Why We Picked Delta’s Trinsic Touch20 Kitchen Faucet & (Unmatching) Delta Bar Faucet- REVIEW
Who knew that kitchen faucets could be so controversial? And so incredibly tough to pick out? Spoiler: the faucet industry is a mess. (I’ll get to that later!) First, let’s talk about why I picked Delta’s Trinsic Single Handle Pull-Down Kitchen Faucet with Touch20 in Champagne Bronze for our kitchen renovation.
The Easy Part
Let’s start with the easy peasy part. I knew I wanted a gold or bronze-toned kitchen faucet. I’m unwaveringly obsessed with gold, so it was no secret to me that I was set on having gold hardware in my new kitchen. We decided to renovate the entire kitchen before moving into our new home in Denver.
The Hard Part
The hard part was trying to find a kitchen faucet that matched kitchen knobs and pulls that I liked. This turned out to be kind of a nightmare for me! I had a really hard time picking out knobs and pulls in general and was set on having a tasteful shade of gold (not too yellow, and not too dark). So when you add the layer of matching these with the faucet and (trying) not to spend thousands of dollars, it becomes a hefty task.
The Great Faucet Part Debate
When I began researching faucets I learned that there is a WIIIIDE range of kitchen faucet price points. You can find cute faucets on Amazon for $60 or in a showroom for $1,500. If you do some internet digging, you’ll find out that many people believe that faucets bought from Amazon, Home Depot, or Lowe’s have inferior parts in them compared to the same models purchased by authorized suppliers. These “inferior” faucets claim to be made of plastic inside instead of copper or other real metals.
I had never heard of such a thing before! The same faucet from different stores could be made from DIFFERENT parts? Huh?! I asked my interior decorator friend Jan about this, and she confirmed this internet myth to be true. (To her knowledge!) Later on, my plumber commented on this to me as well. After talking to Jan, I had no choice but to shell out a lot more money for a faucet than I was intending to.
Faucet Features to Consider
There are a lot of features to consider when picking out your kitchen faucet. Here’s what I mulled over:
Height: You may want to measure your sink area heigh, keeping an eye out for windowsills, shelves, or cabinets. I found that for me, 16″ high was a perfect faucet height without looking too small or too large.
Technology: Yup, smart faucets now exist. Some faucets come with the ability to be turned on and off to the touch. This comes in handy for dirty hands or cooking with raw meat. If you wanna go more extra, voice command is also an option for your faucet.
Style: Of course you’re gonna consider what it looks like! There’s everything from antique farmhouse faucets, modern transitional options, or super sleek futuristic faucets. I wanted something modern and timeless but not too chic.
Pull-Down: Do you want the option to pull out the end of the faucet to pressure clean dishes or clean hard to reach parts of your sink? Probably. Then a pull-down faucet is a must! The good news is most new kitchen faucets come with this pull-down feature.
Soap Dispenser: Does your counter have a built-in soap dispenser? Then you’re gonna need to find a collection that offers matching faucet and soap dispenser options. I was set on having a soap dispenser installed in our new counters, so I had to find a manufacturer that made both. It’s worth noting that some people hate soap dispensers, and some people love them. I’m not a fan of counter clutter, so I welcomed the idea of having a hidden soap dispenser.
Water Filter/ Bar Faucet: Does your counter have a built-in water filter faucet? If so, then you’re going to need to find a collection that offers a kitchen faucet and a bar faucet. I knew I wanted to add a reverse osmosis water system under my sink so finding a matching bar faucet was high on my priority list.
Why I Chose Delta’s Pull-Down Trinsic Touch20 Kitchen Faucet
So, I fell in love with the idea of a touch-operated kitchen faucet (even though my kitchen decorator friend advised me not to!) and the most reasonable option I found for this was from Delta. I also liked the style of Delta’s Trinsic collection and the shade of gold (“Champagne Bronze”) that it came in. To me, Delta felt like a familiar and reputable brand name that was well-made but not over the top. Delta also made soap dispensers and bar faucets in this same color, so I was sold. I chose Delta’s Trinsic Single Handle Kitchen Faucet with Touch20 in Champagne Bronze.
Once I knew what I wanted, making the purchase was the next step. I needed to get the faucet from an authorized supplier. I didn’t have the option of buying it straight from Delta’s website. Why?! Because the faucet supply industry enjoys a very high margin on faucets. If consumers could purchase them directly then this high margin would be driven down.
The company we were working with to reface our kitchen cabinets offered to buy the faucet for me and pass through the costs without a markup. In this case, the Delta faucet cost us $630.
Matching Soap Dispenser & Bar Faucet
The matching soap and bar faucet turned out to be an interesting journey of its own. I actually had no idea if the soap dispenser was part of the same Delta Trinsic collection. It looks close enough, so I bought it through our cabinet refinisher and it cost us $58.44. I’m happy to report it looks great and is easy to fill from the top. No climbing under the sink necessary!
The bar faucet is another story. I originally bought Delta’s Trinsic Bar/ Prep Faucet to match the main faucet, but it didn’t work out. The faucet included hot and cold water connections, but the water filter I bought required the filter to connect to cold water only. So I had to return it. At this point I was freaking out, having chosen a faucet, soap dispenser and cabinet hardware all in the same matching color. Luckily, Delta makes other bar faucets in the same Champagne Bronze color. I found one that looked close enough to the Trinsic collection called Transitional Beverage Faucet and features a cold water connection only. Truth be told, the slight difference in style really doesn’t bother me at all. I’m just glad they are the same color!
PS: If you’re curious about which reverse osmosis water filter I bought, it’s this one from APEC. The system is huge and takes up a lot of space under the sink due to the 6 stage process, but it tastes delicious and I’m glad I added it!
Other Brands I Considered
PFISTER “Stellan”: I really liked the style of this one, but the color as a bit too yellow-y for me. It did not offer a soap dispenser option and I’m a little wary of buying it on Amazon.
KRAUS “Oletto”: I’m digging the style of this faucet but the soap option doesn’t look quite right to me. And I’m not super comfortable buying this on Home Depot.
KOHLER: I looked into Kohler but did not find any gold kitchen faucet options.
MOEN: I found a LOT of Moen faucets online. I have no doubt that these are well-made faucets, but were a very bright gold color and too modern for my taste.
BRIZO: If I had an infinite amount of money, I would have bought a Brizo faucet. I tested one of these at a showroom and I was blown away by the craftsmanship and high-end quality. This is also a good option if you need a shorter faucet. Brizo offers smart touch faucets and mixed material colors such as black and gold.
SYMMONS “Sereno”: This pull-down is a bit more traditional looking but again, I wasn’t crazy about this light gold color, it didn’t have a soap option and I wasn’t comfortable purchasing from Lowe’s.
Note: I tried to go see some kitchen faucets in person and it was really hard. I tried Buy & Build in Denver which turned out to be a bare store. I went to Ferguson but it wasn’t a showroom and Ultra Design Center was hard to find and only carried high-end stuff. Tony Capra’s may be a good option- but I didn’t make it there.
How I Feel NOW About the Kitchen Faucet I Picked
Honestly, MEH. I like the option to touch my faucet to turn it on or off. But I don’t love it. The technology is sensitive and finicky. It’s not perfect. But really my main issue with the faucet is that the handle is sensitive as well. It is really hard to turn on a small drip. Every time I turn on the faucet manually it goes on full blast and therefore sprays water all over the place.
On the bright side, the faucet color looks great and is well-made. Yes, the gold gets dirty easily but it is easy to wipe clean.
It’s (finally) your turn– was this blog post helpful? Let me know!
10 Replies to “Why We Picked Delta’s Trinsic Touch20 Kitchen Faucet & (Unmatching) Delta Bar Faucet- REVIEW”
Does your faucet tarnish or peel? Is it hard to keep clean? I am trying to educate myself on the new brass/bronze finishes. I put one in 25 years ago when it was popular and they tarnished really bad.
Hi Beth,
I’m happy to report that my gold faucet does not tarnish or peel! It does get dirty but is easy to wipe clean.
Hope that helps.
I hope you do not need Customer Service….I purchased a Trask 5 years ago…was fine until it developed a leak internally and ended up under the sink intermittently but substantially when it happened….so I called Customer Service and after about a 40 minute hold the rep got on and told me she was sending a cartridge that would repair the faucet…ok….4-8 business days….it never arrived and we happened to go away for 2 weeks and returned back home…still no cartridge….I called Delta again ..this time a 1 hour and 10 minute hold all the while listening to dreadful repetitive music ,every two minutes being told by a recording how important my phone call was and being lied to how long it would be to speak to a rep….finally she picked up and told me her record shows it had been delivered…No…it has not…check. the address…long story short..wrong address ..now I know my own address…I’ve lived there since JFK was President…anyway 4 -8 business days….I said can you expedite it….Sorry No…
Currently I’m waiting…..if it dosent alleviate the problem..rest assured I wont be buying any Delta faucets ever again…Good Luck
Very sorry to hear about your Delta Trask faucet experience! Indeed, I agree that I hope to never have to call Delta Customer Service. Best of luck and I hope you get your case resolved.
I did a lot of research and have built a few homes. The myth is indeed a myth. The reason is the markup enjoyed by the suppliers, and the kickback percentage paid out to contractors who buy their supplies directly from the wholesalers.
Look at it this way: if Lowes bought 10000 units of a particular faucet from Delta, you better believe they’ll get a way better price than the local distributor who is only ordering a few units for display, then ‘special ordering’ hardware when a contractor comes in.
I was hooked into this myth the first couple of homes I built, but learned soon enough that the Lowes/HD faucets and fixtures are of the exact same specs. I even called both Delta and Moen HQs to get the confirmation, and they followed up in writing. Further reinforcing that, we installed faucets from Lowes when we built a place for my parents in 2006 and the faucets have been working perfectly for the past 14 years.
The ‘evidence’ for the myth is often “Home Depot” exclusives are inferior. The good folks at Delta laid that myth to rest too. They said, again, if a chain is buying tens of thousands (or more) units at once, they will definitely be able to get a unit that is unique to them. It all comes down to buying power. They were even good enough to give model numbers that were close, but different (this is another tactic contractors and distributors will provide for the quality difference myth), and explained why: retailers will often get their faucets in a ‘kit’ format which includes things like trim and pop-up drains. The plumbing distributors actually piece those units together and price them separately – another great way to add markup.
So, definitely support your local distributors, but just make sure you know that economies of scale mean you will pay more for exactly the same product.
Cheers!
Hey Jack,
I appreciate the insight and details on your debunking of the myth. What you describe about buying power does indeed make sense. I think the Home Depot exclusives example is perhaps why this topic is confusing for many consumers. It’s good to understand the nuances. I think the bottom line is make sure you understand when you are buying an “exclusive” from a big box store or a standard brand product.
Thank you!
Misty
Sorry to disagree but it’s definitely not a myth where Delta is concerned. I found two seemingly identical faucets that had different product numbers. I called Delta customer service to find out what the difference was. It turns out that the big box store version was manufactured in China with inferior parts. The more expensive version was manufactured in the United States with sturdier parts and was sold through plumbing stores or directly from Delta. I bought the version made in the USA. Delta shipped it free to my house.
You are slightly inaccurate in communicating this information, and in your response. If the item has a different product number, it’s because it’s a DIFFERENT product; therefore, you aren’t comparing an inferior product sold at box stores to the same one sold at suppliers. For example, let’s look at the Delta Trinsic vs Trask Kitchen Faucet. Trask is a Lowe’s “Exclusive” product, which is nearly identical to the Trinsic Faucet in appearance and functionally. The Trask retails for approximately $289 compared to Trinsic’s $581 price tag. The key difference: Trask model 19939-SD-DST does not have a solid brass fabricated body like the Trinsic. Other metals are used on the Trask body. Does this make it an “inferior” product? In my opinion, it’s a different product set at a lower price point, which allows a different demographic to afford a Delta Faucet. Lowe’s still sells the Delta Trinsic solid brass fabricated faucet; however, they also offer an alternative option for people with smaller budgets. Just make sure you’re comparing Apples to Apples or it’s not worthy of comparison : )
Looks great!! What handles did you buy to match for the cabinets and what paint color?
Thanks so much, Crystal! The cabinet knobs and pulls are from Pottery Barn’s “Boulevard” collection. I have a blog post about them here: https://mistykingma.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-pottery-barn-brass-boulevard-knobs-pulls/#.X6FiXZNKg0c
The cabinets are light gray and were installed by Kitchen Tune Up in Denver. I didn’t paint them so I don’t have the exact paint color.
I hope this helps!