Bar and Prep Faucets Buying Guide

Whether you’re designing a small prep sink in your kitchen island, a convenient bar sink for your home bar, or an outdoor space to wash-up while grilling out, a bar faucet is going to become an essential part of the design. Bar faucets are larger than a bathroom faucet and smaller than your kitchen faucet, making them perfect for your custom beverage center or rec space.  

With so many different options available, choosing the best one for your build really comes down to knowing what to look for.

How to Feature a Bar Faucet in Your Home 

Making a splash in your home can be as easy as utilizing a bar and prep sink and faucet properly. Get inspired by checking out our favorite ways to incorporate this little convenience into your home design.

Home Bar

Perhaps the most obvious way to feature a small sink and faucet in your home is to feature it as part of your home bar area. Some of our favorite home wet bar ideas include featuring a bar in a rec room, adding a wet bar to a butler pantry, or showcasing a small beverage center in a master bedroom retreat.

Garden Prep Sink

These small sinks aren’t just a great idea for wet bars, they are also a phenomenal addition to a gardening center in a garage or on a back patio. It provides the perfect place to fill a watering can, rinse your gardening tools, and more.

Outdoor Kitchen Prep Sink

Create a place where you can grill up an amazing meal, dine al fresco and leave the mess outside. Your outdoor kitchen isn’t complete without a bar faucet and sink where you can complete a quick clean-up. Imagine the convenience of having a sink right along with your grills, smoker, pizza oven, and outdoor beverage center.

Kitchen Prep Sink

Every kitchen has a large kitchen faucet and sink where you can wash the dishes. Adding a prep sink to a kitchen island or butler pantry is a great way to create an auxiliary work area. Wash vegetables, create custom beverages, and complete simple clean-ups without messing with your larger sink. You can even plug up the sink and fill it with ice to display bottled and canned beverages for a home party.

Get to Know the Top Bar Faucet Features

Even small bar faucets can pack a lot of convenient features that will help you determine which one will make the best addition to your home bar or prep area. Today’s bar faucets can include just one of these popular features or many of them in one design, so pay attention to these options as you begin to shop.

Pullout Bar Faucet

Getting a deep clean to every nook and cranny of your glasses is easier when you outfit your home bar with a pullout faucet. The head of these faucets extend, allowing you to position the stream of water where it’s needed the most. This can be very convenient when you’re trying to load an ice machine or nearby cooler, as well.

Touch/Touchless Bar Faucet

Messy hands are no problem when you utilize a touch/touchless bar faucet.

• Touch bar faucets turn on simply by tapping any part of your hand or arm on the faucet itself.  
• Touchless bar faucets utilize a motion sensor and turn on as your hands approach the faucet, without the need to handle a knob or lever.

Filter Bar Faucet

Fill up a glass of water or enjoy the purest ice when you fill your ice machine and water glass from a bar faucet featuring integrated water filtration. These faucets make a great choice for any beverage center or home bar area because they ensure top-quality drinking water directly from the faucet itself. The filters are replaceable, so you may want to stock up on back-ups to keep them always within easy reach. 

Four-Star Bar Faucets

Adding or updating your home bar can really enhance the way your space functions. Make sure you’re installing the very best products by shopping for four-star and five-star bar faucets. These high-quality fixtures will hold up to many years of use while delivering a timeless design to the space.

Prep Faucet Handle Styles 

When it comes to any faucet, one of the key elements of the design is the look of the handle. The shape of the handle, how the handle moves, and number of handles featured on the faucet will all play a role in how you utilize the bar faucet in your space.

Knob 

Many traditional bar faucets feature knobs that you turn to the right or left to turn on and off the cold water and hot water. Typically, there is one knob on each side of the faucet. Knobs can vary quite a bit in style and even feature accenting materials, such as decorative porcelain or acrylic features. Knobs require a bit of dexterity, making them a poor choice for ADA compliant designs. 

 Lever 

Among today’s prep and bar faucets, lever handles are by far the most common option. The lever design is easy to operate with an open hand or a closed hand. There can be a single lever or a pair of levers, depending upon the design of the faucet you select. These lever-style bar faucets are suitable for ADA compliant designs. 

Cross 

While not as common, cross handles can be a modern and eye-catching choice for your bar faucet. Much like a knob, cross handles twist on and off but the X design of them makes it easier to grip as you turn them. 

Wrist Blade Handle 

Wrist blade handles are an ADA compliant alternative to knobs. They are small and can appear on both sides of the faucet but feature a flat blade that you can easily move with a closed fist, open hand, or anything in between. 

Bar Faucet Style Options

There’s a level of artistry in every sink faucet design. These style lines help to give every faucet a clear design style. Considering the overall look of your home, look for a bar faucet with fine details that will make the faucet act as a cohesive piece of jewelry for the look of the space. 

You can find complementary styles for every look in your home, including:

• Contemporary  
• Industrial  
• Modern 
• Traditional 
• Transitional 
• Vintage

Bar Faucet Finish Options 

The bar faucet you select delivers a little extra shine to the design. Consider the finish of the other hardware you feature in your home bar or prep area, including cabinet hardware, sink finish, and other metallic accents such as lighting fixtures.  

Some popular bar faucet finishes to look for:

• Black  
• Brass 
• Bronze  
• Chrome 
• Nickel  
• Stainless Steel

Bar Faucet Hole Configuration 

The bar faucets you select mount to the countertop or sink itself using a series of holes drilled into the surface. As you shop for bar faucets, make sure the design is compatible with the number of holes featured at your bar sink. If you’re installing a bar sink from scratch, you have the freedom to choose the hole configuration.

1-Hole

A single hole faucet typically features a spout attached to a single handle, so only one hole needs drilled into the surface of the sink or countertop. 

2-Hole 

A two-hole design can accommodate the spout and a single handle or a spout with an attached handle and a side soap dispenser. 

3-Hole

A three-hole design can accommodate a spout and two handles, a spout and one handle and one soap dispenser, and a variety of other combinations.

Bar Faucet Water Flow Rates

Every faucet delivers water but different prep sink faucets can deliver water at different rates. The amount of water that comes out from your faucet is referred to as the water flow rate.  

As you shop for the best sink faucet for your space, understand the difference between the different water flow rates. The term GPM stands for gallons per minute. The lower the GPM, the less water that comes out of the faucet each minute it is being used.

CA Drought Compliant 

Drought conditions are a serious concern in California and other areas. When installing a sink anywhere in your home, choosing a bar faucet that is California drought compliant ensures it operates using minimal water. You can find bar faucets in the following GPM categories to help find drought compliant faucets:

You can find bar faucets in the following GPM categories to help find drought compliant faucets:

• Up to 1 GPM: Administers less than one gallon of water for every minute the faucet is running. 
• 2 to 3 GPM: Provides between two and three gallons of water for every minute the faucet is running. 
• More than 3 GPM: More than three gallons of water is used every minute the prep faucet is running.

Bar Faucet Certifications

Sometimes learning how to choose a bar faucet really comes down to some of the special certifications received for the design. ADA compliant bar faucets, low-lead compliant bar faucets, and faucets that minimize the amount of water used are just a few of the special certifications you may notice as you shop.

ADA Compliant Bar Faucets 

Prep sink faucets that feature that ADA compliant certification are held to the standards set by the Americans with Disabilities Act for use in accessible homes and businesses. 

Low-Lead Compliant Prep Faucets 

Make sure you’re enjoying the healthiest water possible by filling your glasses and pitchers from prep sink faucets that are low-lead compliant. This ensures they won’t leech lead into your water the way old plumbing could.

WaterSense Certified Bar Faucets 

When you’re trying to reduce your environmental impact, choosing a WaterSense certified bar faucet is a great way to make a difference. WaterSense certified products meet all EPA criteria for water-efficiency in your home or business. 

Bar Faucet Measurements

Making sure the prep sink faucet is the ideal fit for the space really comes down to a couple key measurements. Before you make your final selections, check out each of these dimensions and measure the area you have to ensure they’ll pair well with the space.

Spout Reach 

The spout reach is the horizontal distance measured from the center of the faucet base to the stream of water that comes down from the spout. You’ll want to compare this measurement to the depth measurement of the bar sink paired with the faucet. 

Spout Height 

The spout height is the vertical measurement from the bottom of the faucet base to the lowest part of the spout. This measurement will help you determine the amount of clearance you have for pots, pans, and glassware below the faucet. 

Faucet Height

This is the total height from the lowest part of the faucet to the highest part of the faucet. This measurement can be incredibly important if there are upper cabinets above the bar faucet or if sight lines over the countertop are important to the design of the space.

Centers 

Faucets mount into a series of holes in the sink edge or countertop. The measurement from the center of the outside holes is referred to as the “faucet centers.” Make sure the faucet you choose is compatible with the center measurements of your pre-drilled holes. 

Complementing Your Bar or Prep Faucet

While bar faucets may not necessarily be kitchen essentials, they can be an incredibly functional and convenient addition to the overall design. Learning how to choose a bar faucet is just one of the things you’ll need to create a functional work area. Every bar faucet requires a prep sink or bar sink mounted below. When you want to enhance the functionality of your new prep sink area, consider adding other appliances into the mix, such as a compact dishwasher, wine cooler, or kegerator.