I think it is a matter of personal preference. I do like them to match ... one of the things I liked about doing a whole house reno and addition at once was the continuity of palette and finishes. So it was an important detail for me, in fact I put in all antique white ceramic hardware. That said, we have a pre-existing pseudo-indoor-outdoor space with something like 10 sets of french doors and a few solid doors. They had lovely brass hinges and levers, and I didnt think the antique hardware would look right (ye olde poolhouse?) so I kept them as is.

Genuine ORB finishes will wear off or patina on the high spots when rubbed, there are "ORB" finishes that are more like a permanent brown coating. I did inexpensive ORB for a client that felt and looked like matte brown paint, to me. I am not sure that ORB is going to go away, now. The first time I used it was about 17-18 years ago in a 170 year old house where the original brass was mostly blackened, and modern antique brass finishes were too golden tan looking in comparison. The door Knobs were fairly shiny because they got touched all the time. Most of the stuff I did at that time was a custom order or custom plated. Some of it got pretty light at the high spots, but that is the nature of the true finish. If you don't want that, I think I would go with black. But I think ORB is here to stay for a while just because it actually has developed over more than a decade.

Yes kompy I love it! Thank you! We are pleased with the form and function of our kitchen. I still don't have the pulls up on the lower drawers and cabinets under and next to the range. I ordered the 12" centers for the 38" wide drawers under the range and they are actually admittance pulls so they are not just longer but thicker and bigger profile over all. My mom and husband thinks it's OK for them to be like that because of the mass of the range top right there. I don't know what do you think? The next size down is the 6" and that's too small I think for a38" wide drawer. Don't really want to do 2 pulls on one drawer......

RE: the inspiration white kitchen with ORB pulls, an article says the fridge is one the "other side of the island" ...? "with its oversized, four-stool island, eat-in breakfast niche, petite butlers pantry, and large walk-in pantry" and "Although spacious kitchens are now commonplace, kitchen designer Robin Amorello of Atmoscaper Design was pleasantly surprised when she received the plans for the Laughlin kitchen. "The family can do a lot of living in that kitchen," says Amorello. Still, the space forced her to make a compromise on one of the basic tenets of sound kitchen design�the "work triangle" created between the refrigerator, sink, and stove. "When we realized that the fridge would need to be on the other side of the island," says Amorello, "I broke the space into work stations rather than a work triangle." "