Nope! If you go with a different metal it should tie into something, but it doesn't have to match the appliances. It sounds like the ORB will go with your counter and sink. That's fine!

Thanks plllog. If I go with ORB for the faucet do you think it would look alright to use it on the cabinet hardware, too. Then the only SS will be the appliances? Will that look funny???

Hi there. Just be careful when you pick your faucet and hardware. Oil Rubbed Bronze can be anything from black to a reddish bronze depending on the manufacturer. Just make sure you can get hardware to match your faucet before you decide.

I have ORB cabinet hardware and light fixtures, stainless sink and appliances, and a chrome faucet. (The reasoning: ORB looked best with my cabinet stain color. The appliances match each other and are rather neutral. And long conditioning leads me to expect that faucets should be chrome.) No, I don't think your proposed combination would look funny.

Pick your cabinet stain, though, and then try different hardware finishes against it. If the stain is dark you might find that the ORB blends in a great deal, which could be good or bad to your eyes, depending on the look you're going for. Best of luck with your decision making!

For choosing finishes you'll rarely go wrong if you set up "rules'. Stainless and ORB exist together fine. Lots of people do it. But if you mix them all up, you'll get a higgledy piggledy appearance. With rules, it looks "right" and no one sees mismatches.

A rule could be that the appliances, fixtures and hardware--or all metals--have to match, so you'd have stainless appliances, sinks, faucets, pulls, and lighting. That's not the only example of a rule, however, and it's a pretty boring one (which is a good thing if you have a lot of other stuff going on and you're using all the matching metals to calm things down).

Your rule could be: all appliances stainless, all hardware (faucets and pulls) ORB (it's okay if the faucet and pulls aren't the same color as long as they look good together).

A different rule could be: all appliances stainless, all pulls and knobs nickel, faucet to match sink and counter.

What doesn't work so well is: Stainless and copper appliances, nickel and ORB pulls, chrome clean-up faucet and ORB prep faucet. That's really just two color groups, but with various shades and all mixed up. If you're a brilliant designer you might even be able to make that work in a particular kitchen, but that takes a lot of talent. Setting up basic rules should work for anyone.

Thanks for the great ideas! I'm going with the ORB for the faucet and the cabinet pulls. I will check to make sure they're the same shade. I had gotten a copper sink, had the granite templates made and then decided against the copper and SS comb. They're coming back to measure for the new sink! This could make a sane person crazy!