Freshening up with new faucet styles

Bruce Okimoto

Remodeling a bathroom can be a lot of work, as the completed space should be functional, but also attractive. Picking the right faucet can be a challenge, but the tips below will help narrow your choices.

Faucets come in a variety of styles, from traditional to contemporary and modern to retro. Polished chrome historically has been the most available, followed by brass. However, now popular finishes include polished nickel, brushed nickel and oil rubbed bronze.You could have gold, copper, white, etc., but not all vendors offer those finishes. Do the research on your finishes and what will work for your home.

Do you have kids that are messy in the bathroom? Polished chrome will show water spots, so perhaps a brushed option is a better solution. Also, if you choose a specialty finish,consider whether it is a living finish or not. A living finish essentially is one that changes over time with wear and exposure. For example, a true oil rubbed bronze finish will wear with exposure to the oils from your hands, so over time it will have an aged/worn look, which can be attractive, but not desirable in all applications.

Decide what kind of faucet will work for your space.There is the standard 8-inch widespread, the most common faucet. There would need to be three holes in your countertop and the spacing would be an overall 8-inch distance between the center of the hot/cold handles. A 4-inch mini-spread or center-set faucet is smaller and more compact,and the distance between the centers of the hot and cold knobs is only 4 inches.

Of course, there are wall-mount faucets. These will be built into the wall and access to them should be considered. There are vessel faucets for use with vessel sinks, which sit on top of the countertop with a rim that rises above the countertop. A vessel faucet is high enough to clear the vessel rim and often is a single hole installation with the volume control integrated with the temperature in a single lever.There are single-hole faucets for standard sinks, too.

Also, lever handles are easier to use for the elderly and children, as opposed to cross-handles, which are more tricky to grab.

Hawaii Home Expo has a knowledgeable staff led by owner Bruce Okimoto. Visit hawaiihomeexpo.com for more information.

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