I went with the chrome on my Kohler faucet partly because I didn't like the Brazen Bronze color that Kohler does for the vinnata faucet. It's not really an ORB finish and I wasn't positive I would like it in my red kitchen. The upcharge for the color was about $200 and my family was still placing smelling salts under my nose just to cover the $300 chrome faucet price. I decided that I would rather have $200 worth of new dishes and table linens for the dining room. Chrome faucets are long-lasting and easy clean too. Anyway, I indulged my longing for ORB with my cabinet pulls. And here is a shot of other side of kitchen, with my bank of cabinets. (Replaced floor, faucet, sink, appliances, and backsplash, but not the cabs) Red

I have polished nickel (Restoration Hardware which is made for them by Newport Brass) in the powder room and one of the main bathrooms. It has seemed to get a little darker/burnished where you touch the faucet handles. I'm not totally happy with it. The medicine chest also seems to show darker marks from being touched and they are somewhat resistant to coming off. I'm the only one in this bathroom (DH treats it like my private sanctuary and only uses the other "His" bathroom) and I'm very careful and constantly wiping and cleaning. As a result of this experience, decided to get chrome for the kitchen sink.

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 home has Oil Rubbed Bronze or rather Black door hardware - with glass handle knobs. We have chrome fixtures and smaller glass knobs for the vanity. They say in the design circles every room needs a touch of black and red. If you like it. Done and done....