Pfister Tamera Pulldown Faucet Review (Mom's Kitchen)

In the budget-friendly kitchen makeover my Mom and I are working on, over at my parents' place, we're trying not to replace too many things and work with what's there as much as we can.  Cabinets, counters, appliances - they're all staying.  But the white acrylic sink (that Mom had to regularly bleach, thanks to years of use and the resulting cracks where coffee would settle and stain) and old faucet (with a dint from a knife - long story) were just in really rough shape. 

Because the old sink was really bumming her out, she "splurged" on a basic - but new! - stainless steel sink and Pfister stepped in with an offer to review a faucet.  Here's a peek at her new Tamera Pulldown Kitchen Faucet:

Thoughts on How to Choose a Kitchen Faucet:

There were many reasons my Mom chose the Tamera faucet. 

Size:
My Mom loved the modest size of the Tamera.  So many faucets today are designed for much grander kitchens than the one in my parents' tiny, post-war home.  She looked online at the specs, and some of the faucets would have reached really high on the window - or had a really substantial, chunky look - so Mom looked for a faucet that still had a graceful, arc spout but wasn't so incredibly tall or heavy looking.

Style:
My parents' postwar home has a lot of original details (almost all of the wood interior doors, thick wood trim, original hardwood floors, brass door hardware) but my Mom's decorating style is fairly modern, with some vintage and midcentury touches.  We're going for a look collected over time.  The Tamera doesn't look too traditional, nor does it scream modern loft condo - it's the perfect blend of old and new, a great option for a transitional decor.

Finish:
Although we're dabbling with some brushed gold, I'm encouraging my Mom to mix metals in her house.  We liked the stainless finish on this faucet because it matches her new sink perfectly, so the overall look, even though we're mixing metals, won't look too busy or disjointed.

Features:
Having seen how wonderful a pulldown kitchen faucet is at my place (I have the gorgeous Lita in the stainless finish), my Mom wanted that same feature.  It makes cleaning out the sink or filling a nearby pot so easy.  I can't imagine my kitchen without this option!  The dual-mode spray head is super handy too, so my Mom had that feature on her checklist.  The optional deckplate was perfect, because the sink came with three holes.  Beyond that, she wanted a single lever for ease of use, but no other bells or whistles.

Here's a peek at the "before":

You'll have to excuse the mess, but when I went into town to start the kitchen project, the clouds were forming and the whole house looked dark.  I wouldn't let her putter or tidy because I needed to take "before" shots ASAP before I lost the light completely - as it was, they turned out so dark and barely visible thanks to cloud coverage, so I edited them quite a bit and lightened the photos so you can actually see what we were working with.  Frankly, the before photos still make the kitchen look way better than it looked in real life!

But you get the idea: 1980s white acrylic sink with a standard issue 1980s faucet.

Already it looks fresher and newer!

Mom is THRILLED with her new sink and faucet - and kitchen progress in general.  It's actually so sweet to see her beam with every new detail, even though in the beginning I really felt like we were just putting lipstick on a pig over there.  Sometimes it's just nice to freshen things up a little, even if it's temporary and not perfect.

The faucet, however, Mom can take with her when she renovates for real.

I know I'm such a tease, doling out these tiny morsels of my Mom's kitchen makeover!  The kitchen to-do list is progressing nicely, though, and this is what we've already checked off:

• Paint cabinets 
• Paint walls
• Paint kitchen/porch door
• Repair and refinish laminate counters
• Refurbish brass knobs
• Hide fluorescent light
• Install new sink and faucet
• Paint tulip table base 

Still to do:

• Reupholster vintage teak chairs
• Find and stain solid wood round top for tulip table
• Make art
• Window treatment
• Repair the floor and put down peel and stick flooring
• Install new baseboard trim
• Peel and stick backsplash tile (so excited to try that!)
• Hang up new light fixture 
• Install under cabinet lighting
• Accessorize!

Kitchen Progress: That Sinking Feeling

The kitchen sink and faucet have been installed!  So have the counters.  And the drywall.  You know, when you live with naked insulation for awhile, bare drywall starts to look really fancy.  But don't let that fancy drywall and elegant window frame(lessness) detract your attention from the real showstopper: the faucet.

Do you remember how many moons ago I asked for your help choosing a new faucet for the kitchen, because Pfister had kindly offered to send me one for review?  The one we ultimately chose - the Lita - was not available right away and when it arrived we had already listed the townhouse for sale.  I think there were more votes for black, but Hubby really pushed for silver (as did some of you).  I'm thankful that I was convinced of the merits of the stainless finish - and not the black finish I loved - because we ended up sandbagging the faucet for the lakehouse kitchen, where the black wouldn't have worked with my plans.

The lovely Lita was straightforward to install.  You might remember that it's a pull down model, which is a feature we've become overly dependent upon.  Both the townhouse and lakehouse boasted older faucets with that feature, and it's handy for filling a pot of water on the counter, or winning a kitchen water fight.  We didn't even look at any models that weren't a pull down, we're that committed.  This one feels different, though: it's sturdy and slides smoothly, and then clicks back tightly into place.

It has two settings for spray, which is also a feature we prefer.  The old lakehouse faucet had this feature too, but it was broken, and I really missed it!  Stuff that works properly feels like a real novelty around here.

I'll keep you posted on durability and how the finish wears.  For the $449.00 MSRP (!), I'm expecting outstanding quality, and I hope to salvage the faucet for our phase II reno.  The shape is clean and modern, but not too trendy, so I hope it won't look tired in a few years.  Strangely, what drew Hubby and I to this style originally was the unassuming handle: some are really curvy and seem more traditional, while some really angular ones look exceptionally modern.  This one is so simple.  We like simple.

The sink is also a stunner, but it gave us a little trouble.  It's a beast - much larger than what was there before - but we found it at Costco for $199, which is a good price for a sink this size and quality.  Plus it was fun to put "kitchen sink" on our grocery list.  It's an Atlantis Commercial Grade Pro Series, in 18-gauge stainless steel.  The lower the gauge, the thicker the steel but I've read conflicting reports about whether the gauge really impacts durability.  Reportedly, around the 22-gauge mark, a stainless sink will be more prone to denting, but I think 18-gauge is pretty standard.  We'll see how this one wears.  It does have two stainless steel basin grids with rubber feet, which keeps knives and cutlery from scratching the bottom (plus it makes a good dry rack for the things I hand wash).  Hopefully the basin grids will keep this sink looking new.

We actually bought the sink in Ottawa and drove it up here to Thunder Bay.  I'm sure we measured . . . okay I'm not sure, I just assumed that sinks are a relatively standard overall size because I thought cabinetry was pretty standard.  Nope.  The front of the cabinetry needed to be shaved away to make room for the sink.  The weight of the counter mostly sits on the vertical supports so it shouldn't be a problem, but we can always add horizontal support pieces. 

The sink sits a little farther back than I envisioned, but it's as far forward as we can put it.

This sink has the option of under mount or drop-in and we chose the latter.  Under mount required a frame be built to support it, because it wasn't designed to attach to the underside of the counter.  Bah!  Too much work.  Plus, cutting the hole was tricky enough, without making it pretty enough to show off (it wasn't).  Hubby used a jigsaw to cut the hole and although he did an amazing job, there were some areas where the cut jogged a bit.  Not a problem for installation, just not show-pretty.

More relevant than our laziness, we love the sharp lines of this boxy sink and the rectangular edge looks perfect with our thick, blocky counters.  Hubby and I have been admiring the counters with the sink, and we're so happy we didn't hide most of the fanciest sink we've ever owner with under mount.  (Not that doing dishes in the laundry room sink wasn't fancy).  



As a reminder, here's the old sink and faucet (is the new one freakishly tall, or what?):

Because the new sink's shape and proportions are different than the old sink's, Hubs spent quite a bit of time under the sink playing plumber.  So long, in fact, that while he was on his stomach, fussing, Szuka wandered over and decided his bum would be a good place for a nice, long snooze. 



Disclosure: I was provide the Lita faucet for review, courtesy of Pfister, but was not asked to, or otherwise compensated for, providing a review.  Time will tell how well it wears, and I'll be sure to keep you posted on the faucet, and our new sink, once we've had a chance to break them both in. 

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