Although we loved the white ceramic sink that our kitchen came with, we never loved the old white faucet. The colour wasn’t the issue, but the look and funcionality left much to be desired. So, when Kevin accidentally broke the sprayer with an April fools joke gone bad (or good?), we decided that it was time for an upgrade.
Here is what the old faucet looked like. White, dated and grungy. Not horrible, but tired.
And, no matter how many times we cleaned it, a mysterious black ‘residue’ would appear when the tap was turned on. Ugh. And the other dirt shown below was basically a permanent stain as it was pretty much ‘baked on’. I tried to remove it but no luck.
But, back to the April Fools joke gone bad. Or good, depending on how you look at it. So, last April 1st Kevin did the old “put an elastic band around the sprayer trigger so that it is set to ‘on’ ” trick and then asked Chace to get him a glass of water and – you guessed it – spray city!
Funny, but tragic. For the sprayer that is. After we stopped laughing and I removed the elastic band, the trigger part of the nozel broke off in my hand the next time I went to use it. I guess the joke was just too much for him. Or it.
So, fast forward a few months and in July we replaced the faucet. Oh, happy day! I missed the spray feature daily and even more than that, missed the pull down spray feature of our newly installed faucet in our old townhome shortly before we sold it. So, we knew that a pull down sprayer feature was a must have.
Now, what colour to get? White was an obvious choice but not necessarily my favourite. Stainless steel would work but didn’t have my heart singing. Black was an idea that we seriously considered but when we saw the ‘slate’ finish of the Pfister Tayga Faucet we knew we had a winner! Combine that with the sleek look and soap pump (that would fill the whole left by the broken sprayer), we pulled the trigger (ha – get it, trigger, spray nozzle) and brought it home.
But, back to the current situation. We had to remove the old faucet and sprayer.
Well, that’s appealing. Gross.
Want to see a picture of a 6’5″ guy installing a faucet in a really cramped space? You’re welcome. Thanks Kev!
Not very comfortable, but, success!
See how the “slate” colour and finish play nicely with both the stainless steel appliances and dark counter tops? Our granite has some dark tan mixed in as well and the tone works really nicely with that colour. I love how the slate is not as stark as a black faucet would be, but more interesting than a chrome, stainless or nickel finish – and much more modern than a white faucet.
The simple curve of the faucet head is sleek and unfussy.
Where the old broken nozzle hole was, we now have the matching soap dispenser pump which helps get the hand soap bottle off the counter. Less clutter!
The faucet has the option of installing it without the baseplate which is much cleaner, and the look I’d prefer, but we had to use it due to the fact that there were three holes drilled into the sink (see earlier photo of when we took off the old faucet). The baseplate is clean and sleek so not really a big deal.
Overall, it still has a nice clean look so I’m happy.
The faucet comes with two water delivery options – regular…
And spray, which is great for cleaning stuck on food, the sink itself etc.
You can switch between these settings or even pause the water flow completely by using the two buttons on the back of the pull down part of the nozzle head.
The underside of the pull down nozzle head looks like this.
The pull down nozzle clicks back in place securely by fitting into a little notched out area. Kevin likes this feature and while it is secure, it is bit finicky to get back in place (versus other pull down faucets that snap back using magnets). So, I’m a bit on the fence about that one feature.
One thing I do love though is how simple and sleek the handle is. We didn’t want anything too ornate or curvy but also didn’t want anything too cold or futuristic looking. I think this is a perfect fit.
You pull it down towards you, and out for hot water…
And up and out to the side for cold water.
The nozzle head pulls straight down and has a really nice long extension. So much so that I use it daily to fill my coffee pot water reserve compartment with the coffee maker still on the counter! It also makes cleaning up dishes and the sink itself a breeze.
Yay for a fully functioning faucet (say that last part five times fast)! Now, if you’ll need me, I’ll be in kitchen doing dishes. Ugh. But at least my faucet is pretty so there’s that.
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