Which do I prefer, ORB or nickel....? Neither. I like chrome. Long after oil rubbed bronze and brushed nickel look dated.....good old chrome will still be a timeless finish, that never goes out of fashion. It may not be the trendiest finish d'jour, but it never looks dated or completely out of fashion. Instead of paying a higher price for a currently fashionable finish, I think you'd be better off upgrading to a better fixture in sturdy and reliable chrome. Just my two cents!

I really like the brushed nickel. Very easy to take care of and blends so nicely with my old pewter.

chrome for exactly the same reasons that wa8b said. ORB would be my second choice.

I am going with oil rubbed bronze. I like it. I know it may be a current trend, but the pieces that are ORB will be easy to change out as time goes on, cabinet hardware, lights and faucet. And and the rate I change things, it will be back in style and I won't have to do anything!

For me, it depends on what you are putting it on. We have chrome in our bathrooms (love it) and chose ORB through our house. We were planning on chrome in the kitchen, but it didn't look great with our cabinets, so we went ORB.

So, I'd say it depends!

I've always liked the ORB: it just fits the feel of our kitchen, in spite of the stainless appliances. If I could afford the new ORB finished appliances, I would have picked them in a heartbeat.

How old is your house and what style is it?

I love nickel but I think brushed nickel may be more temporary whereas the glossy polished finishes can be both timeless and contemporary.

In our case, our white ceiling-heigh cabinets are original from 1913 and I'm pretty sure at least *some* of their ORB knobs and butterfly hinges are original (some have been replaced but match) which by deduction means they were all originally ORB. That was pretty standard in craftsman houses.

My long-winded point is that when it comes to older houses/period or semi-period kitchens, sometimes you don't have to worry about it and can just go with what it would have had back then. In such cases the word "timeless" probably does apply. ;)

...And there's a LOT to be said, I'm sure, about just going with what makes you smile inside. Eh? I have to remember that too!

Thank you all.. Therese my home is yet to be built...I am in design process..

I love the look of ORB, especially on white cabinets. It does have an older, weathered look that might not work in a contemporary kitchen (style, not age). A while ago there was a similar discussion and many people felt if the style of the hardware fit the kitchen either finish could work well and it was a personal preference thing. Have you picked your cabinets? You might find one works better with your cabinets than the other.

Brushed Nickel

I had always thought ORB was cool. I was even considering it for my new house. Then I walked into a house under contruction and it was full of ORB - kitchen, bathrooms, hinges, doorknobs, etc. I hated it. It was just too dark for my tastes.

Sorry I didn't mention..this is for my master bath and powder room..I have a choice between orb and bn..I am leaning towards orb..because I have cream marble bath and brownish accents..Wouldn't want to do anything that's outdated either,...hence checking..