Is A Pot Filler Really Worth Investing In?

Do the fanciest home kitchen trends have you considering outfitting your place with a pot filler? These stovetop faucets involve a surprising piece of plumbing that places a tap directly above your stove, meaning that you can fill up a large, heavy pot without lugging it from sink to stove, and risking a spill. But whether or not a pot filler is worth it for your kitchen will depend on your renovation budget, the size of your kitchen, and what types of foods you like to cook.

Installing a pot filler in your kitchen can be a fairly intensive renovation, as it involves alterations to the plumbing in your kitchen, as well as installing the physical faucet for the pot filler. The total cost, including the fixture, can run anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars, which is an important consideration if you're on a budget. However, many home cooks may find that it's worth the hassle — especially in kitchens designed so that the main sink is far from the stove — where filling and carrying a pot can be a risky task.

Even though they're still relatively uncommon, pot fillers have become more popular in recent years. Today, it's considered a relatively luxurious kitchen feature, and you may like the way it adds to your kitchen's aesthetic, although you will have to clean it regularly to avoid rust or staining. Pot fillers can also be extremely useful in kitchens with shallow sinks which may not be able to fit a stock pot, leaving you in the awkward position of using multiple pots or measuring cups every time you need to fill a large pot to boil.

There are also other uses for a pot filler, as interior designer Emily Henderson points out in her blog. If you're interested in gardening, or caring for houseplants, a pot filler can be invaluable for filling watering cans, or vases for cut flowers, without the awkwardness of having to fit something tall and narrow in what might be a broader, but shallow, sink. It can also be useful for filling stovetop tea kettles, which can be heavy even before being filled.

While you're weighing the merits of a pot filler, consider trying some recipes that make great use of a pot filler. Many recipes require a large pot to be filled with water, and pot fillers become especially useful for dishes that call for you to add more liquid to the dish as it cooks.

One of the most popular forms of pot-filler-friendly cooking involves pasta. You can probably think of a slew of pasta recipes that never get old, just off the top of your head. Boiling a large pot of water to make a big batch of pasta, or a pasta salad to share at a potluck, can be awkward at best with a conventional sink, but becomes simple and straightforward with a pot filler.

On the other hand, while pot fillers are an obvious choice for boiling, they can also be ideal for making one of your favorite soup recipes. Not only can you fill a pot easily for slow-simmer soups and homemade broth, your pot filler can also be used midway through cooking — if a soup has thickened too much and needs more water — saving you the difficulty of dragging the pot to the sink. Whether you're making soups, pastas, or even boiling potatoes to mash, trying a stovetop favorite lets you discover whether a pot filler is something your kitchen needs.