Hi, I agree that nickel is lovelier than chrome, and for that beauty there is the price to pay in durability and polishing. I went with nickel and continue to have a need to polish the knobs and hinges and pulls from time to time. The most frequently handled knobs stay bright, while the seldom-touched ones darken and cloud over. Casey

We did that too - all our knobs and door handles are ORB as well as light fixtures. The appliances are white and sink is SS. Our faucet is Chrome/Ikea. Initially the faucet was only supposed to be temporary until I found something better/pull out, but it's grown on me and I'm not used to having a pull out and for $200 more, I just don't care anymore so it stays. I considered switching it this week to use the kitchen faucet for the new laundry tub.

Thanks gglks! (she and I are twins) It's true, I have pure white cabinetry (with no undertones of yellow, grey, blue, green, pink, etc. -- pure white), white calacatta countertops / backsplash and polished nickel pulls / knobs. I like chrome as well, but I love the warmth in the nickel (that yellow-y undertone). My kitchen is an interior room with the only windows in the breakfast portion at one end; those windows are north facing, so they never, ever receive direct sunlight. I LOVE a creamy kitchen but knew it would be ugly and drab in our no-natural-light kitchen. We tried sample after sample (after sample after sample), trying to find a creamy white and then a white white which would be bright and cheerful without looking forced and artificial. I'm one of those who feels blue in the winter, so I knew I needed as much brightness as possible. That's how we came to our white color. I have absolutely no doubt that our white in another kitchen would read "wrong," but in our kitchen it's perfect for our space and my mood! Even before I'd chosen the color of the cabinetry I knew I wanted polished nickel because of its warmth. I am a sucker for silver and have silver all over the house -- frames, bowls, trays, candlesticks, goblets, magnifying glasses, nutcrackers, objets -- I totally love it! I even love polishing it. But let's face it, not only could I not afford sterling hardware I'd be insane to do it -- it's just too much work! But I got that beautiful warmth from the nickel and I don't regret how hard it was to find polished nickel appliance pulls. Absolutely chrome would've worked in our kitchen as well, but the nickel is what we have and I'm grateful for it. Here's an overview of our kitchen: and a better view of the polished nickel, although you can see that the chrome would be practically indistinguishable from the nickel in this photo:

My master bathroom has white cabinets , Carrara marble floors and counters all fixtures are polished nickel …i think they are a little ore upkeep than the chrome, but love the color. I need to change out my shower head…any opinions on using a chrome or satin nickel shower head even though the shower trim is polished nickel? I never wipe off my showerhead except when i clean the bathroom…lol