We are building a new house and I have been wrestling with this same question. (I LOVE Emtek's Old Town crystal knobs, which come in a myriad of finishes and can be found online for 30-40% off the suggested retail.) I was flipping through a magazine last week with a big spread on Sarah Richardson's farmhouse and I realized that was exactly the look I wanted. She mixed finishes beautifully in her house. Her hinges and rectangular door rosettes are either dark oil rubbed bronze or matte black with white porcelain knobs and she has distressed gold, oil rubbed bronze, wood and painted light fixtures throughout the house. The bathrooms have silver finish bath hardware and most of the curtain rods are dark. Everything has a collected over time, not matchy matchy look to it. Gorgeous!

"I guess I should be glad they weren't plastic!" Yep, not at all attractive indoors and even worse outside!! And, yes, I DO see plastic flowers here and there used to "decorate" an outdoor plant bed. As a gardener myself (and a landscape designer), I find that rather abhorrent!! The only faux plants I can tolerate are the lighted stems that are really more of a light feature to me than a plant - no leaves, just bare 'twigs' that end with a tiny LED light. Lots of times you can find just bare branches for sale at craft stores or nurseries - contorted willow branches are common and look beautiful indefinitely. I have a large collection of living houseplants I use and there are some that require only minimal care and tolerate low lighting. And they are good for air purification in the house. I also always have fresh cut flowers in the house - it is my one big indulgence and they get replaced weekly. Not all that pricey either.......$5-10 I would otherwise spend on a coffee or two or something else equally as unnecessary. And they are such a huge enjoyment. I also think that blooming orchids are a great decorative touch and dead easy to grow as well. Most don't require strong light or frequent watering and the blooms last for months. Trader Joe's always has a large, inexpensive assortment, as does my local Safeway, and I consider them to be just a very long lasting bouquet of (un)cut flowers :-) I don't care if I can't keep them alive forever - 3-4 months and often longer of enjoyment for $20 bucks or less is to me more than worth it.

@Jodie Teeters, @Gargamel, @IdaClaire Thanks! My kid helped me install it today. When he was a toddler we had huge, ott birthday parties with tons of balloons. He has outgrown those now, thank God, but I told him we can still be reminded of those days because it looks like a big bundle of balloons floating in the air. Next up is clearing everything off the piano and adding a tall lamp.

There are two rules to follow: 1. Never ever ever mix finishes. 2. It is perfectly acceptable to mix finishes. Just be thoughtful in how you do it. If you like it, it's fine. Unfortunately, you can't follow both rules. My preference is to follow Rule #2.