Kashmi, that is such a beautiful counter!

Aside from your hands always being in the line of fire (water, actually) when turning on and off, wouldn't the front orientation also cut into your access space over the sink and/or collide with large pots/pans?

I think the angle does look a little askew.

Maybe just remember to mop up the extra water?

I would do it the first way you have it there. You risk crashing pots into it any other way. Good luck.

We have ours oriented at an angle a little in front and to the left. I wanted it on that side so I could turn the water on with my left hand as I held something in my right. The orientation was also due to a design flaw on my part-if it were installed parallel to the sink (on the left) I wouldn't be able to turn it on completely to hot because there wasn't enough clearance. Here's a pic:

I turned my faucet to the side to avoid dripping all over the counter. I have had no problems with crashing things into the faucet, and find it greatly reduces the water dripping behind the faucet. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

ps, I should have added my faucet spout turns so readily it is easy to just move it out of the way before turning the faucet on and off, and within days it became the unthinking norm to do so.

Linelle & jgopp: good points about the collision risks! Something I had not considered. (And, @linelle: thanks for the countertop comment. We still smile when we walk into the kitchen!)

Leela4 & mabeldingeldine: thanks so much for the pictures. Your arching faucets are so graceful. The pictures will give me "ammunition" when talking with the plumber and DH this afternoon. I really want to minimize the water behind the faucet to the extent possible/reasonable. I'll also check to see how readily the faucet spout swivels. That was a good tip.

face it front. Try it out. You'll see whether pots touch it.

I had a Grohe K4 and faced the handle to the front (perpendicular to the sink) for the very reason of not wanting water behind. It worked very well, never bumped a pot (yours doesn't look like it extends over the sink?), and all drips went into the sink yay!

I was able to reach behind the water flow to the handle no big deal, so no wet(ter) hands and you should be able to tell via your mockups if you can do that as well.

HTH

Fori: Your point is well taken. The faucet is quite linear.

So I'm strongly leaning toward installing it facing the front, as Davidro1 and Mtnfever suggest -- especially since the handle does not invade the sink space and faucet extends far enough to make it possible to reach behind the water flow.

IMHO this is a great idea, but so far family members are not so convinced. "No one installs faucets that way!" "It would look stupid to do that!" Sigh ...

Depending on the outcome, there may be a tapmaster in the offing!

of course it looks "whatever", when you have a mental model in your head that doesn't concur. Once they like it positioned in front, you will be seen as someone so smart you almost invented a patentable new thing.

I had them the handle on the right when my faucet was installed...but if I had it to do over, I would put it in the middle in the front. I think David is right, you will get used to it once you've lived with it awhile. (I've been meaning to find out if ours can be changed w/o ripping the faucet out...we have a Kohler Vinnata.)

Yes, dripping all over the counter is a major issue with the handle on the side, btw (at least in our kitchen!)

My Hansgrohe faucet went in on Monday. Because the handle would have hit the wall behind it if it was installed with handle to the side, the handle had to be placed directly on the front. It took me about 2.5 seconds to get used to it. Now, I think nothing of it. I love not having drips on the counter, and it's not awkward at all.

I wouldn't do sideways just because I don't like funky angles.

Sorry I don't have a pic. With the move, I can't even find a pan to cook with and have seriously no clue where the camera cord is.

Breezy: Thanks for the confirming experience report. But most of all, thank you for taking the time to post, given all the moving hassles. May things get better sooner rather than later.

Buehl: It's good to know that "water all over the countertop" is not just a local phenomenon -- and that you have considered this same modification. You are the GW kitchen guru, after all!

Davidro1: Yes, indeed. Our mental lens certainly conditions our view of our world. As my favorite anthropologist -- who likes playing with language -- had this to say on the matter: "Material culture makes culture material.... when culture is insinuated into our physical landscape, our housing, and its furnishing, the premises of our existence are also the premises of our existence." [Culture and Consumption, Grant McCracken] I just love that last phrase.

I mounted mine (Kohler Vinattas) front-facing so the hot would be left and cold would be right. Side-orienting scrambles the H/C/operator relationship and is not new-user friendly. And it is demonstrably less ambidextrous.
Casey

Casey: Genius! You are quite right. In the parallel-to-the-sink position, the blue/cold indicator is to the back with the red/hot indicator toward the front. Turning the handle front-facing, as you say, unscrambles the H/C relationship. Perhaps the best argument yet.

As an update, I've been showing these responses around and the "right" decision may yet be made! A nice benefit of this forum: educating family members as well as oneself.

Again, thanks to all.

Yup! Casey's right! I didn't like all the water on the deck when my faucet handle was to the side, so I moved it to the front as well. It was an easy adjustment, since it is in the center, to keep my elbow bent.
My smaller model faucet @ the bar is turned to the right and when I use it, I must "think" about where hot & cold are. HTH.