Adding a pot filler to your kitchen is a total luxury. Meaning, it’s not necessary, not that you have to lead some luxurious lifestyle to have it (they’re similarly priced to a normal faucet). But, you don’t need it. And if your kitchen design doesn’t allow for it, don’t feel like there are things you won’t be able to do if you don’t have one. Anything you can do with a pot filler, you can do without. BUT, when you’re talking about creating a kitchen you love, convenience is a big factor. This post makes the case for why you might want one.

Anytime we post a picture of our ranges, we get two kinds of initial comments. “What is that over your stove?” and “I love that pot filler! I dream of having one.” Either way, inevitably, a few people will respond to that person with comments like, “Why would you ever want one of those? They are completely useless. You still have to carry your pot back to the sink to empty it.” I have to chuckle to myself, because does something have to make every aspect of cooking easier in order to make any of it easier? Even if the only use for a pot filler was to fill pots of water for boiling pasta or eggs, it still makes that process at least 50% more convenient. And you feel pretty cool doing it, too. But also, this thought also has a narrow view of how we use water in cooking.

You use water just about anytime you cook. The truth is, once you have a pot filler in your own kitchen, you tend to find all kinds of uses for it, because it’s so convenient. Some of our more common uses, that don’t require emptying the pot of water, include:

• Adding water to a soup
• Adding water to make a stock
• Adding water to smoothies
• Adding water to rice or oatmeal
• Adding water to a braise
• Filling a kettle for a hot drink
• Making sauces
• Filling up a pitcher of water when company comes over (faster than most sinks)

I can already hear the rebuttals. “Who cares? You can do all of that with a regular sink.” For my rebuttal to that rebuttal, see the first paragraph. ;)

The long and short of it, if you’re thinking about adding a pot filler to your kitchen reno plans, I say go for it. When we added ours, we were going to have the wall open anyway. We were moving walls that had plumbing in them already, and patching into the plumbing was simple. For reference, we placed ours so the faucet head is 14″ above our range top and centered the faucet base with the right range. You have to decide if it makes sense in your own plans and how much it will cost, vs. how much benefit you’ll get from it. But when you’re weighing those benefits, don’t limit them to pasta, potatoes and eggs. You just might find that, once you have it, you’ll find yourself using it every day.

Would you add a pot filler to your kitchen?

P.S. Another humorous post from a pro-pot filler.