I strongly encourage you to rethink rotating a faucet with the lever, or stick, in front. I was dismayed when my plumber told me that my cleanup sink Hansgrohe faucet would have to be rotated forward instead of to the side like I expected. It really took me no time at all to get used to it. After using the faucet this way and having to wait for my prep sink install, by the time I did get my prep sink I made sure to rotate the faucet front just like my cleanup sink. I can't believe how little water gets behind and around the faucet with the lever facing front. A Tapmaster is a nifty device that allows you to control the faucet hands-free using a foot control. I have the Euro 1775 which only turns on and off with your foot. There is another model that lets you control hot and cold as well as on/off. With mine, you still must use the faucet hand lever if you want to go from hot to cold or adjust flow rate. The majority of the time I turn my faucet on I don't adjust water temp or flow at the faucet, but there are still plenty of times when I still need to touch the faucet. Here is a link that might be useful: Thread about faucet lever facing front

Here's a couple pictures of the faucet. You can see the hot/cold levers on the left and right side of the faucet. The lever in the center is how you choose between the faucet and the sprayer. When it is vertical, it sends water to the faucet and to use the sprayer you turn it 90 degrees to the left. If you look at the picture of the sprayer, there is a metal ring that you can slide over the handle to keep it depressed and be "hands free." We never use it. Also, the spray comes out in a fan shape which works great for spraying stuff off. It really doesn't flow that much water when you use the sprayer and I like that. However, the faucet puts out a really good flow - which is nice when filling pots. The sink is a Whitehaus WH3018 and is 30" wide by 18" to the back by 10" deep. We really like having one large sink instead of the traditional two. We also purchased the metal grate that goes in the bottom and had to purchase the drain fittings specific to this sink as well (we don't have a garbage disposal but it was an option). We bought it from bluebath.com but it is available many other places. I can't remember where we bought the sprayer from - I think I just kept Googling the model number and went with the best price I could find. As far as cleaning the faucet goes, we just use Clorox wipes. It has some nooks and crannies that take a little work to clean out but it's not too bad at all. The "spring" part at the base of the hose slides up and down so cleaning it is easy (though it really doesn't get that dirty). Again, I highly recommend both the sink and the faucet. Have had no issues with either. I looked around at some of the quasi-commercial faucets from some of the big-name manufacturers and they were way too expensive. I don't know what these faucets cost today but I don't think we spent more than about $300 or so. But it should last us FOREVER.

@fatcatz, I don't know if you like Traditional style, but I am about to buy Moen's Weymouth Single Handle Pull Down Spray faucet in polished nickel. I've been researching for a few days and came across an article from Starcraft Builders saying Moen's Polished Chrome, Polished Nickel, Polished Brass, Brushed Gold, Brushed Nickel, and Classic Stainless finishes are PVD. The remaining finishes are either Powder Coat or Electroplate. It's a great article, really goes in depth on the PVD process. Echoed your point about not always being the metal used in the PVD process. That being said, in reading the section on Electroplating, taken from the article: "Undercoats of copper, zinc, or nickel usually precede the final decorative coating. The undercoats have two purposes. Some metals, chrome being one, do not adhere very well to naked brass. One or more nickel undercoats are usually used before the chrome is applied so the finish does not flake or peel. If finishing a zinc component, undercoats of copper then nickel are commonly used. The copper sticks well to zinc, nickel adheres tightly to copper, and chrome bonds securely to nickel. Undercoats also help smooth out any small imperfections in the faucet material. It is not uncommon for faucets to be electroplated with nickel and chrome and then highly polished before a final PVD coating is applied. This process eliminates any potential flaws in the surface so they don't show up in the final PVD finish." Link to the article follows, below. Very high marks for customer service, Starcraft actually ranks Moen's customer service #1 in North America. http://www.starcraftcustombuilders.com/sources.faucets.Moen.htm

When we researched on our squeeeeezy tight budget, I came across BelleForet as well for our bathroom faucets. I don't remember where I found the info, but the gist of the reviews were that they're a great value, nice to look at, but not for the long-haul. Something like a kitchen faucet gets way more wear and tear than a bath faucet, so I would definitely look elsewhere if you could. With your budget concerns in mind, I checked with our source for the bathroom faucet just see what they had in bridge land. You're going to laugh at the prices. http://www.dealyard.com/p-4779-grohe-20128en0-bridgeford-brushed-nickel-bridge-kitchen-faucet-w-lever-handles.aspx In gooseneck/sprayer land: http://www.dealyard.com/p-2019-jado-850860444-victorian-kitchen-sink-faucet-w-side-spray-antique-nickel.aspx And in bridge-esque pullout sprayer land: http://www.dealyard.com/p-2057-jado-850850444-victorian-pullout-kitchen-sink-faucet-antique-nickel.aspx Perhaps not exactly what you were looking for, but worth a look at the price. And Grohe and Jado are fantastic high-end brands. We ordered 5 bathrooms and 60 Baldwin doorknobs from this vendor - they were prompt, and though they HAVE to be a closeout house with these prices, we were tickled with the quality of goods. Good luck!