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Holmes in Style:
At the Kitchen Sink – The Faucet |
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April 2007 – Have you seen the TV commercial where a couple is meeting with an architect to discuss their dream home? They view impressive past works, and finally rest in the architect’s private office to discuss their new home. The lady then opens her purse, pulls out a kitchen faucet, plunks it on the architect’s desk and says, “We want our home designed around this!” I laughed out loud when I first watched this commercial! It made a very good point. Many people need to find some inspiration before they can start visualizing their dream home.
In the commercial the couple realized they need a starting point to drive their design, and the kitchen faucet is as good a starting point as any other. As silly as it sounds, it is true!
The styling of a kitchen sink faucet can drive the overall style of your kitchen or it can simply accentuate it. If you have a contemporary kitchen, go for a sleek/industrial looking faucet, and I would hazard a guess it will likely be in either a chrome or silver coloured finish. Most of the kitchens today in the Toronto area (and typically North America) are still in the Traditional styling; and therefore, the majority of the faucets on the market here follow Traditional styling.
Transitional is a term used to describe a middle of the road style. It bridges the gap between the “fussy details” of Traditional and the “cold and sleek” look that Contemporary can have. Transitional covers the grey area between the two extremes.
The finish accentuates the styling of a faucet. For many working to achieve unity within the overall project, I am happy to say there is lots of opportunity to match finishes between products. Product Developers understand the need to have faucet finishes match decorative hardware, and at a minimum appliances; but, they are also looking for ways to sell more product, “suites of product” actually. For example, the styling and finish of your main kitchen sink faucet can be matched to a veggie sink faucet and a wall spigot. Many manufacturers are even working through hardware manufacturers to bring the same style and finish (or product suite) to doors and drawers hardware. This is just plain smart. While it takes the leg work away from the Client, it has the potential to boosts sales for the manufacturer.
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What are the popular finishes?
Brushed Nickel (a slightly warmed colour of silver) continues to be extremely popular, as are Bronzed colours such as Oil Rubbed Bronze. Be careful with Bronze though as it is part of a trend and may not be here for too long, I estimate another 2 years at most, and will easily be replaced with the next flavour of the month. Bronze is a beautifully warmed copper/brown with a hint of gold. Bronze in its beauty, should be considered with the same caution as Brass, as it is tough to match other metals in the kitchen and each product manufacturer has their own interpretation of the colour. As seen with Brass, Bronze is a distinct colour with a shorter shelf life in style and fit with other finishes in your space.
As mentioned in my first article, spend your money on big ticket items that have longevity, are in classic styling and finishes, or on items that you truly love and you will not be tired of looking at 10 years from now. By classic I do not mean simply traditional. There are definitely contemporary classics as well, so by classic I refer to products that have a wider appeal and products that will not date themselves easily.
Most people don’t consider the other metal colours in their kitchen when selecting a faucet. What may seem like subtle considerations at first, could become glaring mismatches if not taken into account for the overall scheme. Unity (flow) in design elements is important and one of the fundamental principles. |
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Prices of Faucets
Brace yourself before you head out to price your next kitchen faucet. The old adage, “You get what you pay for,” is true when it comes to faucets, their inner workings, and their warranties! The more reputable manufacturers provide a lifetime warranty for the faucet. Source a manufacturer that will always have access to the various internal parts for replacement parts in their faucets.
The durability of the faucet finish is important and is clearly reflected in the prices. PVD is the most popular and the toughest finish in the faucet market. Chrome (polished silver finish) is the finish of choice for the PVD technique. PVD stands for:
“Physical Vapour Deposition, and is a group of vacuum coating techniques that are used to deposit thin film coatings that enhance the properties and performance of tools and machine components.”
From the PVD Coatings website >>
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Pot Filler (also called Spigots)
These items have been around for many years and were typically installed on the backsplash wall behind and above the cooktop. The popularity of these faucets is circling around again in kitchen design as they are wonderfully functional faucets. They are now being installed either on the counter, off to one side from the cooktop, or as they were traditionally positioned, on the wall behind the cooktop.
For years, if you could find them, these pot fillers, a.k.a.: spigots, were only in a traditional styling, but now manufacturers, recognizing the strength of the contemporary movement, have developed more contemporary spigots.
Several companies offer both the counter-mounted pot filler and the wall-mounted pot filler. Pros and cons between the two: the counter mounted unit is easier to configure the pipes through the back of the cabinetry to where you will want the faucet positioned; can easily be used by others not at the cooktop; and will not interfere with the backsplash tile detailing; however, it will take up space on the work surface. The wall mounted version requires minimal space; could be incorporated into details of the backsplash, and is typically used only by those at the cooktop.
I like the thinking behind the functioning of these spigots; however, the thought process needs to have follow through. The spigot was developed so that cooks would not have to carry huge heavy pots of cold water from the sink to the cooktop; hence the spigot was placed directly above the cooktop. If we think about “next steps”, this heavy pot becomes heavier with addition of the cooked food items. The cook now has to carry the heavier pot with boiling hot water and cooked food to the nearest sink to then tip the pot and drain the food!
Kohler developed a product a few years ago trying to meet this need. They have an existing product called the Kohler PRO COOK Centre that somewhat accommodates this idea. It is a special cooker with large sink and faucet. I have specified this product in a few projects and it is incredibly practical, but it is definitely made for a niche market, and it does need some tweaking in design and flexibility for positioning in the kitchen. |
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Someone is thinking (!!)
YES, finally! You have probably seen these in public washrooms and now they are finally available for residential use!
This faucet is positioned somewhere between an appliance and a plumbing product – in both function and price.
Imagine you have been just de-boning chicken or have been kneading dough, and you need to turn on the faucet! Now you can do it without having to touch a faucet handle – much cleaner, much easier, and much healthier! Someone was paying attention to kitchen functionality for cooks and bakers.
There is a big industry trade show called the Kitchen & Bath Industry Show (KBIS) in Las Vegas in May. Most of the Kitchen and Bathroom Product manufacturers and designers from all over the world attend this show to display and source the latest and greatest in kitchen and bath products. After this show you will see a huge surge in magazine articles focusing on new products, trends and technology information. An exciting time for sure! Watch your newsstands for these magazines and prepare to gather some great ideas for re-designing your kitchen and bath!
This year KBIS promises to be a highly stylized and technologically driven show. It is one that will define the true industry leaders, as lots of money has been recently invested in developing more “Appliance-like Plumbing Products!”
Most of the product technology is driven by two factors: an aging baby boomer population and conservation of natural resources. Both influences are hot topics that are changing the face of our planet! Watch this site for my future articles on GREEN product innovations!
Article by Dianna Holmes for SayItCornell.com
©2007 All Rights Reserved. |
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