If you've already renovated a kitchen or are just beginning the process, you know how overwhelming the details can be. Our Fittings and Material Spotlights are quick guides to basic kitchen fixtures to familiarize you with terminology, pros and cons, and relevant reader reviews. We've covered sinks and countertops, and now we're moving on to faucets. Curious about pot filler versus pull-out spray faucets? We'll get there. Up today: dual or two-handle faucets.
Faucet Style: Dual or Two-Handle
Distinctive Features: A two-handle faucet features two separate handles on either side of the spout: one handle for cold water, and one for hot. Associated with more traditional or country style kitchens.
Installation: Very DIY-able. See here for a two-handle faucet installation tutorial.
Compatible with Pull-Out or Pull-Down Sprayers? Yes, although two-handle faucets are more commonly found with side sprayers.
Compatible with High-Arc Spouts? Yes.
Pros: Enables more precise temperature adjustments and water flow control; interchangeable handles allow you to change the look of your faucet without messing with the plumbing.
Cons: Considered by some to be inconvenient in the kitchen, when hands are often full or dirty and it's difficult to adjust two separate knobs.
Price range: Hugely variable, depending on design, material, finish, and details. Basic chrome models start at $20.
Kitchn Reader and Editor Reviews:
Every rental apartment that we've been in has had an old, junky faucet. Right now our faucet leaks badly, and, more to the point, there are two on/off taps. Our water can get very hot and we're always scrambling at the taps to avoid getting burned, and trying to get just the right mix of hot and cold water. It would be much nicer, plus better from a water efficiency perspective, to have an all-in-one on/off handle. So we're replacing our faucet. - Faith Durand
I prefer two handles because I like to regulate temperature that way. If I have one hand to turn on one faucet, it's not a big deal to use the same hand to turn on the other. I prefer not to have to adjust one faucet somewhere along a vague line just to determine hot and cold. Two handles let me adjust much more accurately. - PI
Do you have a two-handle kitchen faucet? What do you think of it?
Related Kitchn and Apartment Therapy Posts:
• Faucet Glossary: 5 Terms To Learn Before Shopping
• What Should I Look For in a New Kitchen Faucet?
• How To Replace a Kitchen Faucet
• 15 Single Level Faucets for Every Budget
• Style Sourcelist: Contemporary Kitchen Faucets Under $300
Other Recommended Reading
• How To Install a Two-Handle Faucet | Dummies.com
(Images: Archithings)
5 Things Paris Taught Me About Travel
Recipe: Ham, Cheddar & Chive Egg Bakes
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Bacsac Bacsquare 04...
Apartment Therapy's Sofa Shopping Guide
Nikki’s Sweet and Cheery Print Studio
I'm in the middle of a kitchen renovation and have one handled faucets with pull out sprayer at each sink, ready for install, I hoping to love to love them.
If I had the money, I'd get a hands free faucet with an option for a one handle. Every faucet in our house has been converted to one handle. Love them, would never go back to 2.
Perfer the 2 handle. I agree with the statement that it's harder to control the temperature with the 1 handle.
Plus, when I have kids over, I perfer them using the cold water handle.
In a kitchen in particular, I think one handle is much better. It's far more sanitary to turn on the water, regardless of temperature, with my forearm after cutting up some chicken or fish. Maybe vegetarians don't mind two handles as much?
One handle is irritatingly harder to control volume as well as temp. so it's actually more wasteful, and is certainly not any more hygienic. I'll keep my 2 handles, thank you very much.
We just renovated our master bath and had 2-handles put in and love them.
Not sure about the kitchen, although I see a valid point for both 1-handle and 2-handle fixtures. Our house is more traditional, so I think we would opt for 2-handle again. The kitchen sink in my office is a 1-handle and I don't really care for it.