How to Select the Right Bathroom Faucets For Your Home

You use your bathroom faucets every day, but chances are, you don’t give these fixtures a lot of thought. In reality, however, they can have a significant impact on the appearance and functionality of your bathroom. When planning for a full-scale remodel or even a minor upgrade, carefully considering the type of faucet that will best meet your needs will greatly affect how much you enjoy using the bathroom on a daily basis.

Here at Kitchen & Bath Authority, we offer a wide range of bathroom faucets from many of the industry’s top brands — and there’s a right choice for every bathroom! The following factors will help you find the best option for your project.

Installation Type

bathroom faucets

The installation type is one of the first things you should consider when choosing bathroom faucets, as this will be directly impacted by the type of bathroom vanity and sink you choose. While you could choose your preferred faucet and then find a vanity to match, most homeowners find it better to start with the vanity and then pick an compatible faucet.

Centerset faucets like the Delta 2551-MPU-DST Dryden Two Handle Centerset Lavatory Faucet use a three-hole installation, in which the distance between the outer holes is four inches. The handles and spout are all part of the same base unit, making them a good choice when available counter space is somewhat limited. Both two-handle and single-handle configurations are available.

Widespread faucets like the Hansgrohe 71733001 Talis E 150 Widespread Basin Mixer With Pop-Up Assembly also use a three hole installation. However, the outer holes are six inches apart from each other (some widespread faucets have even greater width). Because of this, the handles are typically completely separate from the spout. The extra space can actually make it easier to clean the areas between the handles and the spout, making this a good option when your countertops are large enough.

As the name implies, single hole faucets like the Grohe 23445000 Eurocube 1.5 GPM Single Hole Bathroom Faucet in Chrome are installed when the sink has only one plumbing access hole. The vast majority of these faucets use a single lever to control water flow and temperature, which can simplify daily use and maintenance.

If you are installing a vessel sink, you should use either a vessel faucet or a wall-mounted faucet. Vessel faucets like the Vigo VG03026CH Amada Vessel Bathroom Faucet utilize a single hole installation, but feature a much greater height to better adapt to the design of a vessel sink. Wall-mounted bathroom faucets like the Delta T3567LF-WL Ara Two Handle Wall-Mount Lavatory Faucet are installed in the wall above the vessel sink. Though optimized for vessel sinks, they often require the addition of new plumbing lines to complete the installation.

In addition to the faucet type best suited for your sink/vanity style, you should also be mindful of the vanity’s countertop thickness. Most faucets have a specification for what is called the “max deck thickness.” This refers to the maximum countertop depth that the faucet can be installed in. If the countertop is too thick, you may need to purchase a specialized mounting kit for certain faucets.

Spout Height and Reach

After determining which type of faucet will work best for your bathroom renovation plans, you should evaluate which spout height and reach will work best for your needs. Spout height is measured from the base of the spout to the highest point of the faucet. Spout reach measures the horizontal distance from the center of the spout base to where the water comes out of the faucet. 

While spout height and reach are partially a matter of stylistic tastes, there are a few practical matters to consider. If the faucet’s reach is too short, you might hit your hands against the back of the sink or splash water onto the countertop when washing your hands. In general, your faucet should reach close to the middle of the sink.

Spouts that are too tall could obstruct a mirror or bump into shelving or a medicine cabinet located above the sink. On the other hand, a taller spout could facilitate other bathroom tasks like washing your hair in the sink, and they are a necessity for vessel sinks. Be mindful of how the rest of your bathroom layout would be impacted by the height of your faucet.

At Kitchen & Bath Authority, we have faucets in a wide range of heights and reaches to help you find the best fit for your bathroom. For example, the Grohe 2080000A Seabury 8 Inch Widespread Two-Handle Bathroom Faucet has a faucet height of 3 and 1/4 inches and a spout reach of 4 and 3/4 inches. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the Fima S5331CR Maxima Single Hole Bathroom Faucet With Swivel Spout has a towering height of 17.24 inches.

Handle Style & Number

For most homeowners, the handle options for their bathroom faucets come down to whether they want a single-handle or dual-handle design. Single handles like the Vigo VG01009 Single Handle Faucet are popular because they allow for more precise control of the water temperature and are somewhat easier to clean. Most of these faucets use either a lever or knob to control water temperature and flow.

However, many prefer the stylish, symmetrical design of two-handle bathroom faucets. Two-handle faucets tend to offer a wider range of handle styles, from levers like the Delta 3559-MPU-DST Trinsic Two Handle Widespread Lavatory With Metal Pop-Up to the cross handle patterns of the Rohl A2208XMAPC-2 Lombardia C-Spout Widespread Lavatory Faucet.

While most homeowners stick with one- or two-handle designs, you could also go without any handles whatsoever. Faucets like the Hansgrohe 31101001 Metris S Electronic Faucet use infrared sensors and battery operation to detect when you’ve put your hands under the faucet. These unique designs are a surefire way to modernize your bathroom, and have the added benefit of being more user-friendly for children and the elderly.

Water Flow Rate

American Standard faucet

Water conservation has become an increasingly talked-about issue, and not just among environmentalists. After all, reducing your household water usage will also affect your monthly utility bills, and your faucets play a big role in this. In fact, a report by the Water Research Foundation estimates that faucets are responsible for 19 percent of total home water use, and as much as 33.8 percent of daily hot water use.

In the United States, water conservation has actually been a matter of law for several years. The Federal Energy Policy Act of 1992 implemented the requirement that bathroom faucets could not have a maximum flow rate exceeding 2.2 gallons per minute (GPM). As technology has improved, the Environmental Protection Agency’s WaterSense program introduced recommendations that bathroom faucets should have a flow rate no greater than 1.5 GPM.

Here at Kitchen & Bath Authority, we offer several bathroom faucets with lower flow rates to help you in your efforts to conserve water. Some, like the American Standard 6114.113.002 Monterrey Single Control Centerset Faucet With Metal Pop-Up Drain In Polished Chrome have a flow rate of a mere 0.35 GPM. 

Depending on your home’s water pressure settings, you likely won’t notice any difference when using your sink, despite the reduced flow rate. Of course, if you prefer a standard flow rate for your daily routine (especially if you often use your faucet to fill the sink or other containers with water), we also sell plenty of bathroom faucets with a flow rate of 1.5 GPM, such as the Brizo 65080LF-PC Sideman Single Handle Lavatory Faucet.

Design Type

Santec bathroom faucet

Though primarily a matter of function, many of the aforementioned factors will have a direct impact on the appearance of your bathroom faucet. However, there are still a few attributes that are almost purely stylistic in nature, and that could have the biggest impact in helping you create a cohesive look for your bathroom.

The biggest remaining design features to consider are the color/finish and theme. After all, you’ll get quite a different feel for your bathroom with the traditional design of the Santec 1120LC10 Monarch Crystal II Widespread Lavatory Faucet With Pop-Up Drain than you would with the contemporary look of the Brizo 65330LF-PC Virage Two Handle Widespread Lavatory Faucet.

As with choosing the installation type, the design theme of your bathroom faucets should generally be influenced by the rest of your bathroom features and fixtures. A traditional faucet would look out of place on a contemporary vanity, and vice versa. 

The color or finish you choose for your bathroom faucets will also make a difference. While chromes and nickel tones remain the most popular finish options for most bathroom faucets, gold and copper tones, blacks, and other unique finishes can give your bathroom a distinctive character of its own. However, different faucet finishes come with different warranties — and some may not come with any warranty at all. Darker finishes are also more likely to show scale residue and soap spots, which will require more cleaning than a standard chrome finish.

When selecting a design theme and finish, you should be especially mindful of other water fixtures in the bathroom, such as a tub spout or shower head. Choosing a stylistic match will make all the difference in cultivating a true upscale look for your bathroom. Mixing and matching will most likely make the bathroom look disjointed and unfinished.

Finally, don’t forget about who will be using the bathroom on a regular basis! A more ornate faucet design may be a good choice for the master bathroom, but a kids’ bathroom will likely benefit from more durable, basic designs that are easier to clean and less prone to damage.

Conclusion

While you will need to coordinate your new bathroom faucet with other elements of your renovation (particularly your sink and countertops), there is no denying how the right bathroom faucet will have a lasting impact on the room’s stylistic appeal. Even more importantly, it will affect your routines on a daily basis. By using the factors discussed in this article to select a faucet that best meets your needs, you will get results that you will enjoy for years to come.

Here at Kitchen & Bath Authority, we pride ourselves on our selection of bathroom faucets from top brands like American Standard, Brizo, and TOTO, with the vast majority of our products being offered at significant discounts off MSRP. Some of our bathroom faucets are discounted at over 50 percent off normal retail prices!

With our wide selection and great discounts, the luxurious bathroom of your dreams isn’t as far off as you might think. Get every last detail right with our gorgeous bathroom faucets, and see for yourself what a difference they can make.

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