I am using polished nickel for my cabinet hardware and possibly for lighting, and chrome for the faucets. I really don't think it will be much of an issue since nothing will be side by side. I think it's more important that things look like they belong together, style and design-wise. Sorry, I don't have pictures to post.

faucets : chrome
Other stuff : nickel

This is good.

I just installed polished nickel light fixture with chrome faucet and knobs. In fact, the polished nickel replaced a chrome fixture and looks much better, because as the OP said, it looks like it fits better with the other pieces. Separated by the mirror, I think I'm the only one who will know, especially since the nickel is so close to the light--it just looks shiny and bright.

I mixed them and I think it looks fine.

Thank you! This was my gut instinct too, but the woman I was working with at a showroom said I absolutely should not mix metals, even for sconces or hardware. I think it adds a little more interest and depth to a room, when everything doesn't match exactly.

Think about it. Chrome and polished nickel are about as close as you could get in look/effect. Is anyone reallllly gonna walk in and stop, aghast, and notice? And think that's just AWFUL! She mixed chrome and polished nickel!

No. Go for it. :)

I'm going with chrome fixtures and polished nickel hardware in baths. I figured they are both shiny and look very similar. On the otherhand, my exposed door hinges might be satin nickel if they don't come in polished. Still waiting to hear back from my cabinet maker. (fingers crossed)

Now what to do about the paper holder and towel bar?

These posts were so helpful. We are building a new home, and for cost reasons, I put chrome in the shower and the faucets, but cannot find any chrome lighting that I love. Now I know, I'll go with the polished nickel for the light fixtures. Thank you.

contemporary, you do realize this post is over 4 years old........

Contemporary, great advice!!

Timely bump. We're about to mix metals. We've selected all chromes fixtures and accessories but now that it's time to pick the shower vent 8"x8" and vent for the enclosed heating pipes 4"x80", there are no chrome options.

Hi Katrina no those types of things do not come in chrome. Just get the "silver" metal for the shower vent or "white." Of course it can be painted to match the wall or ceiling paint. And if your trim paint is more of a white there's a "rhyme and a reason" for getting the white. Not sure what you mean about 4"x80" heating pipes...they show? Unpainted silver metals look clean when unpainted if that's where your look can be otherwise paint to match walls...Can prime with an oil base primer and paint with latex or oil based paint or ask your painter he may have his own way of doing that just right.

Many and most light fixtures, especially bath fixtures, do come in "brushed" nickel. I would say "polished" nickel looks dressier whereas the brushed nickel finish can look more casual and the brushed nickel looks really good with chrome. Stainless steel cabinetry hardware also coordinates well with chrome in kitchens.

I'm running out of time to make decision re finishes for faucets on sinks and shower. If I've understood you correctly, my polished nickel mirrors, lights and towel bars from Pottery Barn (Mercer pattern) will mix well with polished chrome faucets, shower head, etc? I have white, white cupboards coming in and thought of putting polished chrome pulls...or glass. I have brushed nickel faucets home and it doesn't compliment the polished nickel. Your comments would be greatly appreciated...so I can stop driving myself crazy!! Thanks.

I'm also in the process of selecting light fixtures and cabinet hardware to go in my remodeled bathrooms with new polished chrome faucets. The salesperson at the lighting store cautioned me that polished nickel tends to darken in color over time; whereas, the polished chrome will stay the same color. So, something to keep in mind.

In my kitchen, I had installed brushed nickel knobs and pulls; but now I have new cabinetry and I'm thinking about switching to stainless steel cabinet hardware to match the SS appliances and sink faucets. I had wanted to do something other than bar pulls (about the only style of pull that comes in stainless), but now I realize that even the most expensive homes in my area go with bar pulls in the kitchen to match the SS appliances (except for Mediterranean style homes, which often have ORB hardware).

I too am about to mix the chrome faucets with polished nickel vanity lights, and as much as I love mixing metals (chrome and satin nickel) a salesperson also made me pause--thanks for confirming my initial thought. Now the big trend is to mix brass fixtures with the chrome faucets. This is a bit more of a leap for me!

Does anyone have photos of their finished products mixing chrome and polished nickel? I got the PB Kensington medicine cabinets in Chrome but am trying to figure out if that means I should stick with chrome everywhere else... Thanks!

Polished Nickel and polished chrome can be used together. No one will probably be able to tell the difference. Up until I replaced our main kitchen faucet earlier this year, we had a chrome faucet on the main sink and a nickel faucet on the island sink. Maybe 8 feet apart. For over 20 years. Not a worry in the world.

If the lighting is right and you look with a keen eye, chrome can look "colder", it reflects a little bit towards blue. Nickel can look "warmer", it reflects a little bit towards red. But it's nothing noticeable.

We still have a mix of polished nickel and chrome in our master bath. Again, they pretty much look the same.

No worries as far as I'm concerned.

My opinion.

These posts are all so helpful. Anyone see any issue to having chrome fixtures inside the shower (shower heads, shower bar, etc) but then stainless steel on the shower door? The door will be sliding and is frameless so there's minimal metal anyway - mainly just the bar and wheels at the top and the handle, maybe a few other small pieces. In terms of "rhyme or reason" I thought the shower door would maybe be a breaking point in the bathroom where all of the plumbing is chrome but the shower door is a softer stainless steel.

But then I realized my sink faucet is chrome as well. So that threw a very slight wrinkle into my logic.

Any thoughts?

Hi James, All my bathroom faucets are chrome plus shower heads and cabinet pulls and knobs. The bathroom door handles and hinges are stainless. In my kitchen the cabinet hardware is stainless as well as my appliances but I chose a chrome faucet because I wanted some contrast and feel chrome cleans up easier. Best of luck to you.

And the look is fine, I assume? You don't find the different finishes to clash at all?

James, it will be fine to do stainless steel on the shower door and chrome elsewhere! I have mixed those two things forever.

Unfortunately there absolutely can be a visible difference between Polished Chrome and Polished Nickel. For example, I attempted to pair Pottery Barn's Kensington Rectangular Pivot Mirror in Chrome with Hudson Valley's Amherst Sconces in Polished Nickel, and the Chrome looked overwhelmingly blue next to the warmth of the Polished Nickel. The fixtures had to be returned because I couldn't return the mirrors and we'd already selected Chrome everywhere else (faucets, shower panel, shower door hinges and handle, hardware). Now we're a month out from fixture install, if not less, and while I should have other sconces ordered and ARRIVED by now I'm STILL combing the Internet for a Chrome sconce I don't loathe. :( I'm wondering if I could get away with Polished Nickel sconces and Chrome everywhere else if I paired the sconces on the wall with just frameless, floating mirrors, sidelining the Kensingtons for another room (or for resale). I dare to think Polished Nickel sconces could be a singular statement piece if they were just left to themselves, i.e., if I didn't position them on either side of loudly Chrome mirrors. *nail biting*

I agree, I would not put them side by side (I was addressing stainless steel shower door hardware and chrome bath fixtures.) I also had trouble finding chrome light fixtures I liked, but ended up with Rejuvenation, and it works!

Oh my gosh dealing with this right now, please people, post pictures please! LOL. I have all chrome hardware, Kholer Purist faucets plumbing, restoration hardware pulls. Doing a frames mirror inset in white tile, I love the RH scones that only com in Nickel! So all chrome hardware, frameless mirror and two nickel sconces????

My Girlfriends House, I wouldn't put the two finishes that close, that is why I stuck with the Chrome faucet and Chrome sconce--just because I have never seen the result after a couple years to see the polished nickel finish change (living finish). However, have you considered brass or stainless steel? I used wood and brass with my purist faucets.

I don't know that I mind that combination: all chrome and nickel sconces. Maybe do a mock-up? Can you order the sconces and have a chrome back-up plan?

I planned on using all chrome and had installed a chrome shower/tub fixtures. Then I picked scones in antique nickel, so even though I had chrome in the shower, I decided to do polished nickel everywhere else. Well none of the nickel finishes match either, the sconces are "antique" and the faucet is noticeably warmer tone than the cabinet hardware and towel ring.

I'm really happy with the look! But if I did it over, I probably would have just had the sconces in nickel and kept chrome everywhere else. I think my fear of the chrome fixtures mismatching the nickel sconces was unfounded. Chrome would have been cheaper and easier to pick a towel hook, TP holder, etc.

Here's a pic of the vanity area. The chrome isn't in this view, but the mismatched nickels are. I think your choice is a bit riskier but I wouldn't discount the option off hand.

I am not sure about polished nickel with polished chrome, but mixing brushed nickel with polished chrome works fine. The brushed nickel is softer. I have a bathroom with brushed nickel light fixture, vanity pulls and door knob. Just the sink and bath faucets are chrome. It works. I sometimes think all chrome is too much. I am about to do some updating in the bathroom (replacing the old cultured marble with granite as well as the faucet) and will keep the same mix.

We've already purchased our shower fixtures and our faucets in Delta Brilliance Polished nickel. Not installed yet, but they are gorgeous in the box, and I think will complement our natural walnut vanity and our clean, rustic modern vibe. (Demo begins in about two weeks so no pics to share yet). Thinking of a floating frameless beveled mirror, so no competition with finishes there - but what to do about the sconces and the vanity hardware?? I have finally found polished nickel sconces that my husband doesn't hate (!) but I'm not sure if that will be too much "bling". Help!

Unless you put them side to side and know the real difference in hue's, you can not tell the difference.

karri cline, I'm just wondering if you can describe the Delta Polished Nickel finish a bit more? We're also choosing our bathroom hardware/finishes. At this point, everything is chrome except for two sconces in polished nickel from Pottery Barn. When I compare the PB Polished Nickel to the Delta Brilliance Polished Nickel, the two seem way off from one another, but I haven't had the chance to see the Delta in person. Any tips are much appreciated.

Here's another curve ball for all...our finishes in our home are mainly polished nickel and some brass, however in the kitchen, we have SS appliances and likely a SS faucet. Then in bathrooms for faucets/shower heads, we're thinking of sticking with chrome. Door knobs Bronze. Is this crazy??

In my pic above, the faucet is Delta and towel ring is pottery barn. The Delta is much warmer tone. My door knobs are brass too. It's all mismatched, but I don't think it's obvious to guests and I like it that way myself.

The Delta Brilliance polished nickel has a very warm tone - best way I can describe it is that it has more of a yellow cast, as opposed to the Brilliance polished chrome, which has more of a colder, bluer cast. But it's not brassy, either. In person, it's really a gorgeous color. We're going with a warmer, earthy but minimal theme (if that makes sense!) - our choices are a light beige floor tile, limestone-look hex mosaic for shower floor, Berkeley quartz countertops/thresholds, and custom natural walnut vanity. The Brilliance polished nickel really complements our choices. I don't have pics yet as we are just staring this adventure!

I don't think it's necessary to match all your various fixtures and finishes. I actually like it better with a little variation - and besides, who is going to look in both bathrooms and ask why you sued chrome in one and nickel in another?? ha ha.