Jhmarie, the sink cabinets in my kitchen don't have false drawers so this wouldn't work. I considered a cast iron drop-in from Kohler, but I think I prefer this undermount one.

Lily'smom, I don't like pull down sprayers that look like trumpet parts. I have one now and it really isn't for me. And I think you're right that shiny would be better. I do really like the black bridge faucet with the white knobs though...

Mans Anglophilia, thank you for pointing out the importance of timelessness. That's something I somehow blanked on. I still like the black faucets though... I'm ordering online from photos and am worried the brass will be yellow and gaudy.

That is too bad the sink won't work for your cabinet but I am glad that you are very happy with the undermount you have picked. I am not sure of the expected lifespan of a faucet, but since it is one of the easier and often less expensive surfaces to change, I would be less concerned with timelessness except if you thought you might get tired of a unique choice yourself.

I initially was going to get a two handled like your first pics but I had a two handle in my old sink and it was hard to get the right flow and temperature - I seemed to be always fussing with it while cleaning fruit and rinsing dishes. It was not a great faucet anyway - a inexpensive fill in till I could get my renovations done. After much thought, I switched to the one handle version of the same design that I wanted. I also have the one handle pulled almost to the front and to the left because that is the hand I frequently use to turn the faucet on.

https://www.houzz.com/photos/my-pics-work-in-progress-phvw-vp~58831076

This helps keep drips from my wet hands in the sink and off the counter. This is my first undermount sink and I had been warned about water dripping on the deck around the faucet from turning off and on the water - but that might not be a concern to you.

I really initially wanted the look of the two handled but then my daughter said she thought the one handles really looked more "old fashioned - Victorian" - like a pump, than the two.

My faucet is a Danze Opulence and both a one and two handled version come in "tumbled Bronze".

My plumber liked the faucet - heavy. One complaint in online reviews was that the aerator had to be unscrewed and rinsed out several times the first two days - and I did have this happen, however it has worked beautifully since then.

Go with what you like.

Both brass and oil rubbed bronze should be of higher quality to look good though..chrome is always chrome, nickel is always nickel, you can't really tell a difference. At least not right away. With ORB you know right away whether it's good or bad..

I do like the bridge and the colors you're inclined to go with, judging by your description of your kitchen. I probably like the black/ORB more, given you'll have unlacquered brass pulls..

I went with a functional nice Kohler's faucet, in stainless steel, instead of going with the copper one I really wanted. (it was of visibly poorer quality, and my husband didn't like that fact, so he talked me into this stainless steel thingy)

The pulls/knobs are finished in antique silver, very nice and subdued yet still shiny a bit..this stainless steel is too matchy matchy on one hand, too drab in comparison to them on the other hand. Every time I look at it I wish I'd get a copper one. Maybe get a more expensive one to be sure about quality.

It doesn't matter to me whether copper's considered timeless or not, I loved it all my life so for me it's timeless.

Look at Waterstone and Perrin & Rowe faucets. They are gorgeous faucets and come in a variety of finishes. Yes, they ARE expensive, but you'll have it for decades and enjoy it. You will find these online heavily discounted as well.

When I got my faucet 13 years ago, I wanted one in two metals as I've mixed metals all over my kitchen and I felt that would say I planned it this way. I went with a Perrin & Rowe faucet in satin nickel (would have preferred polished but not available) with polished brass trim. I kept it when I redid my kitchen this spring/summer. The faucet is still available but no longer in two metals - impossible to find. My pulls are unlacquered polished brass and I have a collection of polished copper in the kitchen as well - also stainless dishwasher and refrig and a 1948 stove with more polished chrome than a 50's Cadillac. Amazingly, it all works.

I have an English kitchen and decided against a bridge due to cleaning. I also did not want to deal with two handles to mix. Went with Rohl Country C spout kitchen faucet with a nice arch and small lever (not sold any longer).

Allison - I followed the link - such a beautiful kitchen and beautiful home! Your laundry room has a pretty "victorian" faucet too.

Allison, what a beautiful kitchen!

I had hoped to save some money somewhere as we're redoing all the floors, etc. but I'll look into the Rohl and Waterstone options. If only the Canadian dollar weren't so weak!

and decided against a bridge due to cleaning.

Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. The bridge faucets are "too fussy" for my taste; I like the simpler lines.

Thank you, both. Forgot to mention (grandson is here) that mine has a living finish. That's why the lever is now brass. Also where I grab the sprayer. We used RH Bistro faucets in the MBA, an ORB finish. It is so dark it's almost black. We've been here 10 years this month and they are still dark, all but part of my sink drain rim which has exposed brass. Little quirks like this do not bother me, as I like natural patina. Anyway, the Bistro is made by Newport Brass. They have a gazillion finishes. The kitchen, laundry and coffee station (both Italian copper faucets) were ordered on ebay.

Me too, MrsPete.

I just bought this unlacquered brass Rohl on eBay. Thanks for all the ideas and thoughts. I hadn't even considered cleaning a bridge faucet.

Gorgeous! What a find! Yes, cleaning under a bridge faucet is a pain.

Love that Rohl! Before I saw your last post, I was going to advise you not to get a 2-handle faucet. Despite if you like the looks, a 2-handle faucet is a PITA to have to use in the kitchen with the need to fiddle with each handle each time you turn on the water. But then you chose the perfect faucet-- 1-handled but with the look you want. Plus Rohl is a company with a good reputation. Congrats!

I don't know that I'd have considered that style until I saw Allison's faucet, and the fact that it's unlacquered sealed the deal.

Nice! Look forward to seeing your finished kitchen.

Very nice!! looks real fab

(why oh why didn't I think of checking E Bay for faucets? I checked it for everything but faucets..was stuck on the new ones plus our Craigslist. Silly me.)

Thanks everyone. Now where do I find a sink drain basket to match?!

Funny, I've had a single handle and I'm definitely doing a two handle bridge faucet in my new build. One reason is I love the look of a bridge faucet, but the other reason is with a single handle, I can never get the water temp quite right, whereas in my bathroom, where I have two handles, I get it right almost immediately.

That's a beautiful faucet you snagged soft punk.

But in a bathroom, you do not have hands that just touched chicken, or are smeared with spaghetti sauce, cookie dough, or are greasy, etc. With a one-handled kitchen faucet, you can even use the back of your hand in one motion to turn on the water (sometimes I use my pinky--the only clean spot on my hand). I have not experienced the issue you mention of not getting the water temp right with a single-handled faucet - it must depend on the faucet.

Softpunk - Rohl makes sink strainers in several finishes - perhaps because it's the strainer (at the bottom of the sink so not that visible), one of the finishes is close enough to your faucet. It looks like the product numbers are 733, 734, 735, 736, 737, 738. I am not sure what the differences are among those. Here is their page on their website: Rohl Kitchen Accessories

Question - will you be having a disposal? If so, then you won't need to buy a sink strainer.

No disposal Friedajune, and unfortunately they only have them available in "Inca Brass" which is a very shiny and very gold looking brass. I'd assume most polished brass basket strainers will be PVD coated so there's no lacquer for me to strip, and I'm stuck with shiny brass without a patina. Any ideas?

I found it and it's horribly reviewed so I think I'd better find a better option. https://www.faucet.com/rohl-735-unlacquered-brass-basket-strainer-without-pop-up/f2548141

Martha Stewart did a video about removing the lacquer from bright brass. Perhaps you can find a bright brass strainer and experiment.

http://www.marthastewart.com/911871/how-remove-lacquer-brass-fixtures

I already bought the unlacquered brass faucet Lily'smom. But you're right, that champagne bronze might be a closer match to it than lacquered brass would.

Jhmarie, I actually stripped the lacquer off my hardware using an even easier method: in a pot of boiling water with baking soda added. The problem is that faucets and other sink hardware are usually coated in something different altogether which is basically impossible to remove without a degree in advanced chemistry and a lab with an industrial fume hood.

Right. If it's something that isn't coated in PVD I could potentially strip it chemically like Martha or the boiling water trick, or physically with sand paper. I just emailed Wayfair asking about the coating on several strainers. Thanks for the idea!

Softpunk, no need to strip it, etc. Watermark has the sink strainer you need. Watermark is a company that makes very high-end fixtures, pretty much custom. It is not to be confused with "Waterstone". I happened to see one of the Watermark faucets on display at a kitchen showroom. I was fascinated with how heavy it was, how industrial. They told me 3 months to order. This photo shows one option, but you can put together the fixtures in different combinations.

But anyway, Watermark makes accessories too, like this sink strainer (from website). Here it is for sale: Watermark Basket Strainer WM-MBS1 in several choices of finishes

Here is Watermark's Finishes page. If you page down to the bottom (keep clicking on "more finishes" to get to see more), you will see "UPB - Uncoated Polished Brass".

For fun, here is a close-up. I wish you could feel how these feel in your hand. The faucet with side spray that I saw on display was about $3000, just sayin'.

It's about twice what I'd like to spend, but... it would really work well!

To follow up, Wayfair got back to me on the strainers I asked about and one of them will work! It's not super cheap but it's half the price of the Watermark one, so that's something. ;)

https://www.wayfair.ca/Basket-Strainer-Drain-NKBS1-BFT2563.html

Check Newport Brass as well. Numerous finishes available.

OMG what a great find in that faucet!
I was immediately leaning towards the brass, bright or not, but that's PERFECT. It fits more in your English theme than the more modern faucets, IMHO.

I have antique brass, Cifal (I can't remember how to spell it) in my kitchen and love its warm glow. I have pretty much moved to antique brass everywhere, unless the cabinet itself needs more. (My refinished cherry cabinets get black iron.)

I can't wait to see your kitchen!

What a drag... I got the basket strainer delivered today and it was both damaged and PVD coated, and not unlacquered/uncoated like the Wayfair customer service people repeatedly assured me it would be.
I'll check out Newport Brass and am open to any other suggestions (for $100 or less).

I was having a hard time finding a disposal flange and stopper in the unlacquered brass. Seemed they were being discontinued everywhere. I got both on ebay. Maybe you will have the same luck looking for a strainer there. (Also saved quite a bit compared to what they were originally.)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rohl-735-ULB-Unlacquered-Brass-Basket-Strainer-without-Pop-Up-AML573-/381779431906?hash=item58e3d3d1e2:g:XDgAAOSwOyJX4F2k

Thanks Wendy. I've messaged the seller to find out if they'll ship to Canada. Meanwhile I also found an unlacquered brass strainer by "Trim to the Trade" for half the price of anything I've seen anywhere else. I also can't find any information or reviews on the product or company. Has anyone ever heard of it?

Well, I did buy that Rohl basket strainer, but then the seller cancelled my order 10 days later because they decided they wouldn't ship to Canada. I was just about to place an order on a Newport Brass basket strainer set in uncoated brass, but I just feel sick about the idea of spending $170 (exchange rate) for a drain.

SO... Since the sink is white enamel, would it be the end of the world to use a white powder coated or enamel basket strainer set? Brass faucet, white sink, white drain? I know it's not as good BUT it's also $100-150 less money, which I could spend elsewhere.

I should add that we just had to deal with a horrible drainage problem the sellers didn't disclose, so I'm not loving all the spending we've done this month.

So... white?

Why not. I had an off white American Standard cast iron sink with off white strainer for about 15 years. Still looked new when I donated to our local zoo. If you hate, it can always be replaced later.

It just seems like a wasted opportunity to inject some brass. But it also seems crazy to spend almost $200 on a plug and a drain, so...

You know that only you will ever see that sink trim - it won't show from across the room. I have satin nickel but since I have a disposal, my flange is polished chrome and, picky as I am (and I AM picky!), it doesn't bother me at all.

I skimmed so I may have missed it, but FYI, the champagne bronze is NOWHERE NEAR brass colored. Ordered it for towel bars, was very disappointed. Its WAY more grey/silver, with only a hint of brass to it.

Okay, I'm strongly considering the white then. It sounds like metals ones powder coated or otherwise have problems with peeling when exposed to boiling water. Is this a case where it's better to go with plastic?

And yes, the champagne bronze looks very cool. I don't think it would work with the faucet I got, which is natural golden brass. And antique brass is too dark. It's tricky.

Alison, how is your butcher block holding up around the sink? What is it sealed with?

I think the white will work well.

I splurged and went with the brass. The wait won't be that big of a deal since everything else is so behind schedule anyway!

Next round of questions:

Should I do a small backsplash in butcher block? Our countertops will be exclusively butcher block and the backsplash white shiplap. I quite like the look of the wood back splashes in the DeVol and Plain English kitchens shown here. Yay or nay? If you like them, how tall and how thick should they be? Also in this one photo attached the backsplash is installed behind the counter rather than on top which is how I'd imagine doing it. Any idea which is preferable? I was going to do IKEA solid oak counters but have accepted that it really can't be a DIY job since I chose an undermount sink with curved corners and don't have the skill to confidently make that cut. We'll spend a bit more on having them and and finished, ready to install. I'm leaning toward Eastern Maple because it's hard and quite pale. That's a better choice than very old reclaimed fir I'd imagine, even if it has a cool backstory.

More photos.

Here's where we're at with things so far. We removed the uppers and countertops, the new floors went down, the cabinets and trim are being painted BM Snowfall White and the walls are White Blush. I'm attaching a before as well. The previous owners liked slate and cherry. I thought it was really dark and not appropriate for a colonial farmhouse. I'm attaching a mock-up of the far wall as well. We're waiting for Black Friday sales before we buy our induction range. I wish Jenn-Air had better promotions but some they don't we'll probably go with Kitchenaid.

Love those new floors. The white cabinets look great. Keep us updated. Sorry, I have no intelligent input about a wood backsplash.

Thank you both. I'm so happy with how the floors have turned out. The installer took weeks longer than expected, but he did a beautiful job.

Wendy, my sink is actually quite shallow. If I do 26" deep countertops, I could place the sink 4" off the counter edge, provide 1.75" from back sink edge to the front of the faucet, and then would have 2.75" from the back of the faucet to the wall. So the faucet is roughly 2.5" wide at the base, and there would be 7" between the back of the sink to the wall.

How thick would the wood backsplash be? I assumed around 5/8" to 3/4". That should give me room to keep the space between it at the faucet clean and dry.

The thing I'm hung up on now though is that in all the examples of kitchens I've seen with wood backsplashes, there's no backsplash above it at all. I guess I'd need to choose between either shiplap or the 3-4" tall wood backsplash, and I couldn't do both?

I have wood counters with a short wood backsplash. Nothing above it, just painted wall. This is only on my stove wall though, not behind my sink, so I can't speak to durability around water. I can post a pic of mine tomorrow.

I wouldn't do shiplap. I think it's a trend that will be the next "what were they thinking!". Just my opinion. Do your inspiration kitchen in the plain English style have shiplap?

Nancy, you're totally right. When I look at all my inspiration photos they don't use shiplap, but rather tongue in groove vertical boards as shown in these photos attached. And that does seem more timeless. And they do incorporate the short wood backsplash most of the time. Do you think the paneling is installed behind the wood backsplash or on top of it? How would that work behind the range? I don't think there will be room for the wood backsplash because I just discovered the induction ranges I've been looking at are almost 29" deep and my counters will be 26" I don't want the fame sticking out even further than that...

I probably would not do a wood BS w/ horizontal shiplap, but would w/ vertical.

Personally, I don't see shiplap as trendy. It depends on the home. It's only trendy if you stick it in a house it shouldn't be in, in the first place. Otherwise, it's a classic when done right.

Hi @mayhemingway — I know it’s been a while since you posted this and I hope you’re still active here. I found your photo of the faucet you bought on eBay through a reverse image search — I have the same one and have been trying to identify it. You mentioned it’s a Rohl, but I noticed a few differences: ours have smooth cylindrical handles with rounded caps, a plain barrel-style sprayer, and a simple spout tip, while most Rohl models seem to have more decorative detailing. The plating on my handle is wearing off and I’d love to contact the manufacturer. Do you happen to remember any other details from your purchase? Thanks so much!