The Truth About Unlacquered Brass Faucets + All The Kitchen Faucets I’m Considering (And WHY….)

Here’s a fun story / caution story I never told you: When I was selecting the faucets for our 100 year old English Tudor 5 years ago, I wanted unpainted brass – I longed for the patina, the age, the texture, the Dimensions and honestly, like the novels I’ve devoured lately, I wanted that old world romance that provoked it (The Duke Heist, anyone?). I went to a plumbing shop in Pasadena to see them in person and asked the very knowledgeable salesperson what he thinks about living, unpainted (essentially unsealed) surfaces. He replied quickly and enthusiastically “Oh, I love her …” I said “Oh good!” And he continued, “… because in 7 years you will be back to replace her”. Obviously, this was NOT the snappy news I wanted to hear, nor did it change my mind (and no one told Brian this hilarious anecdote). However, I have taken its precautions in every way – like buying a white sofa with children, it is doable, but it requires preventive measures and maintenance. We softened our water, which we wanted to do anyway, but it’s HIGHLY recommended for live finishes (the Culligan partnership happened later, by the way). I bought both the correct daily cleaner and monthly wax. After 4 years two (out of 8) had a little bit of green around the base but mostly they looked beautiful and we loved, loved, loved the patina. But the truth is that unpainted brass – like real marble – is a lifestyle choice. You have to love it enough to handle the aftermath and the maintenance.

photo by tessa neustadt | from: Revealing Emily’s kitchen and dining room

Unpainted brass brings me strange happiness. You know, when you peel a banana for a toddler and they throw themselves on the floor in anger because they either wanted to or you did it with your left hand instead of your right hand, and so on, it certainly doesn’t fit the plot ”. So I think of unpainted brass, just the opposite. It shouldn’t make me as happy as it does, but it does. But let me make it clear – mostly in older homes – like our kitchen upstairs. I don’t miss it in our modern mountain house (I love our purist fittings) and we are not planning it in the new Flusshaus building either (we opt for this one). But in our old Tudor and that old Craftsman farmhouse, I know it will give me a serving of joy every day, every time I touch / see and use it.

We all have our things. 🙂 So today I’m going to show you all the taps that I am considering for our kitchen fittings suite (faucet, preparation tap and pot filler) for our family farmhouse and what I have currently narrowed it down to. It should be said that I love a gooseneck or a bridge and I tend to be more traditional than modern (so no angular ones) and I need a deck mount for the kitchen, not a wall mount. Here we go.

Satin / aged brass:

At first, under the name of “easy to care for, but still so pretty”, I tended towards satin or brushed brass. Polished is better for modern homes like the Berghaus, and besides, the sheen adds more shine than I would want for this home (repeating “grounded” and “casual” with each decision) so I didn’t polish in for this home Considered.

1. Waterhouse kitchen faucet with sprayer | 2. Westhang kitchen faucet | 3. Connor Bridge kitchen faucet

1. Dash three-hole gooseneck kitchen faucet with metal cross handles and spray | 2. Easton Classic two-hole bridge gooseneck kitchen faucet, metal cross handles

A practical faucet – IE The Pull-Down

For a brief moment I was influenced by Max and our choice for Ken’s River House and loved how functional it was. He’s not trying to be chic, but full of function and says, “What? We cook a lot ”. Brian gave all those quick nos because he wanted a country style faucet, but for the record, I love these.

1. Culinary pull-down kitchen faucet | 2. Poetto Pull Down Faucet

Polished nickel

For another brief moment (like 2 days) I leaned against polished nickel. We mixed it in our range and we have a TON OF wood in the kitchen so maybe a cooler tone would be better than brass. Ultimately, I turned away from it (but I chose it in the new guest bathroom upstairs). By the way, for older homes you will generally want to go for polished nickel over polished chrome. Nickel is much warmer in tone and feels more timeless, chrome looks more mirror-inverted and cold (it is more based on the 80s). I love polished nickel and mixing metals in general.

1. H-Line lever handle single-hole kitchen mixer with sprayer

Unpainted brass fittings – the winners (??)

Chesterfield Kitchen Bridge faucet with side shower

At this point, I’m at two at three – each with its advantages and disadvantages. The Newport brass above is what I think I used on our LA home as well as the Silver Lake Hills kitchen. It’s nice and classic. The only downside I see is that I’ve used it twice.

Rohl Perrin and Rowe Bridge kitchen faucet with side shower

This is just the right amount of traditional “crush”. I’ve pinned it probably 15 times over the years and it’s just fine. There is no way I will regret it. It should be said that there are very few affordable unpainted brass fittings in the market for whatever reason (I found one below). Unpainted brass went out of fashion decades ago when we started sealing the metals for extended use (to prevent the metal from decaying). So the general population is not opting for this easier-to-care-for finish, so there really aren’t many on the market. I get it. I want that to change, but I understand.

Stratford 321 deck-mounted bridge kitchen mixer with side shower

Now this can be made of unpainted brass OR they even have an “antique brass” or “satin bronze” finish that has that beautiful tone that actually makes it look like the patina of unpainted brass, but with less maintenance. Watermark is a great manufacturer that gives you endless possibilities to customize your piping. Like most things custom and made in America, they can be quite expensive, but you get what you pay for and these are beautiful.

Loft 2.0 23 Deck-mounted bridge kitchen mixer with extended gooseneck and side shower

Again, this would be made of unpainted brass (I really wish their side showed them in all the different finishes – or at least 3-4 popular ones). I love that big gooseneck with the caps on the foot.

Arched V-bridge kitchen faucet made of unpainted brass

Augusta Bridge kitchen faucet made of unpainted brass with hand sprayer and flat cross handles

Ok, these two above are about half the price of others ($ 500) including the sprayer (so save even more) and are as pretty indeed. I found it on Etsy, made in Morocco by a small maker that is lovely. Brian is nervous about the quality for the price and doesn’t work that well with our American systems or can’t return. The reviews are decent and I’ve been showing ARCIFORM and they haven’t seen any red flags, but it feels like a risk. If SOMEONE has ordered from you please let me know.

deVOL Ionic valve made of aged brass

So beautiful. The small round buttons on the pommel are playful but classic. The nuts add a useful element. I would never regret it.

deVOL filling valve made of aged brass

I mean this pot filler is amazing. The ball joints add a bit of whimsy that I really love, while the white enamel gives it a quaint touch. I wish they didn’t have their branding on them, but I think as a huge deVOL fan I wouldn’t mind.

38/39 kitchen bridge mixer

I mean. How nice is that I would get this in polished brass, probably with levers (like below) as they are easier to maneuver with the hand side (e.g. when washing raw chicken off your hands). The disadvantages of this are 1. not made in America, imported from England, but a small company that does nice things that I want to support, and B. I don’t see a pot filler on the website, which means we would either get another.

38/39 kitchen bridge mixer

But I am also attracted by the more modern goosenecks, in the unpainted live winds that will age so well with the house:

Kallista One Bridge kitchen faucet

Kallista is another great brand that I love and discuss – Brian thinks the following is too modern and he’s probably right, but what it takes to really see how it ages is how the patina makes it work could bring.

Kallista One Pull Down kitchen faucet with metal lever handle

I wish I had a conclusion for you – the moment WE FOUND THAT ONE, but honestly we were so overwhelmed by this move that I postponed pulling the trigger to make sure I make good decisions . Some days I want to be on the safe side, other days. The tap may not be the most important decision in the kitchen, but one I don’t want to regret, so I need a clear head. Needless to say, it is NOT clear at the moment and unfortunately we have time. But I wanted to get you inside my foggy head and let you know where it is right now and if any of you have a favorite unpainted faucet that is NOT here, let me know in the comments. ALSO when telling horror stories or cautionary stories with your unsealed or live, finished faucets. I should mention this very quickly – I used unpainted in our shower in our old LA house and we had to replace a rusted-through part – so I personally plan to use this finish sparingly (just the kitchen faucet). The kitchen is in the foreground all the time and I have to clean the kitchen twice a day so I know I better take care of it while forgetting a shower head as soon as I get out of the shower and cleaning a lot less often (which leads to neglect ).

Photo credits for the opening: Photo by Zeke Ruelas | By: Modern Deco Kitchen Reveal