Our kitchen remodel has been going slower than anticipated (the pandemic delayed almost everything,) but it’s coming together beautifully! One of the biggest question marks for me was how to choose hardware that would look beautiful, but be functional and long-lasting. Hardware can be pricey, so it isn’t something you want to replace often. I wanted to get it right the first time!
As I mentioned in my previous post about door hardware, we chose a satin brass finish for our doorknobs and hinges. We have a few vintage gold fixtures throughout the house that we wanted to keep, since they are original to the house and give it character. I wanted to mix finishes in our kitchen- we have stainless steel appliances by JennAir, but I wanted gold cabinet hardware and faucets to add some contrast. Don’t be afraid to have two different finishes in a room! Matchy-matchy is the safe choice, but this looks so much more interesting to me.
I started looking for hardware where every millennial starts looking…on Instagram. I looked up inspiration photos of brass faucets and marble sinks. And lo and behold, I came across BNG Bath under a kitchen sink hashtag. I checked out their page, and then migrated to their website. They had a HUGE selection of brass faucets of every single type! Traditional, bridge, contemporary, widespread, pot filler, pull-down…the list goes on and on. I was super excited to see they had every faucet I was considering in the finish we wanted.
I kept my focus on a kitchen sink faucet and bar prep faucet for the wet bar in our family room. Oh, and the wet bar needed a new sink, so I was happy to discover BNG also has a great selection of those.
TIPS FOR CHOOSING THE PERFECT HARDWARE:
- Start paying attention to the different faucets you encounter every day to figure out which handles you like-one that goes up and down? Two for hot and cold? Automatic? I decided against an automatic faucet (too risky with a toddler,) and as popular as the pull-down faucets are, I wanted a more minimal look for our kitchen.
2. What’s important to you? A sprayer is a must for most of us, but some people don’t like the look. A bridge faucet is stunning, but is it too high or wide for your sink? I knew I needed some help narrowing it down, so I chatted online with Brian, an expert at BNG Bath, as well as spoke to him on the phone. He asked me for my initial wants, and then walked me through every detail of the faucets that fit those parameters. If you want guidance, talking to someone like Brian is so helpful. He spent time discussing my wants and needs and didn’t make me feel silly or rushed in my decision. BNG offers online chat and phone customer service, and they made me feel like my business was important to them. Besides their prices being the best I came across (yes, even lower than some I saw on Amazon,) they have admirable customer service.
3. SIZE. Though I initially wanted a bridge faucet, I realized it would look too tall in relation to our hanging pendant lights and also make it harder to have a conversation with someone in the kitchen if you were sitting at the peninsula. We also wanted something that didn’t compete with our marble sink but complimented it. We went with something lower and simpler, and it’s perfect for the space!
4. Finishes matter. I’m all about mixing finishes, so it made perfect sense to me to have stainless steel appliances and satin brass hardware. But if you’re a purist and don’t like finishes that don’t match, check and double-check that the faucet you’re getting is the right matte black or polished chrome or stainless steel, etc. It can be easy to overlook whether a silver, black, copper, or gold fixture is shiny, matte, or antiqued.
It might seem excessive to spend this much time discussing faucets, but just like door knobs, these products really are the jewelry for your home in many of your rooms! We chose our wet bar faucet because it looks like a bar tap. BNG Bath has a serious selection of faucets that look killer in a wet bar and it was tough to choose, but this one fit the personality of our space. Isn’t it cute? (Similar style here.) We also added in this bright white Arcticstone Solid Surface Undermount 15″ Square Single Bowl Bar Sink to replace the 1989 cream colored sink that clearly needed to be retired. (By the way, this sink was $30-$50 less from BNG Bath than any of the other retailers we saw online!) We still have to style our bar and replace some of the cabinet hardware, but the faucet and new sink already elevated the space!
For our kitchen, we went with the Kingston Brass Manhattan Widespread facuet, which is ideal for larger kitchens, since it’s spread apart. It’s sleek, a little more contemporary, and very sturdy. We love how it looks with our cabinet hardware and the brushed brass finish matched perfectly with our hanging pendants, too! (It comes in other finishes, and I highly recommend the Manhattan in the widespread style or bridge style. It’s so pretty.)
I hope these little tips help when picking out hardware for your home. Faucets and sinks are used everyday, so pick something you love to look at and use!
Photography: S. Jackson
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