I think you're absolutely right, monicakm, it must depend on the manufacturer because, as I said before, there is no consensus. So, the faucet I am thinking about is a Toto (also getting a Toto pedestal sink and toilet). Anyone have Toto faucets in polished chrome or brushed nickel who wants to chime in? Thanks! Here is a link that might be useful: Toto faucet

I can't remember who sold me polished nickel fixtures for my bath but if it ever comes back to me, they better leave the country fast. A more nightmarish material I can't imagine, except for polished marble, which someone else is going to pay for, too. Staining, fingerprints, watermarks--on chrome, those are just from dirt on the surface, if you even get them. They come off with pretty much anything you feel like cleaning with--water, soap and water, Windex, 409, whatever. Nickel is a "living" (i.e., decaying) finish. Those watermarks are a kind of tarnish. Especially with polished, you have to wipe up each and every time you touch or use it. Then do a thorough polish once a week. Shoot me. I don't think brushed anything is very authentic to the age of your house, though. As far as mixing metals, it depends where they are used. I have a chrome sorta vintage light fixture in the nickel bath, and you really can't tell--it's way up on the ceiling. However, the sink drain pipe is chrome, and it looks fairly ridiculous next to the nickel console legs, which is why I always keep a towel in front of it.

We had polished brass and I just recently changed them to brushed nickel b/c I wanted a "softer" look on my cabinets. The polished brass did not show any fingerprints. I think the chrome sounds very nice with your color cabinets! It depends on the look you want - do you want the knobs to stand out or be more suble?

If you want to draw attention to the handles then select a polished option. If you wish to avoid fingerprints then select a satin option.