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The best tips for choosing a kitchen faucet

When designing your kitchen, you may be thinking about cabinet, flooring, and appliance styles when creating the look. What many do not realize is that the kitchen sink can play an important role in its design. While it is only used for washing dishes, rinsing food, and washing hands, the kitchen sink comes in many varieties.

There are many common vintage styles that people go with, but over the years, kitchen faucet designs have expanded in appearance and function. Whether you’re renovating, your old faucet is leaking, or you’re ready for an upgrade, these are the items to consider when choosing your kitchen faucet.

Your current faucet and sink

Take a look at your sink to decide if you want to keep it when you get a new kitchen faucet. If you are going to keep the sink, then you can use the holes in the sink platform that are already in place. From there, you can decide whether you want to add a spray hose or a sink dispenser.

You may decide to purchase a new sink, especially if you are going from a deck mounted faucet to a wall mounted faucet. The new faucets will span up to four-hole varieties. You can always buy a faucet that includes a cover plate at the base to cover old sink holes.

If you choose a deck mounted faucet, one that mounts directly to the countertop and not to the sink, you will get a perfect look but will take up countertop space. If you choose a wall-mounted faucet, make sure the distance that the water projects matches your sink. It can make your countertop easier to clean, but in colder climates you will need to insulate against freezing.

For those who save their sink, be sure to choose a design that goes with the style of the sink. If you have a stainless steel sink, adding an old style brass faucet may not look good.

Where to start

When you start your search, you will have to make decisions between the type of beak, the height and the number of handles. Many people choose the drop down spray fitting for their nozzle type, but you can always get a side mount spray hose. The height can vary from 10 to 18 inches, so choosing the correct height will be based on the size of your sink. Finally, you can always get hot and cold handles, but most drop-down faucets only have one handle.

From there, you can make decisions about how high-tech you want to go. Consider whether you want or need to spend more on any of the following:

Hands-free operation

Built-in water filters

Touch sensitive controls

Spray volume control

Water pause buttons

Its mouthpiece style is something to consider. “Gooseneck” or high arc faucets are on trend because they allow more space for cleaning large pots and pants. If you have a large sink, you may want something with a wider sprayer.

Materials and finishes

Everyone will discover that they have their own style of decision making. Chromed brass is a popular finish that many choose. Solid brass faucets with ceramic disc valves used to control water flow will offer longevity. Many choose stainless steel hoses because they don’t kink as much as other styles.

Again, make sure your kitchen design matches the style of the faucet. A modern kitchen may not look good with a rustic farmhouse-themed kitchen faucet. The taps can also vary in angles, curves, and details.

When choosing your materials and finishes, be it nickel, chrome, bronze, black, stainless steel, etc., be sure to buy accessories like soap dispensers from the same collection, as the finishes from many manufacturers may vary slightly.

Price and Quality

For a more durable faucet, choose stainless steel, solid brass, or a faucet with a ceramic disc valve. It is more expensive than plastic parts. A heavier tap will indicate better quality. Solid brass bodies will last longer. Faucets with plastic parts do not last and are cheaper. Over time, it may need to be replaced, at an additional cost to you.

There are many factors to consider when choosing the look and functionality of your kitchen faucet. Be sure to consider your needs and what will work best for your kitchen before making your purchase.

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