Bathroom faucets

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Suzanne, Keith Arnold (principal with Suzanne Kasler interiors), and I met last week to start thinking about the design approach to the bathrooms in the new house. Suzanne likes everything about bathrooms to be clean, classic, and timeless. We went through each bathroom on the house plan and discussed cabinetry, tile, and plumbing fixture options at a very high level. Suzanne said that in the past, she would often select different fixtures for each bathroom, but these days she is being consistent in the guest and children’s bathrooms, and doing something more unique and special in the master bathroom and powder room.

As much as I love decor, I rarely notice details like plumbing fixtures. Just walking into a plumbing showroom makes my spirits flag almost immediately – there are so many choices! This is why I love working with an experienced designer. For my particular project, Suzanne immediately narrowed down the faucet style to a few selections, and really – to two styles. The column/farm style faucet and the low profile faucet. Both are classic and elegant, which will fit the style of the house we are building.

The first category is this shape, which has a column and has a vintage feel. When looking at this style, Suzanne noted that she really likes the Julia faucet by Waterworks (seen above). I see this style quite frequently, and I admire the pretty lines of this faucet and the delicate lines of the handles. On the Waterworks website, the faucet is described as ‘representative of 1920s French country’, and there is a picture of a French house with a field of lavender. This makes me like this style even more!

The Julia also comes in a low profile version. I like this version very much, but I think if you are going to go for this style it might be good to go for the higher profile. Whatever we choose for the master bathroom, it will have lever handles, as my husband does not like the cross handles. I love cross handles, so will probably use them in my children’s bathrooms.

My builder and architect also suggested that I look at Newport Brass. Newport Brass has a nice version of this style, the 930 series (this is the catalog picture, I will be doing a nickel finish in whatever style I end up selecting).

Perrin & Rowe is another company that my readers recommended when I posted about kitchen sinks, and they have a version of this classic design.

When looking through my pictures, I found quite a few bathrooms that have the farmhouse/column style faucet. Here it can be seen in one of my favorite bathrooms from architect William Hefner’s portfolio.

Design Lori Tippins used pretty faucets in this style (not sure of the brand) for her daughter’s bathroom.

The guest bathroom in Lori’s home also has this style spout.

Suzanne also likes low profile faucets like the Highgate in the Waterworks Studio line. She thinks this would be a good choice for the guest bathroom and children’s bathrooms.

The Astoria by Waterworks is the faucet that Suzanne chose for her own bathroom in the 1930s home she recently renovated, and it is a possibility for our master bathroom. Suzanne loves the shape and substance of the handles on this faucet.

Given that I have been looking into Perrin & Rowe fixtures for the kitchen, and this pretty fixture from the Perrin & Rowe bathroom line caught my eye in the store. A reader from Connecticut told me that she used Rohl (the parent company) and Perrin & Rowe fixtures throughout her house, and she is pleased.

Here is the Newport Brass version of this fixture (this is the brand that I selected for the master bathroom in my current home). The 920 series has the nice low profile look.

Brooke from Velvet & Linen used this faucet on a recent project.

I also like the Newport Brass 1200 series, as the handle bases are more bell shaped. Levers or cross handles can definitely have an impact on the look of a faucet.

The Grohe Somerset has nice clean lines. I have always been so happy with everything I have used from Grohe, so I have a certain amount of customer loyalty with their line. Too bad this faucet only comes in three finishes!

San Francisco based designer Elizabeth Dinkel used the Waterworks Highgate faucet in one of her designs.

Another bathroom designed by Brooke Giannetti uses a low profile faucet to great effect. To me, this is how a bathroom should look – light and fresh and clean.

A low profile faucet in a bathroom designed by S.R. Gambrel.

One of my favorite pictures of a master bathroom uses both styles in one space: the column style in the bathtub, and the low profile in the sink.

The powder room will have a special fixture. This little gem is from Waterworks – the Opus. As soon as I saw it in the Waterworks store, I loved it; the clear egg shaped handles are really beautiful in person. Turns out that Suzanne has this faucet in the powder room of her office. Suzanne said that we could consider this for the powder room as a special touch.

Another picture of the Opus.

So, what do you like – the column style (is there a better term for this?) or the low profile style? Let me know your thoughts in the comments, and please vote in the poll (email readers, click here to participate in the poll or comment – the poll is in the upper right hand corner of the blog). Whatever Suzanne ends up selecting, she likes to use the same line for the shower, bath, and faucets as the finishes from different lines can vary dramatically.

As always, I look forward to reading your thoughts!

- Holly

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