How to Choose the Right Faucet for Your Bathroom

So you’ve selected your tiles, determined a colour scheme, and picked the absolutely perfect mirrors for your bathroom but you’ve forgotten one, instrumental part of your bathroom: the faucets. While the faucet may not be the shining star of your bathroom, it is indisputably an important and high-traffic piece. Choosing the right faucet is not as simple as deciding if you want it in shiny silver or matte.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing your faucet:

1. This one may seem kind of obvious, but your faucet needs to match the rest of your bathroom fixtures. Match your faucet with your towel bars, shower fixtures, cabinet hardware and light fixtures to encourage cohesion in your bathroom.
2. Consider things like spout height and reach. Make sure the size and height of the faucet you choose meshes logistically with things like cabinets and mirrors above your sink. Also make an intentional decision about whether you want single verses multiple handles. Two-handle faucets have a stylish symmetry that suits many bathrooms, especially traditional ones. Single-handle faucets have are more convenient in terms of water temperature adjustment and they are easier to clean.
3. Get a faucet with ceramic valves to avoid long-term dripping. Faucets with ceramic valves cost about the same as other faucets.
4. Consider material. Not all faucets are made equal. The most common materials for faucets are chrome, nickel and bronze.
   1. Chrome is the most durable finish and the easiest to keep clean. Chrome is a good choice for a guest bathroom that gets a lot of traffic.
   2. Nickel finishes are usually labeled “brushed,” “satin” or “stainless steel” and have a dull shine. They’re durable but prone to fingerprints and water spots, so they’re harder to keep clean.
   3. Bronze faucets are coated rather than having a metal finish like chrome or nickel. This coating is tough, but can be chipped or scratched more easily than metal.