Congratulations on your impending build! I was lost with this at first, but I contend that all the fixtures, knobs, pulls do NOT need to match. I wouldn't encourage willy nilly throwing things together, but I think that you can transition from one finish to another between rooms or even between fixtures in the same room. I snapped a few pictures where you can see different finishes used and decide for yourself whether the blend bothers you. It is simply a matter of personal preference.

In this picture, you can see ORB light fixtures, our chrome faucet, SS sink and the SS fridge in the background.

In this picture, you will notice the SS range and hood mixed with the antique brass knobs and pulls.

In our bathrooms, we installed split sets to transition from the antique brass knobs we used in the rest of the house to the chrome we used in the bathrooms. This was often done in older homes and I liked the idea.

In this picture in our bathroom, you can see the chrome plumbing fixtures and the brushed nickel light fixtures.

Finally, in our powder room, we have a real mix. The light fixture and mirror are ORB, the door knob is antique brass and the plumbing fixtures (and towel racks, not pictured) are chrome.

Hope that is a little helpful. I would suggest looking through magazines, finding pictures you like and then zeroing in on the fixture finishes.

Your home is beautiful. Thank you for posting the pictures. I think your "combinations" are wonderful. It definitely eases my mind and will save me a lot of time. Trying to come up with 100% matching seems like it would be a very time consuming process!!

Anytime someone tells me their opinion of style is "correct" (which implies that he who dares to do differently is wrong), I get really leery of having to deal with them. Decorating styles are -for the most part- simply longer-lasting fads, and have nothing to do with quality. "Correct" is totally in the eye of the beholder, and it's quite okay if your eyes see differently.

You'll notice that although Jaymielo's styles and finishes vary room by room, nothing clashes and nothing is mismatched (although imo that last bath is pushing the envelope because **my** preference is always for matching metals within each room).

The hint is very good... spend some time picking pics you like, and then study the details to see which finishes/ styles are repeated -- you'll probably find a preference appearing -- and bleep to any uptight decorator, 'cuz it's going to be your house and you should be comfortable.

I love the idea of split knobs on the doors! I would have never thought of that - thanks jaymeilo!

kellys2boys: I'll ditto the other posts. You won't go wrong when you find things you love. Glad to hear you will be building soon!

I also love the split knobs...I didn't even know you could do that! I have a lot of research to do.

Thank you all for you input. When we built our first house (13 years ago), we were in our early 20s and many of the decisions were based on what had the best price. If we saw a good price on a fixture, we bought it and figured we would "make it work." While I'm still on a budget, I'd like to take a little more time when choosing my items.

Congrats on moving up the build date!

That "decorator" should be strung up. LOL Isn't the whole purpose of building a home to get results that suit YOUR tastes? I much prefer walking into a home that has varied finishes & textures. They're much more interesting. IMHO it's too sterile and cookie cutter looking if all of the finishes match.

I think your choice of iron & SS in the kitchen will be great. They work beautifully together.

I like to keep the finishes similar in common areas, but love different things for private rooms (beds & baths). We're using wrought iron, SS and ORB in the main areas of the house, but chrome & BN in the baths. We'll be splitting the door levers like Jaymie, so that the finishes match each room.

I had hoped to match finishes within each room but that did not happen because I didn't write down what finishes I had ordered between the plumber and the lighting outfit - rookie mistake. It bothers me a little bit in the bathrooms.

However, as you see in jaymielo's photos, this can be beautiful. I think the trick is, as meldy_nva said, "nothing clashes and nothing is mismatched." Also, each fixture is beautiful in its own right. (I happen to love, love, love jaymielo's style).

I think if each fixture is of quality and beauty (in the eyes of the beholder), it can work.

Good luck and have fun with it!

I'm surprised that a decorator would recommend the matchy-matchy look. That is something that you generally see in a spec home b/c it is easier to sell when there hasn't been much personalization. Homes that mix finishes end up more beautiful because of it.

My house is rustic so I went with, what I think, are finishes in the same family: copper, ORB, distressed pewter. Some rooms I have a combination of finishes like my master bath. It has distressed pewter faucets & accessories, copper light fixtures and ORB door knobs.

I concur, that decorator has very boring taste. What's the point of building a home yourself if it's going to look like everyone else's.

I have a mixture of fixtures and finishes. I am consistent on all the inside door knobs. They are crystal with nickle backs. I also have hinges to match.

The kitchen has ORB, almost black, hanging pendants, stainless sink and appliances. The door knobs on the white cabinets (the perimeter) will be ORB. The knobs on the dark finished island will be crystal with nickle back. The doors to the pantry and laundry that open to the kitchen have the same crytal and nickle knobs as the other interior doors. The faucets in the guest bath are ORB, but again, the closet and main door have the knickle with crystal knobs.

Get the idea? No way does it have to match match. That is very boring.

What about the hinges on the door? I have ordered doors with ORB/black hinges and I thought the same for the knobs/levers, but now I realize that my faucets are all shiny chrome. Our light fixtures are shiny chrome or polished nickel. Help. I am planning on using black/orb for the ktichen pulls. Any thoughts out there would sure be appreciated.

Gardenmax ~~ Close your eyes and --without peeking-- think of three bathrooms or kitchens you have recently been in.... a) do you remember ANY of the knobs/hinges/fixtures metals and b) did you actually notice whether or not the different components matched???

I'm not being sarcastic; the truth is simply that unless there is a glaring mismatch [which usually must be pointed out], people who are not decorators or making selections for a new build actually don't pay much attention to the details! Hard to believe, isn't it?

The safest [that means the least likely to offend any self-styled decorators] choice is to have all metal components throughout the build of the same or very similar color AND style. You can flex by keeping within the color range of gold tones (gold/brass/copper) or silver tones (SS/chrome/nickel/light iron). Crystal, glass and dark/black wrought irons are considered neutral and usable with almost anything as long as the basic style is compatible.

In previous posts, you may have noticed that most people are most comfortable when the metals WITHIN a room match. And that it is perfectly acceptable to have different doorknobs on either side of the door. Beyond that, it's a case of what YOU like. If it makes you uncomfortable to mix nickel and stainless steel then don't do it. But if you are trying to please the unknown [often called future buyer or a decorator or just 'they'], then relax because only you can know for sure what pleases you and it's a waste of your energy to try to guess what will please anyone else.