I tend to live my life according to the maxim, “ask for forgiveness, not permission.” When I moved from a house to an apartment in the midst of a divorce last spring, it more or less became my mantra. I’d just spent a decade making budget-friendly cosmetic renovations to a century-old bungalow, and I’d poured most of my resources (along with literal blood, sweat, and tears) into the kitchen. By the time I left, I’d replaced everything but the lower cabinets—and those got fresh paint and new hardware.
Needless to say, the thought of trading my fully customized kitchen for a copy-paste design made an already difficult situation even harder. That is, until I decided I would quietly swap out nearly all of the apartment’s flimsy, dated fixtures—starting with a shockingly shiny chrome kitchen faucet. It turned out to be an easy, relatively affordable upgrade that completely transformed the space.
Overall, my rental kitchen actually does have a lot going for it: great natural light, a cool penny tile backsplash, and plenty of quartz counter space that includes a breakfast bar where my kids can eat while I cook. Unfortunately, a few things really cheapened the whole look when I moved in. The frosted pendant lights and dated cabinet pulls were bad, but I was most offended by the faucet. In addition to the glaring finish, it felt too small for the building’s pre-war architecture with its tall ceilings and wide wood trim.
Beyond necessary major appliance purchases, my biggest splurge for my old kitchen had been a champagne bronze pull-down faucet from Delta (with a matching sink flange since I was already splurging, obviously). Back then, a fancy faucet wasn’t exactly within my nonexistent budget, but I saw it as a worthwhile investment, and it really tied the room together if I do say so myself.
“The faucet is the kitchen’s most-used fixture, so it needs to be as hardworking as it is beautiful,” says Geri Higgins, president and CEO of Portfolio Kitchen & Home. “The right faucet is the perfect marriage of form and function—an everyday luxury that enhances the entire cooking experience.”
Higgins told me she often steers clients toward faucets like the one I put in my house: high-arched gooseneck styles with lots of clearance (“perfect for filling tall pots!”), subtle gold-toned finishes, and extra features like pull down sprayers.
I approached installing the statement faucet in my new kitchen strategically. Before I signed the lease—and after I’d been told I couldn’t bring my induction range with me (I tried!)—I casually mentioned to the listing agent that I’d at least need to update “a few” fixtures. I assured him everything would be an upgrade and that I’d leave it all for the next tenant. I chose not to bore him with my plan to replace every cabinet pull, light fixture, window treatment, shower head, and of course, faucet.
As a renter, I didn’t want to spend more than a few hundred dollars on a single element for the kitchen, but I also wanted something from a trusted brand that would last more than a few years. After hours of browsing products and reading customer reviews, I settled on another Delta faucet—this time opting for a more industrial style with a matte black finish and a super-high arch that wouldn’t be dwarfed by the architectural characteristics of the space.
