This High-End Kitchen Accessory Probably Isn't Worth The Exorbitant Cost

A few items always seem particularly enticing in glossy design magazines and the occasional social media post. Incredibly beautiful but unspeakably expensive ranges, such as those made by La Cornue, always catch the eye. Even pretty, less-expensive brands, such as Smeg, get salivary glands going. High-end niceties, such as double islands and finicky marble (one of the higher-maintenance stone varieties you can use for kitchen countertops), also introduce pangs of envy. But we'll leave pointless pot fillers to the annals of avocado green and word art.

Pot fillers can cost a few thousand dollars (depending on plumbing needs and geographical region) and are high-end only by virtue of their cost. Their eponymous raison d'être, to fill pots with water right at the stove, adds near-zero functional value to a private home. These things are often installed, instead, for the sake of looking luxe and little else. A TikToker panning around a fancy kitchen and lingering for a moment on what is essentially the single-use kitchen tool to end all single-use kitchen tools is really telegraphing "look at this goofy thing I spent too much money on." The overlap between households that boil water for everyday tagliolini or tagliatelle at a high enough cadence to merit a pot filler, and those that have a corresponding net worth, is questionable. It is the epitome of "just because you can, doesn't mean you should." That the whole conceit is borrowed from commercial kitchens is even sillier.

Any time you introduce new plumbing to your home, you should begin planning for the inevitability of it needing service down the road. Pot fillers have articulated parts and elements that enable them to swing out to hydrate your big Le Creuset on the front burner. That hardware doesn't last forever, and eventual cracks and leaks are a pain that you could have avoided. It's also one more thing to clean, whether you use it or not: Avid cooks end up polishing off splatter and aesthetic-only owners still have to dust the thing off now and then.

Now, older folks and people who might struggle with heavy objects should install whatever makes life a little easier ... but substantial cookware weighed down even further by tomato sauce or tomato gravy still needs to be removed from the range at the end of the day. We'll keep saving for those regal ranges instead.