What's funny is that I can't even remember the finishes that friends and family have in their kitchens and bathrooms. I don't think that people remember or notice that stuff, unless they're in the process of choosing their hardware/fixtures or they're the kind of people who notice those design details. I went through the same thing: Mix or match. Except for the bathroom doorknob, I went with all chrome (light fixture, faucets, shower curtain rod, etc.). I love chrome! The only thing that isn't chrome are the vanity knobs and pulls, as I chose to go with vintage-style glass that has a center part that is nickel (nickel is not that large, so not too noticeable). I do love the look of mixed finishes, too, but I felt I would be most happy with chrome. Whatever you choose, choose it because you love it for yourself, not to please the designing world. You have to live with it. So unless you are re-selling your home very soon so that you are designing to make it pleasing to buyers (and you can't please everyone's tastes), choose what makes you happy and enjoy! You can always change things later if you get tired of them. This post was edited by grass-cat on Thu, Jan 22, 15 at 9:48

My advice is to go for it, Kathy! We didn't get the brass faucet (my husband didn't like the bridge style and besides, they were way too pricey for us....) We went with "champagne bronze" which works, but honestly, I don't love it. My hope was that it would echo the brushed gold cabinet pulls. It sort of does, but a brighter color would have been better. We haven't installed the pot filler yet (still waiting on that GE Cafe range; ugh), but my husband chose copper and now I'm worried since it doesn't match the faucet. We could have gone with copper on the faucet (the fake kind) since it stays shiny and the sink has the patina, and so would match the hardware on the appliances. I may end up changing out that sink faucet. (It may be too many metals; although we don't have stainless in there, so that helps.) Either way, they all look good with the Cambria Britannica gold, and the SW pure white cabinets as well as the green cabinets. I still haven't chosen a backsplash, believe it or not.... (please ignore the cereal and junk; just visited IKEA and the grocery store!)

I would get a sample of each -- photos can be really misleading when it comes to these small differences. In the pics above, the top one looks golden while the bottom one looks pink, but my experience is that champagne often looks somewhere between nickel and brass, while gold looks more like a traditional brass but brushed. I'm sure that seeing them in person would help you decide! If you're doing a gold metal in a mix with nickel, I'd want to be sure that the contrast was clear.

In 2002 I really wanted copper appliances Just how much do you want these? Is it worth a lot of money to you? Copper isn't exactly cheap. But the good news is that it is easy to work with. And most appliances are pretty straight-forward to disassemble. If you are sufficiently determined, you can take apart the front panel of your appliance and have a local metal fabricator replicate it out of copper. In some cases, you can also buy panel-ready appliances that would make this whole exercise a little easier. And in rare instances, you might be able to convince the appliance manufacturer to sell you a copper panel. I believe Bluestar has (or had) a "precious metal" series. I am not sure if it was available for all of their models. But I have seen that they can make copper oven doors. They look gorgeous. And of course, copper sinks are thing. Just head over to Dino Rachiele's website. So yes, if this is your highest priority wish-list item, then it absolutely is something that can be customized. As with most non-standard design choices though, it'll cost you. If you do go this route, you owe us pictures! :-)