People go to the bathroom because they need water –for bathing, washing, or cleaning up. Their attention may first be caught by the beautiful floor and walls or the ornate bathtub standing on a platform in the corner but, sooner or later, they will have to look for the faucet and grasp it with their fingers for a flow of nice and clean water. For this reason, it would be most unwise to focus solely on the floor and walls or bathtubs to the neglect of the faucets.
Faucets are said to trace their roots back to the Egyptians but it was not until the Industrial Revolution that the faucets as we know them today were designed. Since then engineers have vastly improved their performance, eliminating even the minutest leaks, making opening and closing them virtually effortless, and even coming up with faucets that can deliver hot and cold water. Alongside the improvements in their interior workings, exterior appearance has also taken great strides.
Though no exact count was ever made, there are probably a thousand different designs of faucets today, ranging from antique to contemporary and everything else in between. They come in an endless variety of configurations. Some have double handles for opening the tap, one for cold and another hot water. Others have a lever that is moved upwards for water to flow, and moved either to the left or right to regulate the water’s temperature. The handles themselves can be a styled cylinder, cross, or lever. There are also centerset, widespread, and vessel faucets. Indeed, buying a set can be a bewildering experience.
The most common finishes of faucets are chrome, stainless steel, brass, bronze, nickel, and biscuit. Chrome can either be polished or brushed. Polished chrome is shiny and is arguably the most popular finish. It resists tarnishing and can go well with any design. Brushed chrome is not as shiny but just as tarnish-resistant.
Stainless steel looks like chrome on the outside but it is more durable being stainless throughout, while its chrome-finished cousins are usually made of ordinary steel or aluminum.
Brass faucets are either antique or polished. Antique brass has a deep hue that goes well with bathrooms with dark colors. Polished brass, on the other hand, has the color of gold.
Also popular is oil rubbed bronze which has a dark tone. However, this degree of darkness varies from one manufacturer to another.
Nickel, like chrome, can be either polished or brushed. Their appearance is like that of chrome but they are less resistant to tarnish.
Sometimes referred to as white or glacier finish, biscuit has a white matte color. Owing to this, it can go with practically any color motif.
Choose your bathroom faucets with care. It is one of the fixtures in the bathroom that you will need to touch with your hands.