8 Different Types of Kitchen Faucets

Last Updated: May 3, 2020Who knew a kitchen faucet would be one of the most important factors of your kitchen? While the stove and fridge get all the credit as being big-name appliances, the kitchen faucet is one item in your kitchen that you cannot live without. It’s often over-looked, but the functionality, as well as the satisfying décor value makes the kitchen faucet one of the most important and under-rated items in your kitchen. We’ve come a long way from the days of a single pipe and one to two spigots coming straight out of the wall, now we have various designs and advanced technology to choose from. New cabinets can cost a fortune, but replacing a kitchen faucet can do wonders for the look of your kitchen and save you huge renovation costs.

Related post: Best Kitchen Faucets

Motion (touchless) faucet

Just like in the bathrooms at all your favorite restaurants, you can bring a motion faucet into your home. A motion sensor kitchen faucet is much pricier than standard faucets, but is a great investment for those who are always frustrated when they’ve messy hands and no clean way to turn on the tap.

No more getting raw chicken or dough on the faucet handles, just swipe in front of the motion sensor and on your faucet goes! Another great reason to buy a motion faucet, besides the ultimate ick factor of dirty hands? It’s a great way to save water as you cannot leave a motion sensor faucet on by accident.

Touch Faucet

A touch faucet is similar to the motion faucet as all you need is a simple touch of any part of your hand, wrist or arm to activate it and turn it on. That means if you have messy hands, you can bump your elbow against it and keep your kitchen sink clean. A touch faucet is a pricey option that may be worth it if you’re frustrated with motion sensors in public bathrooms and couldn’t imagine having one in your home, but you don’t want to have to get your spigots dirty when you’re cooking. Plus, just like the motion faucet, the touch faucet helps save water, too.

Wall-mounted faucet

A wall-mounted kitchen faucet is old-school straight from the wall. These resemble outdoor faucets with no bells or whistles, only two handles: one for hot and one for cold. Wall-mounted faucets may seem boring next to all the other types of faucets out there, but they fit in perfectly with those who have a farmhouse vibe or an old converted loft. A wall-mounted faucet is also a perfect option for those who already have a small kitchen and want to use up every little bit of space as best as possible. By mounting the faucet onto the wall instead of onto the kitchen sink, you can have a larger area for sponges, soaps, and dish cloths, making sure that all of your dishwashing needs don’t end up spreading out onto the surrounding and limited counter-space.

Pull-down
 kitchen faucet

While you may not have given much thought to its name, chances are you’ve lived in a home where this kitchen faucet was installed. A pull-down faucet is very popular in kitchens due to its handiness and ability to fit nicely with most décor. The pull-down faucet is exactly what it sounds like: a faucet that pulls down. When stationary, the kitchen faucet sits like a normal faucet, only able to turn from left to right to fill up a sink or a pot, but if you pull the hose down, you’ll be able to have much more flexibility than with a standard one. A pull-down faucet allows you to clean out sinks thoroughly, lets you get into the corner of pans, and even fill up a pot that doesn’t quite make it into the sink.

Single Handle kitchen faucet

A single handle faucet may look similar to that of a pull-down, but the faucet isn’t as versatile as the pull-down one, meaning that you can only turn it from side to side to get where you want the water, not aim it directly where it needs to be as there is no flexible hose. For those who don’t like to turn two separate spigots for the hot and cold water, the single handle can be cranked left or right to get the desired temperature. 
Usually on the cheaper end, the single handle can get pricier as the design becomes fancier like the waterfall options or an English vintage design.

Dual Handle

The dual handle faucet is very similar to the single handle faucet, except there are two handles. You have your hot and cold separated, allowing for very basic designs. If you like the design of a dual handle, but need a little bit more flexibility, you can upgrade your regular dual handle faucet for a pull-down version, keeping those separate hot and cold handles. You can also purchase a dual handle faucet that comes with a separate sprayer that pulls out directly from the kitchen sink, making it easier to clean dirty dishes and even water nearby plants.

Commercial Style

Think of this one as the perfect faucet for all of those amateur chefs out there. It’s springy and easy to move around, you can pull it out to where you need it and can adjust it with a sleek lever on one side, similar to that of a single handle faucet. If you really want to up your kitchen faucet game, you can also add on a separate faucet attached to it like the single handle faucet. This extra faucet won’t be springy and won’t be able to move as easily like the big one, but it can fill up the second sink or allow you to fill up a big pot, letting you keep each side on two different temperatures.

These commercial-style faucets aren’t the prettiest and are focused more on functionality than design. If you’re looking for a more modern look for your home, a commercial-style faucet may be the perfect addition to take your kitchen from mid-century to the 21st.

The Pot Filler

Don’t all faucets fill up pots? Well, yeah, of course. This one is a little fancier and can make your life a little easier. The pot filler is the faucet that’s in every single fancy home in the movies, beckoning you to pull out your renovation Pinterest board and re-do your kitchen. Think of this one as a bonus faucet. While you’ll need to pick one of the above for your kitchen sink, a pot filler faucet is one that is added on for the benefit of those who don’t want to have to lift heavy pots from the stove to the kitchen sink. Simply pull it out from the wall, turn on the water, fill the pot, then push back to the wall. A great addition and idea for those doing a full kitchen renovation.