Occasionally in my work as a product reviewer, I grow despondent over the sinking sense that there just isn’t anything new under the sun. This is to say that sometimes I feel that the innovative possibilities for something as utilitarian as, say, a kitchen faucet are limited. Today, I’m more than pleased to personally thank the likes of Netherlands designer Niels van Hoof for snapping me out of this fleeting doldrum: his Water fountaintap adds a new pragmatic twist to the business of dispensing water.

Water fountaintap. Designed by Niels van Hoof.

A Sharp Looking Faucet that Doubles as a Water Fountain

The concept is one of those that’s so simple it’s difficult to believe it hadn’t been thought of before. The idea occurred to van Hoof as the logical solution to the superfluous act of removing a glass from the cupboard and the subsequent resource drain of having to wash it.

The design is simple and intuitive. The Fountain element is simply a thin projectile atop the tap that operates via the same handle that turns on the spigot itself. Simply pull said handle downwards to release a subtle arc of drinking water. When you wish to operate the tap, push the handle up—thus shutting off the fountain—then move it left or right to control temperature.

Nor is there any confusion between the desired heat to wash dishes and the preferably cold quotient of bodily refreshment: the fountain operates via an extra pipe which is linked only to the cold water supply.

About the Designer: Niels van Hoof, “Allround Designer”—and well-groomed man-about-town, if the smart pic on his bio page is any indication—hails from the town of Someren in the Netherlands. After a stint studying Commercial Interior Design at Sintlucas, he completed internships with an interior architecture firm and an exhibition design company. The schooling gave him the tools and the self-awareness to focus his talents on product design. His guiding vocational principles include “perfection, simplicity, innovation, and harmony,” each of which figure large in his development of such solutions-oriented pieces as the Foldable Laptop, Visible Coffee Machine, and Water fountaintap.