Is this the sink you have?

http://www.kitchen-sink-reviews.com/stainless-steel-undermount/farmhouse-stainless-steel-undermount-kitchen-sink

If it is, then I think your polished nickel will hold for up to 10 years. After that, just get some vinegar to clean it up. Works wonders!

Here is a link that might be useful: Farmhouse Sink

My sink is a fireclay Herbeau sink:

pluckymama, I had a polished nickel faucet for only a short time after a kitchen remodel before we moved to a different house, so I can't give you much on how they hold up. But...I also had a side sprayer that was metal and it would get almost too hot to hold when spraying hot water. Yours might not be metal, but it's something to think about if it is.

Pluckymama, I see that you saw my Perrin & Rowe polished nickel faucet with my finished kitchen photos. I love it! It gleams. I haven't had enough time to know how it will hold up for the long run but it is not hard to clean. The side sprayer is very heavy. I suppose it could chip the side if dropped in just the right way but that is probably not too likely. The main thing that I have found is if you are using the sprayer and then put it back, it drips. After I turn off the water I then give it one last squirt and a lot of water comes out. I think I only notice it because it is a farm sink and sits up on the granite where as a regular sink has the faucet come up and it if it drips it drips into the sink. I hope that made sense. I called P&R and they weren't terribly helpful when I asked if it was normal. For a $1300 faucet I wish the sprayer didn't leak. But it looks fabulous.

pfmastin - The side sprayer is solid brass, with a PN finish so I am curious if it would get hot when spraying hot water.

emilysmarathonmom - I admired your P & R faucet in your finished kitchen pics. It is an exceptionally beautiful faucet and would look great with our traditional cabs and Lacanche range, but I want to make sure it is not going to be a lot of upkeep to keep it nice and shiny in the long run. The dripping would be annoying, especially like you pointed out with the water pooling around the sprayer on the countertop. Since P & R warranty's for life, you would think they would replace or repair your sprayer. Does the weighted hose retract easily to pull the sprayer back to it's base or does it allow the sprayer to swing freely to possibly hit the countertop edge where it meets the farm sink?

It retracts easily. P&R didn't think there was a problem. They said there was just water left in the line after use. The sprayer goes into a base so to speak so it is up quite a bit from the counter and is back far enough from the sink that I don't see that is would ever meet. It does come in satin nickel also if you are concerned about polishing but a dry towel works fine and really isn't a huge deal. I really wanted a bridge faucet with a sprayer without the pipe in the middle below because I put my air switch in the middle below. I have insta hot and reverse osmosis on the same facet to the left and didn't want yet one more hole so this was the only faucet that I could come up with. There may have been an American Standard one but it didn't look as nice once I had seen this one. Believe me I tried to find reasons not to buy one this pricey but once I saw it nothing else came close.
Here is the picture again.

Here is a link that might be useful:

emilysmarathonmom - Thanks for the pic. That was a good way to hide your air switch. We won't have an air switch. But I will have a soap dispenser and was thinking about an instahot (how do you like yours?). That would make 4 holes. I'm not really worried about the routine care of wiping it down, it was more would the finish begin to tarnish or develop spots in the long term (like brass does)? Your explanation of how the sprayer retracts really helps.

Here is a pic of the faucet:

Hi pluckymama! I don't know if I'll be of any help at all, considering I don't have a polished nickel faucet (P&R or otherwise), but I do have scads of polished nickel hardware throughout our kitchen. That finish, while gorgeous, absolutely does show smudging much more easily than any satin / brushed finish would.

In our previous house we had a Grohe (polished) chrome faucet and the ever-present water spots on it drove me bananas. Nuts! So that's what partly informed my decision in this go-round to get a brushed finish, and I don't regret it for one minute.

So you'd think I'd've chosen a similar finish for all the hardware, but I couldn't. My heart would not let me choose anything other than polished nickel, and even though it does show everything I wouldn't change it for the world. (well alright, maybe for the world, but you know what I mean!) I find it (the polished nickel) cleans up really easily, but it's a daily necessity (actually, only the fridge and freezer pulls need a daily wipe-down).

That's something to think about, how much smudges / water spots will bother you, vice how much you desire the P&R polished nickel faucet.

I have been told that over time nickel will get yellow-er, that's its tarnish. With all the protective coatings put on hardware these days who knows how long that'll take, though!

Do you have any progress pictures to share? I am dying to see your space!

rmkitchen - it's good to hear from you and I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I'm glad you jumped in with your perspective. I did go with satin nickel pulls and knobs and my Lacanche range is a combination of brass/stainless and the black painted enamel finish (it's so beautiful, my fav in my kitchen). I have debated back and forth over this faucet (as I have so many of my kit. decisions).

I am so drawn to it's beauty and shiny finish, but trying to balance that with teenage sons who I know will leave it smudged and the separate sprayer dangling in the sink, and I wonder if I should just go w/ a single pulldown satin nickel faucet for practical reasons. But then I look at the pic and know it would go so well w/the style of my range.

I'll post some pics next week as we are working on the kitchen over the long weekend and it's messy. It is coming along though and I grow increasingly excited.

I really like that P&R faucet. Now that I read more about your kitchen choices I agree that a faucet with pull down would not go with your style of kitchen. Your teenagers will leave it smudged but be happy if that means they were cleaning their dishes instead of leaving them for you.

I guess it comes down to the question of form vs. function. I want to keep the balance between beauty and practicality and Mom remaining reasonable with the rest of the family regarding the new kitchen. I think my biggest concern is whether polished nickel faucets hold up well over time and how fragile are they if someone uses something stronger than a mild dish soap with soft cloth to clean them.

The faucet definitely has the form factor going for it and it goes w/the style of my kitchen. But I have seen quite a few kitchens w/similar styles to mine that have attractive pull downs.

I guess I'm looking to find out if they will still look as beautiful over the long term w/o a lot of upkeep?

Polished nickel will tarnish over time but if you love the way it looks, I think you should go for it. Nothing else looks quite like it and since it's only a few fixtures the upkeep shouldn't be too bad. I would be more concerned about the heavy, dripping and inconvenient side spray. When PN tarnishes, it gets darker, which you may not mind since the brass on your range will darken as well. What I have found unacceptable on my PN bath fixtures are the spots that won't wipe off. I had promised to polish them in a different thread to see how well they cleaned up but I still haven't done it. (I did buy the polish though :))

Isn't Perrin & Rowe a Rohl company? If so, I know that Rohl nickel fixtures aren't plated until ordered so they don't tarnish while in stock and they aren't coated.

Cheri, thanks, and yes it is a Rohl company. Are you referring to PVD coating? I am concerned about the side spray as well vs. having a pull down.

pluckymama, I have this exact faucet. I have been using it for almost 2 yrs with no problem. I have never polished it and keep telling myself that I am just because I should. I really love the weight of the side sprayer, it probably would chip or break something if dropped just right. Maybe my water isn't hot enough but, it doesn't get too hot to handle nor does it drip. I looked at other faucets but, couldn't get past this one after seeing it in a showroom.