Thank you all for taking time to post and for your reassurance that the metal finishes can be successfully mixed. Although in those beautiful kitchens, I really think anything would look good! Mine is definitely more 'humble'.... (Shanghaimom - your kitchen is my dream.... I had seen it on another thread and bookmarked it. I just didn't focus on the fact that the pulls were burnished brass - on my monitor, they looked like brushed nickel.) So - let's assume that I do use antique gold-toned hardware in the kitchen. Since we will be painting woodwork and replacing cabinet hardware throughout the house (both bathrooms, hall linen closets, laundry cupboards) does it all need to match the finish of the kitchen hardware? Or could I use a different finish in the bathrooms ie satin nickel or oil-rubbed bronze? We were not planning to replace all of the interior doorknobs (50+ year old brass) when the woodwork is painted - in case that impacts your answers. Thanks again for walking me through this....

I have honed dark granite right now and it stains like crazy esp anything remotely oily. Tried everything to seal it and nothing worked. It was in the house when we bought it and we are now remodeling the kitchen and it it will be gone. Replacing with polished Sea Pearl quartzite if the quote is right (fingers crossed). It's been a process because this kitchen has extremely high end (previous owner installed) cabinets with a high gloss finish in teal blue - gorgeous but challenging and way to expensive to replace. Very sleek and modern. Thanks to the oven forum we chose the Miele Master Chef oven (wanted that rotisserie) and warming drawer and after reading on the Refrigerator Forum we chose the Thermador Freedom Towers for the fridge and freezer. LOL we inquired about getting panels for them to match the cabinets and yikes, the cost was more than the appliances cost. So stainless fronts it is. Everyone here is so helpful - certainly appreciate this site and the forums.

Polished and lacquered brass is bright and shiny only as long as the lacquer coating remains intact. Once it is worn off or damaged the brass will oxidize as brass normally does. It is not considered a robust finish. If the lacquer coating is damaged or worn, the only fix is to strip the lacquer, repolish and recoat. Not usually something you can do at home. I doubt SH give any sort of long-term warranty on this finish. If you want durability you need a PVD brass, which is not actually brass but zirconium or some other non-reactive metal halide that does not tarnish. It looks like shiny brass but acts like chrome, except it is about 20 times harder. Newport Brass/Ginger has a console in PVD brass called "Forever Brass". No idea of the price, but probably more costly than SH.

I am looking at glass warehouse too. There is a pic online… can’t find it at the moment that shows Vigo to have a perfect match, and from what some say, the Glass Warehouse is the same. I am unsure, but I see where you’re thinking is going. The glass warehouse has frameless ones too which are a bump up in looks some might thunk too. Bit of a conundrum for sure. It would be great if someone posted about this if they’ve already taken the leap.