My favorite part of being in fancy restaurants and small European countries—you know, places where rich people hang out—is checking out the bathrooms. There's always some decadent touch that makes them cooler than the same-old I'm used to using back home. But with this LED faucet, available for $65 at ShopKami, you can bring a touch of that luxury to any old sink.

The easy-to-install, single-handle faucet uses a glass panel lit by a colored LED to convey water, allowing it to cascade gently into your sink while you massage a passion fruit clean or wash your hands with an organic mint soap. See? Your life's already improving. [Coolest Gadgets]

[Signorini via DigsDigs via OhGizmo]

"There are only two things you care about besides the appearance," he explains. "The amount of water coming out and the temperature." This seemingly simple balance between image and duty is one that Norman understands implicitly. As an engineer his priority is making sure things operate properly, but as a psychologist he argues that there's more to functionality than, well, functioning. "Emotions are really the most important part of life. Things have to work well, but they also should excite you."

(Indeed—emotions and faucets go hand in hand. My faucet makes me cry...but how can I stay mad at it?)

To be honest, the reviews of these faucets are disappointing, but the point here is that these simple everyday fixtures are being thought about in a very intellectual way. I mean, Norman talks about the "aesthetic and kinesthetic pleasure" of the water stream for God's sake. I get it though. With a background in art and design I can appreciate the massive amount of engineering that can sometimes be employed on items we take for granted. In fact, some of the most cutting edge designers are working on sinks and faucets these days. Coffee makers are getting this treatment as well. It's just pouring water over a bean but there are some crazy elaborate concepts out there. And why not? These are gadgets we use every single day. [Dwell via BBG]

Koehler (not to be confused with the American Kohler company) also included an elegant control system that increases temperature by twisting the knob on the side and increases water pressure by adjusting the position of the tap. Again, this is only a concept at the moment, but the good news is that you can achieve similar results with a $4 plastic add-on. [Koehler via DVICE]

It may not talk to you, but the wall-mounted Ondus does have cool features like a touchpad control, digital temperature readout and handy holders for your soap and cups. The price of this magnificent bathroom fixture is unknown but, as they say, if you have to ask you probably can't afford it. [Grohe via Trendir]

Unfortunately, they're having a hell of a time finding the source of the natural gas leak that's causing their water to be so flammable.

The Colorado Oil and Gas Commission leaders say it's tried to find the origin of the leak. Director Dale Neslin says "We've looked at well compilation reports, taken gas samples to look for a match, done pressure testing and we've not been able to find the well that appears to be causing the problem."

The Ellsworths say they approached Noble Energy and Anadarko Petroleum - the two companies that operate the nearby wells - and begged for help. They say the companies initially refused to do anything. But, at the urging of the Oil and Gas Commission, they have now agreed to put in a water treatment system at the home.

[CBS 4 Denver via Boing Boing]

The design creates a sideways waterfall effect that ends up tapering down into a well-targeted spot in the sink itself. It also features LED water temp indicators and an on/off button that looks like it belongs on a piece of home theater equipment. I really love the way it flows though. It looks like you could take a full on shower in the sink if you had to. [Octopus Design via MoCo Loco via DVICE]

The touch sensitive controls can deliver filtered or unfiltered hot and cold water via two channels in the faucet neck—and the best part is that you will actually be able to by this sometime in the near future. Well, those of us with a lot of money to blow on a faucet that is. [Triflow via Dezeen via DVICE]

X-Touch is a product of Newform Italy, and looks to be either a sink faucet or a bath faucet. Either way, we're glad to not be burning our hands/mouths/genitals from water that's just slightly too scalding. If they can only mesh this with the type of showerhead that you can set it to a certain temperature and shut off automatically, this would be the ultimate faucet. [Trendir via Like Cool via Uber Gizmo]

The hack requires a little plumbing know how and some circuitry work, which makes it slightly harder than your normal DIY project. To help you and your pets out, Tsruzik has put together some kits for order. Prices range from $10 to $125.

The end product works a lot like those sinks that automatically turn on when you waive your hands under them—except instead of detecting hands, it detects cats. Tsruzik has even thrown in an optional “people detector” so that the faucet won't run every time a person walks by. Check out the video to see some cute kittie drinking action:
[MAKE]

The stainless steel faucet utilizes carbon fiber for extra strength and less weight, while staying within the bounds of the design. It also has two spray modes, but technical specs aside, the main draw here is the look. You can't help but stare at it. Details haven't surfaced on pricing or release date, but I'd be willing to wager this thing will cost a pretty penny. [DVICE]

KOHLER LAUNCHES BREAKTHROUGH KARBON ARTICULATING KITCHEN FAUCET

New kitchen faucet marries ultimate kitchen functionality with visually entrancing design

KOHLER, Wis. - April 11, 2008 - What does the ultimate in functionality for a kitchen faucet really mean?
For Kohler Co. - a global leader in kitchen and bath design and technology - ultimate functionality can be defined as a kitchen faucet that possesses the functionality and performance of a pull-down faucet, while also allowing the user to position and leave the sprayhead right where it's needed, thereby freeing up both hands for kitchen prep and clean-up tasks. To develop a kitchen faucet that satisfied this requirement was the tall task presented to the Kohler new product development team.

The result is the new KOHLER Karbon kitchen faucet, a faucet of unexpected and intriguing design that will undoubtedly become the primary focal point of any contemporary kitchen setting.

"This articulating faucet represents a breakthrough in the evolution of the category," commented Les Petch, senior product manager for KOHLER kitchen faucets. "The quest for the ultimate in functionality has not only produced a faucet that outperforms other models but has also yielded an astonishing piece of contemporary design work that represents as much a piece of art as the next generation in faucet technology. It truly is a one-of-a-kind."

The original design impetus of the Karbon kitchen faucet was inspired by lighting and construction equipment with articulating joints. The Kohler design team took this concept and created a product that signals a paradigm shift in the functionality and design of modern kitchen faucets. "Form really does follow function in this case," said Petch. "But that doesn't take away from the fact that the Karbon faucet is an outstanding piece of modern industrial design." The use of a textured carbon fiber composite adds further appeal to a unique visual aesthetic that reinforces the contemporary nature of the design.

Unlike other kitchen faucets, the Karbon faucet will maintain the exact position where a user places it within its allotted reach in or outside the sink, keeping the spray head and water flow exactly where it's desired. Additionally, the faucet offers both spray and aerated water flow options, eliminating the need for a sidespray. An elaborate design detail is featured in the remote joystick valve that consists of two disks of identical size installed flush with the countertop to provide an unusually sleek look and offer easy cleaning.

The actual construction of the faucet is a combination of traditional brass and innovative carbon fiber composite tubing. The logic behind the use of carbon fiber lies in its superior strength and light weight, allowing for tight movement tolerance and the exceptional functional performance of this faucet. The joints connecting the four sections of the faucet employ a novel patented technology that provides exceptional resistance to support the spout while allowing for smooth and effortless handling.

The Karbon kitchen faucet is available in high quality, durable Polished Chrome and Vibrant® Stainless finishes and carries a lifetime limited warranty. Offering easy installation, it relies on flexible connections and installation rings. Installers will want to take note that the joystick valve requires non-standard holes of two inches in diameter.

Its motion control interface lets you control the flow by pointing at what you want, and you can even control the temperature of the water with a nonchalant wave of your hand. In the middle of its selector dial, it shows you the water temperature in a digital readout. This is one fab-looking faucet with its LED-lit edges, but it might be a bit inconvenient to plug the thing in when you're installing it, since it requires a 12-volt DC power supply. It might be worth it to amaze your clean-freak friends. [Born Rich]

Sure your water bill may double as you spend so much time in the bathroom, but at least you'll start washing your hands.

Hit the jump for another Hansa design.

The Hansaclear Lux allows your wife to choose the color of her new "joystick" (as you neglect her playing with the sink). – Mark Wilson

New Hansa Products [via trendir]

It runs on tiny watch batteries and looks like it's pretty easy to install. Now we really want one. But must the bathroom be dark for its effects to be visible? – Charlie White

Product Page [Think Geek]

For just $19.99, you get a LED faucet light that streams blue water normally, but turns red as soon as it hits 89 degrees. Gimmicky, sure, but at that price how could you say no? – Jason Chen

Product Page [Think Geek - Thanks tipster!]

Zip Hydrotap [Shiny Shiny]

Product Page

Why deal with that nasty old shower head that came with the place when you could be showering in luxury with the Visentin Klino Digitech shower system. From Italy with love, this baby's got an integrated water temperature display and gorgeous silver finish. And I think I can safely say its the faucet of champions. Along with this gadget, you can also get yourself a Klino basin single level mixer, Thermo-digitech thermostatic shower mixer with integrated temperature digital display and Glazed Soap Dispenser and Klino Digitech water inlet with integrated temperature digital display + Fly 3 spray shower. Those crazy Italians. Always thinking of new ways to get clean.

Gioielli Klino Collection from Visentin - digital faucets [Trendir]

Faucet Light [ThingsYouNeverKnew via Red Ferret]

So, with that in mind, I present the Dumbo Faucet. Sure, they meant it to look like an elephant's trunk, but lord if that doesn't look like something something pees out of.

Dumbo Kitchen Faucet [Trendir]