Faucets and Sinks Really Do Matter

Gutting and redesigning a kitchen is not for sissys. The trauma of displacement is obvious, but unless you thrive on making decisions that will affect your food preparation experiences for years to come, this aspect of designing a kitchen is equally challenging. I had made the "big" decisions, where to put the dishwasher, something new to this house, as well as all the other appliances, which thankfully have few choices of color to decide, how many and where the outlets should go, etc. so when we got down to sinks and faucets, I was like whatever, sinks and faucets are just that, sinks and faucets, no big deal, right? Well not so fast on the "No big deal."

A few faucet and sink savvy friends had asked me about my faucet and sink of choice, but I just kept shrugging because I really didn't care or know much about either. Apparently, faucets and sinks come in many shapes and sizes, as well as material (the obvious are stainless and porcelian, but you can also purchase granite composite and cast iron.) I knew I wanted undermount stainless sinks (yes, we were gluteneous and wanted two sinks in our kitchen) end of story on sink selection in my mind. Not so fast.

After pricing sinks I knew I wanted to do some price comparison shopping. After a bit of shopping, I ended up ordering our sinks through Overstock.com for a couple of reasons. Reason number one, price. The sink I chose, based on price, was 16 gauge rather than 18 gauge (meaning its better quality. . . didn't know that before), this should have been my first clue that sinks matter. The other thing I liked about Overstock.com were the ratings and reviews written about the product you are considering (the sink I was looking out had 30+ great review), which should have been another clue about sinks, but I'm a slow learner. Being pleased with the price and low cost of shipping, $2.95, I ordered one large Artisan brand sink and one small undermount Artisan bar sink. The large sink arrived within a week. The bar sink never arrived. Overstock was great about reordering the sink, which again did not show up, so a refund was issued.

With one sink in my possession, school coming to a close, and granite arriving the day after school got out, I needed another sink and a couple of faucets. Still not realizing the impact one or two sinks can make, I headed to Home Depot. The sinks were more than I wanted to pay so I remained in denial about the urgency for a second sink. The faucet selection found me scratching my head, but Rachel, our wonderful kitchen designer, narrowed the selection by advising on brands to avoid. We selected and left the store with two matching Price Pfister faucets that come with a sprayer and lotion dispenser, which will never be installed because the on the counter lotion dispensers never work right, so why would I want two dysfunctional lotion dispensers permanently attached to my countertop. Out of necessity we also picked up drains for sinks, which thank goodness had a limited selection and being true to style, I thought a drain is a drain. At Home Depot, Kohler was the only drain maker to have satin finish drains to match my sink and hopefully future sink, so the decision was made.

With only one sink and granite coming the next day, I called Sam at Value Stone, our granite supplier and installer. Sam carries sinks, Sam had a single sink that could be used as a bar sink, Sam quoted the sink price cheaper than anywhere, so Sam was bringing a sink. To make a long story short, the sink Sam brought was too big for the cabinet, and I was thankful because I had envisioned a small bar sink, not a single basin kitchen sink, this was my first realization that sinks matter. A quick call was made by Sam and a small round sink was on the way from Seattle, still at a great price. The round sink was the first to be installed and what a thing of beauty it is. That first day I couldn't resist running my hand around the edge and being thanful for dumb luck. At the end of the day, both sinks were installed and Ron was hooking up the new drains (which I've also come to learn really do matter) and faucets.

The final product, sinks with faucets and drains set into the granite is AMAZING . . . I LOVE IT!!! The main sink has an extra deep large basin, with a smaller basin on the side. The round sink adds style to the kitchen and makes a perfect bar sink. High arching faucets and hefty drains add a bit of bling (I have really gotten into the whole faucet and sink gig.) Since we don't have our flooring and backsplash complete (OK, not even selected and started, more decisions to make), my favorite part of the kitchen may change, but for now, the sinks, faucets, and drains are what I love most about my new kitchen, proving that faucets and sinks (drains, too) really do matter.