On rereading this, thought of something kinda funny. You mention the brushed nickel door knobs. IMO, you can go with whatever bathroom faucet finish you like, even if it doesn't match the door knobs or the faucets in the kitchen. I'm definitely not a "the whole house has to match" guy. The funny part is that back in the 1950's, it apparently was important to match the door knobs, in a new house at least. In my tract development, all the homes have a sort of copper-tone finish on the door knobs and hinges, except on the bathroom and kitchen side of the doors, where they are chrome. The hinges were also chrome (they are on the bathroom and kitchen side for both doors), although I replaced them because they were pitted and rusty. I'm assuming the homes all had chrome faucets originally. And it's not like they took two knob sets and just split them, because the locking button is on both chrome ones. Strange, eh? I'm wondering if it's possible to order a split finish on lock sets these days? I'm in the process of replacing the doors in the house and they will all have the same finish on both sides. A little quirk that will be lost in my home, although not quite. The same thing was done with the two pocket doors going into the eat-in kitchen - the little finger grippy things on the door - kitchen side is chrome while other side is the copper tone. I replaced both doors but kept the same finger grips. This post was edited by DreamingoftheUP on Sun, Mar 23, 14 at 6:22

Thank you all so much for your replies. Guess it's lookin good for the brushed nickel. After going round and round, I think I am going to get a Rohl faucet to go with my Rohl farmsink. I wanted the copper color but was told that the finish will eventually wear off a little in the most touched areas. I have very creamy cabs with rust glaze and rust hardware. Thought the rust/copper color would be good for faucet, but now I think the brushed nickel would be good and tie in some to my stainless steel appliances. Hope I'm right. Thanks again!

bumping this up. Anyone out there who's actually done what I'm proposing? My California migrated lighting designer-who's helped me immensely on many kitchen design issues, is a bit more of a purist on finishes. My notes of our early discussion show he suggested hardware in satin or stainless steel for their sheen but not brushed nickel which is more matte. Antique nickel, brass, antique (aged) bronze etc was also high, polished nickel not so much. Also, I recently saw a "what's new in 2013 kitchens" and it said popular hardware are satin, orb, some brass, but not seeing as much polished. If you know of a "bright" satin cabinet hardware maker, please do share. A lot might depend on the base metal in the collection. :/ Thanks again.

I am not sure why you can't have a polished nickel single-handle gooseneck faucet. There are a number of manufacturers who make them. Just off the top of my head, without researching, I can think of Rohl, Hansgrohe, Kohler (particularly the Kohler Vinnata), and my favorite, Newport Brass. But there are others. Just do a search on various websites like faucets.com or homeclick.com. Here's a link to the Newport Brass single-handle pull-down kitchen faucet #94P in polished nickel. I really like their products. Though pricey, it's high-quality, and their finishes are top-notch. Sometimes Newport Brass has a long lead time though, but not always. But there are several other manufacturers who make polished nickel faucets. BTW, since you said you're not sure the difference bet. a pull-out and a pull-down, they are as follows: it's pretty much explained by their names. A pull-down faucet points straight down; many people feel they are more ergonomic to use. Some gooseneck pull-downs are very tall; you need to make sure you have the height clearance for them. I myself have a pull-out (the Grohe Ladylux Plus) which, well, pulls out instead of down. I don't find my pull-out to be un-ergonomic at all, and I like that it reaches across more towards the middle in my sink, rather than pointing down and closer to the edge. But that's just my taste. There are fans in both camps. HTH. Here is a link that might be useful: Newport Brass Kitchen Faucet #94P