I hated my single handle faucets. I replaced the kitchen faucet and the powder room faucet. I've had no trouble adjusting. Both have an 8" spread which I find much easier to keep clean.

I hated getting unexpectedly scalded when I turned the water on. If I want cold water, I turn the cold water handle and get cold water, and if I want hot water, I turn the hot water handle and get cold water. It takes a long time for the hot water to reach the faucets! When I need to adjust, I find having two handles makes it easier to get the temp I want. If I need a little more cold, I turn that handle a bit.

Good luck.

I agree with momj47 - I like having two separate handles for adjustment - I feel it gives me much more control and I like the look. There was a long thread on this topic a while ago and most of the people on this forum seem to prefer one handle.

Oh, I am very glad to hear this. I want a wall-mount faucet, but figured the two handles weren't a good thing in the kitchen. You made my day!

I went the opposite way kicking and screaming (well, OK, not that dramatic but...). The only faucet that Hubby and I could even come close to agreeing on was a single-handle so that's what we got. Drives me nuts. I much prefer the control a dual-handle gave me.

I'm curious to hear the responses. We've had a single handle for a long time and we thought we'd just stick with that for ease of use (easy to turn on with icky hands, etc.). Then we decided we like the look of the two handle better (especially bridge type). Now, months later, we've come back around to thinking that the single handle just makes more sense even if it isn't as pretty. One less step in the kitchen?

I figured this conversation must have occured on here before--I just couldn't find it in my searches!

I do agree that it's not fun to turn on the one-handled faucet and burn yourself because the hot water was just used. I guess I worry that I'll regret two handles when my hands are icky (just been cutting chicken, for example) and I can't flip the water on with my elbow. Is that my cue to look into the Tapmaster, maybe? ;)

Thanks for the responses!

If one could find (in the desired color/style) handles of the type used for handicapped access sinks (lavs) and O.R. scrub sinks, one would have both the advantages of two individual handles described above as well as elbow on/off capability for when one's hands are greasy. I have only seen chrome in this style, but maybe stainless is available for industrial purposes.

kas

If you're "aging in place," you might want to stick with a single handle since those handles are much easier to use if you have arthritis, etc. With 2 handles, you are committing to either (1) extra holes in your granite countertop or (2) as in the Houseful's case, holes in your backsplash.

Just something to think about. Now that I've hit 50, it's something I'm starting to think about. I wish I had thought of that back when we built almost 13 years ago; there are some things I would have done differently.

I went from singles to double (on purpose) and back to single (by moving) and plan to go back to double. It's an easy switch for me. I bet a Tapmaster would make it easier!

One thing to keep in mind is that wall mounts rarely have good-looking sprayers or pullouts, and if you want one of those, you're probably out of luck.

Delta makes a mid-century style wall mount that has one handle, by the way. About 12 years ago, there weren't many wallmounts out there and I needed to replace mine and ended up replacing it with the same one, just about 50 years newer. I don't think it's meant to be retro--I think they're just still making the same darn thing from when it was current.

I find a single handle faucet easier to use and less bothersome to keep clean, esp. since we have moderately hard water.

It's obvious there are different strokes for different folks- thank heavens!

But, when you go to a two handle faucet, I am assuming you will choose a lever style handle. We have knobs in our basement kitchen, and as I (like Buehl have hit the 50 mark)age, my hands have become arthritic, and I find it difficult to turn the knobs- painful and annoying! So, just a heads-up on what may be in your future.

I purposely chose single-handle faucets for my kitchen and master bathroom. I grew up around single-handle but had a double-handle in one of my past houses (as an adult) and didn't like it. I was always fiddling with the controls, trying to reach the temperature that was Just Right. I find that single-handle is much easier for finding the right temperature, quickly. Additionally, I like cleaning only one handle instead of two. My DH's parents recently remodeled their master bath and purposely installed single-handle faucets in anticipation of aging in that house.

try_hard

So funny!!! It's amazing how people like one and hate the other. And I am no different. I HATE 2 handle faucets, and especially in the kitchen. And especially when you have chickeny hands. SO much easier to turn the one handle faucet on with the back of your hand so you don't spread contamination everywhere. And I find temp. adjustment much easier with a one handle.

All that being said, why does it matter? It's your house and you get to do what you want, and what works better for you. Plus, you get to have your opinion regardless what the 'we" out here think. If you like 2 handles better, just do it( as the Nike logo says.)

No matter how long I'm on GW,it always blows my mind how much we care about what other people think!!! LOL!

Just to clarify, I wanted to hear from people who have switched from one to two handles because I haven't ever had two handles (at least not in the kitchen) and I have no idea if I will like it function wise. For looks only, I do prefer two handles and if that was all that mattered, I'd choose a two-handled faucet in a heartbeat. I care what others think because I haven't experienced a two-handled faucet in the kitchen. I am not asking for others to validate a choice I've made. I am asking for opinions on experience that I don't have.

Thanks everyone!

I like the look of two handles, but would never want to live with one. Wouldn't live with the kind of knob you pull out, either-- give me a faucet I can turn on and off and adjust with a forearm when my hands are wet or dirty.

The big reason we went one-handle was DH's wish to save water. Other than that, I have nothing useful to add. :) I'm actually pretty nervous about the one-handle and burning myself.

I have a Kohler Revival with two lever handles in brushed nickel and I can easily turn it on and off with the back of my hand, my forearm or my little finger. I have used single handles before, and I prefer the two handles myself. That said, if it is a wall mount I wonder if you can get lever handles? The levers definitely make it easier when you have gunky hands.

Okay, kimkitchy. Now you have me thinking here. My kitchen sink will be in my island so no wall mount. So the lever handles pull forward to turn on, is that right? So it's easy enough to get a non-icky part of your hand/arm behind the lever and move it forward?

I probably need to go to a showroom and pretend I have stuff on my hands and practice turning on different faucets!

I don't need a sprayer, although I have seen two wall-mounts with sprayers. I have one on my main sink and one on my island sink now and I only use the one on the island sink when I rinse out the percolator coffee pot. Yes, you can get lever handles on wall-mounts. Danze Opulance is one in particular.

I grew up with 2 handles and had them in every house till I was 45 (and yes, I'm the main cook and sink-user in the house). Then I spent a year in a rented house with a single-handle and was converted. When I bought my current house one of the first things I did was throw a single handle faucet on the kitchen sink.

If you're worried about burning yourself with a single handle, that hasn't been my experience - you learn where the right position is for the temp you want, and you can always turn down the temp on your water heater (which is good to do anyway for safety if you have kids in the house, and to save energy).

Not having to touch the handle with mucky (chicken, mud, slug slime, etc!) hands is the #1 benefit for me. Even with 2 single levers you have to do the elbow/forearm thing twice instead of once.

It's really funny what issues people have. I don't go into any contortions to turn the faucets on with dirty hands - I just turn them on. If they get dirty, I wipe them off - what's the big deal?

I went from always having a single handle to a two handle faucet. I have never had a two handle kitchen faucet until now. I thought that I would go with a single handle, but I just didn't like the look of the faucets with my 30" single bowl sink. I thought that all the single handled faucets looked lonley on that expanse, so I chose a two handled faucet. I was a little concerned that I was choosing form over function. I was worried about the raw chicken on my hands issue and adjusting the water with two hands. In reality it isn't an issue...I use the back of my hand or my elbow to turn on the water. There has been no real adjustment for us. All of our bathroom faucets are two handled and I never thought about adjusting the water on those, so I am not sure why I thought it would be an issue in the kitchen.

Thanks, alexamd. I think the pro two handle faucet people are convincing me that the function issue will be okay. I really appreciate this GW forum and how willing people are to help others. Group hug!

I do agree that it's not fun to turn on the one-handled faucet and burn yourself because the hot water was just used.

This NEVER happens to me.

But I often burned myself when I had a double-handle faucet.

In fact, I got a single-handle because the water in my apartment comes out at something like 150 degrees (and I can't turn it down; it's an apt. bldg).
AND because the cold water comes out at 40 degree--very unpleasant.

W/ the double handle, it was hard to tell by looking at it, how far you'd turned it on--was the hot all the way, or only a little? Of course, the design of the handle made that worse.

But even on the lever handle, where it was easier to tell how far I'd turned it, I also had to use two hands to get comfortable water for rinsing dishes. And since I'd wash a couple of things, then rinse, then turn the water off, then repeat, this was a major pain.

It was always two or three steps to get to the perfect water temperature--and being "off perfect" was dangerous if not tremendously unpleasant.

I always lift the handle in the middle when I'm just washing my hands; I never turn on only the hot (which used to happen w/ two handles, because I'd be holding a plate in one hand) unless I deliberately do so.

And I have memorized where to lift the handle to get "hot but not scalding" when I am washing things by hand (which I do for a few things)--that's about 10 o'clock. I find it SO much easier to get exactly the temperature I want from the very beginning.

I would never go back to a double handle. I don't care what they look like.

ditto what talley_sue_nyc said.
I had a single handle in previous home and now have a double handle and can't wait until DH installs the single handle one.
For me it's not just the hot, but the cold. Since we have well water in Mass, the cold comes out just shy of FREEZING. So when I just want to quickly rinse my hands off, and lazy to turn both handles, I just turn on the cold water and by the time I'm done washing my hands, they'd be almost frozen.
So I've gotten to just turn on the HOT handle, and hope that I'm done by the time the really hot water comes through. This way, since the hot water is set too high, I often burn my hand.
Either way, I'm not happy.
(W/ 2 toddlers running around, I often do not have 2 hands free, so yes, usually I just turn on one handle, either hot or cold.)