Faucets for your home: what are you getting for more money?
When working with clients in pulling together budgets, there is typically room to manipulate the budget when selecting products. When working on a kitchen or bath project, we are always discussing faucets for the home.
I have written a number of blogs about how we go about pulling a budget together. A comment on this particular blog was made.
I hope you continue to write posts like this that show low/high comparisons…and that also might explain why a tub that looks pretty similar is so different in pricing from the more expensive model. That’s what I’d really like to know. What are the differences in quality and/or warranty that makes one thing so much more than the other?
Leslie Carothers
Thank you Leslie for your comment and the suggestion of educating everyone. So without further ado, here we go!
The guts
Typically, most people only look at the outside of a faucet. Whether it's for a bathroom or a kitchen, most people pay attention to the exterior. For me, I pay attention to the interior - the guts of the faucet.
Budget Friendly Guts
Typically, budget friendly faucets may have one or all of the following:
- rubber compression valves
- dipped or plastic finish
- plastic parts
- fewer choices of finishes
- limited function
Quality Faucet Guts
With more expensive faucets, you will most likely find the following:
- ceramic discs instead of rubber
- PVD (Physical vapor deposition) finish that is bonded to the metal instead of being dipped or plastic
- brass parts
- numerous choices in finishes
- state of the art systems (motion sensor, automatic docking system, etc.)
Longevity
I always say that function needs to trump 'pretty'. When considering where the faucet is located and how often it will be used, these factors should be an indicator of what type of faucet you should be looking for. A kitchen faucet will be used everyday, multiple times. This is one area where I say you should 'splurge' with quality.
You pay for what you get. A cheaper faucet may need to be replaced multiple times over the years where a more expensive, well-built faucet will last a lifetime.
Sheri Bruneau
There's no right answer
I want to make one thing clear, while I would love to see everyone I work with go for a quality faucet, I also know that budget comes into play. While I would love to see every project have a well-made, life-lasting faucet, it simply isn't possible. Mentally preparing to replace a faucet every 3-5 years is something that needs to be discussed when selecting a budget friendly faucet.
My Favourite faucets for your home
Below are some of my budget friendly and designer top choices. You may notice that most are in a Chrome finish or a version of Chrome. Chrome is readily available and is most often the most inexpensive finish no matter what the style. You may also see that the budget friendly options have fewer finish choices.
Please note: While I have listed some of my favourites below, these are some of my favourites that you can find online.
I have a large number of 'designer only' faucets I love however they are not available for online purchases. One of the perks of working with a designer is getting those 'designer pieces' that you can't find online.
My blog contains affiliate links. Any purchases, that are at no additional charge to you, are most appreciated and make this blog possible.
Budget Friendly Choices for Bathroom Faucets
Designer Choices for Bathroom Faucets
Budget Friendly Widespread Faucets
Designer Choices for Widespread Faucets
Faucets for your home
As you can see, there are many choices when it comes to purchasing faucets for your home. While some faucets can be found online (and who doesn't love an upcoming Black Friday sale next month), there are also many faucets that are only available through your designer. Whether it's purchasing online or working with a designer, I hope this has given you a little insight into the differences between a budget friendly faucet and a quality made faucet.
