I think the chances of you ripping out your tile are really slim unless it was a bad installation. Less expensive tile may be more difficult to install if it is uneven and not flat but not ALL less expensive tile has those problems. You might hear some talk about how the glazes are thinner on less expensive tile or something like that but honestly I have never seen even the cheapest white 4x4 look bad. If there are water issues (ie problem with installation) then the tile might fall off the wall or something, and of course grout seems to get grungy over time, but I've never seen a problem with the actual tile itself. With that in mind I had no problem going with extremely inexpensive tile from the big box stores. My home depot has a kohler display that has finish samples of their various finishes, including polished nickel. It's not a full faucet, just metal "buttons" to show the different finishes, but maybe yours has this thing too so you can at least see what it looks like. I think you would find that around here the opinion of delta and moen are quite different - they are not the best and in fact if you buy them at the big box stores they may be among the worst (moen in particular I have read has two lines of faucets - one for big box and one for other stores). If you find a faucet you love, post to ask about the brand here and people will tell you what they know.

I am happy to say I have excellent taste :oP I just didn't answer much yesterday because it was "cast off day" and I was in a bit of pain. But today I'm happy to answer...so...I actually like both finishes. I find chrome or polished nickle to be easier to maintain, especially on often washed fixtures, so in our son's bathroom (the one with silver fixtures) I used polished nickle for the toilet, faucets, shower head and lighting, and then did the fittings (towel bars, hooks, knobs) in brushed nickle. I've done the same in the kitchen with chrome on the faucets, and pot filler, and then stainless for the sinks and the counter top as well as pewter on the light fixtures and the knobs. I find the mix if done well to be better than one same surface used throughout a room or house. You just have to keep "like items" the same (ie in ds's bath...things that have water flowing through them have shiney silver and things that don't...have brushed). Chrome and polished nickle are both typically cheaper than brushed as well, which is a nice little bonus :) I didn't do any of the rooms as budget rooms, but that was a bit of a nice suprise. I think that in a few years, brushed nickle is going to be the brushed gold of the 70's and the bright gold of the 80's. Mixing finishes allows the room to feel designed without a specific era to focus on.

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

Hi Jan Moyer 4 years later! I have everything polished nickel because you are so right- other finishes don’t seem to work with it. (I do have frames for my paintings but they bring out the best in the painting so I’m not including that in my polished nickel everything else.) Now I’m looking for soap dispensers and I’m having a hard time as the pumps are chrome, brass, black or ORB. Any suggestions? Am I being too picky? Ty!!