There was this one time that I had to go pick out all my plumbing fixtures with this wild 3 year old…yeah that’s her dancing in the shower to something that’s blaring from an iPhone. You know in the echoey all tile building where people are conducting business and such.
Don’t worry you probably won’t have to expect that when you shop for your plumbing, but I wanted you to get a feel for my state of mind. I was thinking I need to have a blog post just to prepare people for what they are about embark upon. So. Many. Choices.
Here are some plumbing terms/things to think about before you wander into a showroom:
1. Finish – oil rubbed bronze, gold, nickel, brushed nickel….
2. Shape/Style
These are bathroom faucets that sit on a 4″ base. They are typically the cheapest style you will find. Most brands have a variety of different finishes for each style. Look at the difference between each of these. The spout height, shape of the hands, hot + cold levers vs 1 lever…
More bathroom faucets except these are 8″ widespread which means they have no base. They are “fancier” (read: more expensive). Most models come in a cheaper 4″ centerset option as well. Again the finishes, handles, and spouts come in so many different options.
There are several more faucet option, but these 2 are typically what you see in bathrooms.
This option was our “in budget” choice. No those quotes aren’t unnecessary. This faucet was pretty significantly over the allotted amount for bathroom faucets (even in the 4″ choice), but it was the cheapest option. Add that to the wild kid, and I was pretty irritated.
There’s nothing wrong with this faucet. It came in several finishes all at the over- budget price. For the price point I wasn’t impressed with this faucet. I mean I’m not an expert on faucet prices, but I just wasn’t happy.
We moved onto shower heads. The middle option was again “in budget”. I wasn’t a fan of the size of the shower head especially for the price. Now I’m not trying to be snobby or rude, but I was being very picky. I mean when you are looking at paying more than a hundred dollars over budget per item, you want something that you feel like was worth it. It adds up fast with 5 sink faucets, 3 shower heads, 5 sinks, a kitchen sink, a kitchen faucet, a master bathtub, and a utility sink + faucet.
Sorry I feel like I’m whining instead of giving you useful information. Here is my advice when you have to select an entire houses worth of plumbing – faucets, sinks, tubs.
1. Know what finish you want. We love brass but knew that was going to be out of budget, so we needed to come up with a finish that wouldn’t clash with the brass accents we knew would be in the same space.
2. Know what shape/style you are going for. Traditional, modern, transitional…what kind of handle do you prefer? What height do you want for the spout?
**The key here being know what you want for the room. Be thinking about the space as a whole – the finished space – to help select the finish and style of your pieces.
3. Find something reasonably priced for what you WANT.
Something we are learning is budget can’t be the only factor. Otherwise we wouldn’t have any plumbing fixtures in the house. Seriously. I do think when you are building you have to think creatively about what you want/can live with in your house as well as balance the reality of the budget. There has to be some give and take. Cut here to spend here or other solutions.
Did you catch the word creatively? We are the Wills yo. You know we got something up our sleeve to solve this problem.
Love that pic with Ramona in the shower.
And I don’t envy you one bit having to choose finishes with a three year old. :O.
I had no idea that 8 inch was considered fancier than 4 inch. I guess you learn something new every day. I have been looking at some single hole faucets for our bathroom myself, so I didn’t have to choose between the two
Love the ones you picked out!
It’s definitely easier to pick something when you are narrowed by what’s already there. When you are looking at something from scratch, it’s endless. I think you just really have to have an idea about the end result of the room.
We had to replace our kitchen faucet and ended up going with something a little more expensive than we had budgeted. But I think it was worth it for all the use it gets. Of course, that’s only ONE faucet compared to your many! I can see how that would really add up.
I always think it’s better to spend a little more and get what you want because otherwise it will annoy you over time. Then you will replace it anyway and wind up spending way more in the end. I’m fighting that feeling everyday with the build though because a little here and there is always going to amount to a significant final figure.
You know, this whole kitchen redo has killed me with all the choices. I cannot imagine living in a world where you have to pick out all the house finishes all at once. That’s pretty overwhelming. You are handling it quite well. My pregnant hormones would have me crying all over the place. So much runny mascara! But if there’s anything I know about the Wills, it’s that you guys have immaculate taste. I can’t wait to see it all come together
Thanks Kenz! It’s been so hard trying to get ahead of decisions and think through things, but then again being open so we can be flexible with what’s thrown our way. In addition to being mindful about budget. Ugh. It’s exciting, but yes I was so overwhelmed at this meeting. The possibilities are just endless when you are going ground up with plumbing. Well as endless as you can financially afford/justify anyway.
Hahaha I love this post for all the reasons you said I shouldn’t 😉 Looking forward to tomorrow’s, yo!
Whew! I was worried. I’m sure we won’t disappoint you tomorrow!
I love choices and it’s so fun to see what other people pick.
Thanks! You will see tomorrow…
I have tried to define my style with the help of Pinterest and Houzz and currently I am falling into the “traditional, transitional, Spanish colonial, industrial, modern design” category. HELP! I don’t want our house to look like a carnival fun housel. Also, I am strangely being drawn to mid-century modern items which definitely adds to the design confusion. (I could not do an entire room with a MCM theme but I think each room in the house would benefit from a stunning MCM accent piece.) Am I crazy? Did you and Nick plan out each room/space before making your purchases? What can I do to re-focus and truly get a cohesive theme throughout the entire house?
Honestly, our style is so eclectic that we’re never super focused. Personally I think one style by itself is boring anyways.
Buy stuff that you love and makes you happy. After that you can just layer in neutral items that can work with anything (marble, wood tones, white modern junk etc).