I have the Grohe Ladylux Plus and really like it, and recommend it. You didn't mention in your post whether you are talking about the Grohe Ladylux Plus or the Ladylux Cafe. The main difference (someone correct me if I am wrong), is how the sprayer works. On the Ladylux Plus, when you turn off the faucet, the sprayer defaults back to regular flow. On the Ladylux Cafe, the sprayer will stay on sprayer after you turn off the faucet, so that the next time you turn it on, it is still on spray. One choice is not better than the other. It's a question of personal preference (I prefer the Ladylux Plus myself).

From an ergonomic standpoint, pick a pull-down as opposed to a pull-out. Much handier and more normal feeling to spray with a pull-down faucet. (Wish I could afford to choose over.)

Your #3 (my vote) - The 16" tall Allegro Gourmet (the pull-down) with a 11-3/8" reach would be a good choice not only because it's a pull-down, but because the on/off lever is front center. Front center is good because you don't have much space behind faucet. Also, no dripping on counter when turning it off while you have wet hands with a front operating lever. JMO

Pull-down, pull-down, pull-down. LOL

Oops, I forgot to also say that the Allegra #3 on/off lever turns to left for HOT, to right for COLD, and forward/back for VOLUME control.

I'm going through the same issues with faucets - ridiculous!
One of my posted choices last week was the LadyLux Plus but I really don't like the way it looks. The Hansgrohe was another choice (I love the modern look) but somebody said it splashes if you don't have a deep sink. I am now back to square one...and looking at the LadyLux Cafe, which is more graceful. But if it stays on spray after you turn it off - not sure what the ramifications of that will be.

I have moen faucets and a couple of them have been replaced because they leaked. I would not buy a Moen, personally. The Delta is rather graceful and would probably be a nice choice.

I love the way the KWC faucets look, but am still contemplating. Isn't it ridiculous??

I prefer a pulldown to a pullout so that eliminates the Grohe I believe. I also prefer a spray that stays on when pushed but doesn't need me to keep depressing the button. Not sure which ones fulfill that requirement.

alwaysfixin- I was considering the L. plus, not the cafe. I did that b/c of the reach of the plus, but I was not aware of the difference you mentioned. I think I'd only want spray when I specifically "asked for it" as opposed to it staying that way, anyway. Thanks for the pointer.

teedup- I had not thought that pull down vs pull out would matter that much, but you may be right! And the weird thing about the allegros- I would have thought that hot/cold and on/off work just like you are saying, but that is NOT how they were in the store! It was like the handle would have that same range of motion, but everything was "pushed" to one side, so that "up" was one extreme and pushed all the way to one side (or forward, since the handle was set parallel to the sink) was the other extreme. Wierd!

raynag- do you know what constitutes "deep" to help prevent splashing? I thinki saw you post about that, but I cant remember the details..... :) ANd yes, it is rediculous how hard this is!!!

hedygs- you are so right! That was one of the features I wanted (dont have to hold spray button) and I could not tell from the descriptions if these did that. Thanks for reminding me. Anyone?

Re the Allegro#3. Picture poses are deceiving. This faucet's on/off lever does indeed operate as you found it to, Muscat.

On closer look at the Allegro specs, it says the spigot radiuses ONLY 150 degrees and that DOES mean it can only be installed with the on/off lever to the side. The good thing...since there is no backward movement of the on/off lever, no added space is required behind the faucet.

How quickly one forgets...my own faucet (Mico Profili 7766 - a pullout, dang it) operates in exactly the same way. Although I still find mine attractive, and had plenty of room, it was disappointing at the time of install to find out the on/off lever had to be side mounted...when I'd wanted it in the front.) I bought it sight unseen from a similarly posed picture online, and had not a clue of the importance of the spigot radius.

High arc faucets may splash a tiny bit more into a very shallow sink. With my 7- and 9-inch deep sink bowls it is not a problem. Water never splashes on the decktop surface. (However, we all appreciate the times that the decktop, window, body and floor do get wet when a full-force stream careens off a spoon's bowl, don't we.)

Extension of a spigot's stationary "reach" is very important. I feel that anything less than about 9 inches for a standard size sink is borderline. It stands to reason when filling a large pot, you'd want the pot sitting sort of centered in the sink bowl and not have to shove it all the way to the back of the bowl to get the spigot to stream into the pot.

Teedup1 - just a comment about the reach - I agree with you, that is, unless the sink is small. A friend of mine bought a Rohl faucet, the "Country Pull Out Faucet". It's lovely and my friend says it works great (it comes with various lever types so it can look country or contemporary depending on the finish and lever options you choose). That faucet comes in two reach sizes. My friend chose the larger reach model. But her sink is not very large, and the faucet looks out of proportion to the sink, and juts out too far from the drain. She regrets not choosing the shorter reach faucet. So I agree with you about reach, but the size of the sink needs to be taken into account.

As to pull-out vs. pull-down, it's funny but I have never found my pull-out Grohe Ladylux Plus to be un-ergonomic or problematic in any way. I chose not to get a pull-down because when I saw the pull-downs on display at the kitchen showroom, they all were dangling out of the holders, which bugged me somehow. I realize those were display models, and get handled by tons of people, but I just didn't like the dangling potential, so I opted for a pull-out style. In these decisions, there's always another pro to every con, isn't there LOL?

Alwaysfixin: About the "reach", you are correct. That is why I noted a "standard" size sink above (standard to me means a sink that fits a 30- to 36-in base cabinet). Some manfucturers do offer both long and shorter reach faucets for the same design flavor. The shorter reach faucets are usually smaller in scale, as you said, and are often used for prep or wet bar sinks which tend to be smaller ones.

Yes, pros and cons to verything for sure, including pull-out and pull-down. Displays in stores often don't have the counterweights adjusted, or even installed, that prevent dangling spouts.

Muscat - the poster didn't specify "deep" but I would assume it means 10". I am getting the Elkay 28x16x7.5 deep. I measured my current (boring, 2 handled, leaky) faucet and the reach is about 9-1/2 inches. It is perfect for my garbage disposal. The other thing I am tempted by with Grohe is that the pullout/down hose is 59" as opposed to 27" for most of them. Ha! I could water my plants without putting them in the sink. And wash out the trash can.

Problem w/ the LadyLux Cafe is that it doesn't reach far enough out to send water directly into the drain while the disposal is running. Now, that may not make a difference but it does to me. I think the LadyLux Plus is so ugly - but I have a friend who raves about it. I, too, want a spray that stays on so I don't have to hold the button.

Back to the plumbing stores. I've been to two of them so many times that it is embarrassing. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to try them with real running water? Those displays are for the birds.

Yeas, it is maddening that NO stores have these things on display in a way that you can actually feel the way the pullout/pulldown will move. Even the ones who do bother to have them set up dont have them weighted.....you'd think they maximize the display for selling value.

raynag, one thing to keep in mind with the hose length and, say, watering plants: not all of them have a "pause" button on the pullout part, so you cant always interrupt flow without turning it off at the faucet. I'm still trying to figure out which ones do. And, FWIW, all of the ones that I listed here have a 59" hose.

Neighbors just put in new countertop, sink and faucet. They installed a pull out and to pull it out it almost goes past the front of the sink. I could just see myself grabbing that thing, pulling it out, and spraying myself and the floor. I don't think I'd like a pull out faucet. Other than that function I guess I like the ability to click between spray and stream without having to hold a button down.

JB1176

Muscat, did you make a decision? I didn't see this thread, wish I had. Would love to know what you decided. I was looking at most of the same faucets you were and was trying to decide b/t the Delta Allora and a Blanco that was on sale. In the final seconds of my purchase I went with a Rubinet 8JRBHO. I know, you haven't heard of it, right? That is how crazy this faucet process has made me. I ordered a faucet going on very little info. Love the looks, spent a 1/2 hour on the phone with the manufacturer asking tons of questions. Keeping my fingers crossed it is as good as it looks!

No, I have not decided! I thought that we'd be installing cabinets this weekend, which would mean granite soon, which means need a faucet SOON, but since the cabinets are delayed till at least next weekend, I am still hemming and hawing over the faucets. I have not heard of Rubinet, but i feel your pain! I searched here for EVERY faucet brand that was at least sort of well regarded, then looked online at EVERY single-hole faucets by each brand, and made charts of the ones I liked!! I only avoided brands I did not recognize since I already had so many to choose from.

I *think* it is gonna be the Hansgrohe Allegro Gourmet, but I think I'll pull out my sink and make some sort of cardboard model to make sure that it wont be too huge. Who'd have thought...... :)

I ordered the Ladylux because of all the positive reviews here, but when it arrived I realized I wanted more of an arc. So I exchanged it for a Moen Woodmere. So far we've been satisfied. Because of the soap dispenser to the right of the faucet we had to mount the lever in front, but that's been fine. (We have the prep version in our prep sink with the side-mounted lever, and no problems there either.) Just a FWIW.

Here is a link that might be useful: Moen Showhouse Woodmere

This gives me so many thing to think about. I like to fill my mop bucket with the sprayer so I would like it to extend past the sink. I also like to spray out my dishwasher sometimes. I may be weird though. Can't the pull down faucets extend that far usually?

Netski,
I could be wrong, but I think the pull down faucets (with 59" hose) could only extend out for half the length of the hose because the weighted ball is attached mid way on the hose.

I have the Allegro Gourmet and like it a lot. It did tend to splash but I think that was more due to me than the faucet. Pre-renovation, I had a horrible faucet. It didn't matter how much I turned up the water, it was what it was. With the Allegro, I had to get used to not turning the volume all the way up. It is very comfortable in my hand and the sprayer stays on without having to keep pressure on the switch.

Sorry to hijack, but it's been a while. Mackswim, if you're still reading this, how's the Rubinet working out?

If anyone continues to read this older blog, here is some "correct" information on the Grohe Ladylux Cafe (where the handle is, etc.) Check out:
http://www.irawoods.com/Grohe-33-758-Ladylux-Cafe-Pull-Out-Spray-Kitchen-Faucet?sc=2&category=48439

It has incredible details on this faucet. After reading it, I chose this faucet.

Reach of faucet is important! How I miss my 11 in. reach! I currently have 8-1/2 reach. I noticed my error immediately with a little back pain! I've since become used to it but it's a disappointment. Where was this discussion in 2006... (That's why I continue to post :))