would be set forward from the trim. Otherwise the handle would have been smashing onto the trim every time we turned it to hot, and it would eventually dent and damage the trim work.

The handle on the kitchen faucet.

price

Don’t spend too little (like, less then $100 ish) or you may be compromising quality… and having to replace your faucet within a couple of years can be a real frustration. From most of the reviews and research that I read, you should be able to get a good quality and stylish faucet somewhere between the $100 – $300 mark. The Miseno faucet that we selected from Build.com  sells for $240-250, right on target with my research.

A shiny new faucet by the sink in the kitchen.

love is all you need

With all these practical considerations accounted for it comes down to choosing a faucet that you love and want to look at every day. Like everything else, if you don’t LOVE it, don’t buy it. Otherwise you will end up being disappointed and want to replace it before you can manage to wear it out.

With all these tips considered, the faucet that we eventually settled on is the Miseno MK 500 faucet from Build.com. It is a commercial style (also sometimes called ‘restaurant style’) kitchen faucet with pre-rinse capabilities. I love it! The simplicity of the design complements the stainless steel sink that we chose. It is very easy to keep clean because of the straight lines of the base, and it is also very simple to control the temperature because it has a single handle style temperature control. The sprayer is amazing – it is strong enough that it cleans your dishes really thoroughly even before you hand-wash them or put them through the dishwasher. I am thoroughly pleased with it, and also glad that I did my research so that I feel confident that I selected the perfect faucet for our new kitchen.

For even more tips on choosing your new faucet visit this great guide put out by Build.com

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27 Comments

  1. This post of yours is a great help. Thanks for giving us tips and ideas on what to look for in buying a kitchen faucet. Maybe it’s just me, but I think that it is often not given much attention when renovating or building a kitchen. I am grateful for your post as this is also as important as the other furniture in the kitchen area.

  2. I love how you suggest one-handle faucets for kitchen sinks so that the water will be readily available and controllable. My husband and I are renovating our kitchen and we need to decide on a new faucet. We will have to find a one-handle faucet for our new kitchen to make it easier to use and control.

  3. Hi Krista, Thanks for this amazing guide on choosing the right faucet. By following your guide I ended up buying Moen 7594ESRS and it is simply amazing 😀

  4. Thanks for the great tips for choosing a faucet. We’re remodeling our bathroom soon, and this is a big decision we have to make. Choosing the style is tough because we want something that compliments our home’s design, like you said.

  5. Krista,

    Thanks for the great tips! Finally, I have some time to repair my kitchen and a new sink is a must as my old one is way too old 🙂 I do agree that style is as important as other aspects and I am not sure that a super modern faucet is something that I need. I want my new sink to be unique and beautiful, and I hope I will find something interesting.

  6. We want to have a new kitchen faucet installed. It’s important that it is functional and affordable as well as durable. I hadn’t thought about considering the amount of space above the sink for high-arc style faucets. Thanks for sharing!

  7. I’m absolutely in love with your faucet. It looks so good and the restaurant style faucets are so versatile too.

    1. Thank you Julia! I didn’t know how much I would love the restaurant style until I had it – now I don’t know if I could do without it!!

  8. Love the design you chose. Having a sprayer build into the faucet is a feature that I plan to incorporate the next time I’m kitchen faucet shopping.

    Your kitchen view is so pretty!

    1. Thank you Paula- the view is my favourite part:) The sprayer built in is amazing, and I love how the switch for it is on the side of the faucet head. So easy to use!

  9. I have an obsession with kitchen faucets, so this post was super fun! Great tips!! Pinning for my future dream kitchen!!

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