Polished nickel followed by chrome was the standard finish for kitchen and bath for pretty much the entire 20th century.

Brass is the finish on door hardware for most houses for the 19th and 20th centuries with the exception of the stoneware and iron hardware from the 19th and early 20th century. (And in most houses that I've seen with this, there was still brass on the "fancier" rooms)

So in terms of longevity it would be brass, with chrome in the bathrooms. (Neither of which are the 'trendiest' at the moment.)

Light fixtures definitely do NOT have to match.

Its actually pretty easy to change a showerhead.

Thanks Pal, for that. You made me feel better about my brass door hardware in my home. Hopefully, by the timme we sell in a few years, brass will be the trend again!

Dawn, see the post about antique brass, I posted my personal experience with these metal finishes and with this darn iPad I can't copy and paste easily!

Thanks Kswl!

I would think that chrome can always work in kitchens, baths, and door hardware.

This is a great question, and I look forward to reading as more people chime in! We are in the process of remodeling/renovating our 200 year old farmhouse and are going w/ the polished chrome and and polished nickel finishes. I don't think you can go wrong with polished chrome or nickel. It is so classic, classy and when all clean and polished, absolutely beautiful.

I am so sick of seeing oil rubbed bronze finishes that I could scream...I realize that it's the "now" thing, but down the road a bit, I think it will be similar to how avocado appliances date a kitchen to the 70's! Too "now", too trendy, too "everywhere!". I think it is being overused (to the point of being "commonplace" and I don't really like the fact that ORB is manufactured to "appear" old but it really isn't. To me, it's a "wanna be" finish. If I want a rustic style finish on something such as door handles, light fixtures etc....I'll skip the ORB and go for iron.

I have used ORB only in two places, a client's house, and my own.

I used it in the client's house because it is a trend that she likes. I used it in mine, because at the time it was the finish that was closest to 170 year old hardware that had not been cleaned in 100. Now there are a couple of finishes that might be better. I actually had to have some items custom finished in ORB because they weren't making them yet.

There is a world of difference in ORBs, probably the most variation I have seen in any finish. My client's is big box center/builders grade+ hardware, and to me it looks like brownish black paint. Its ok, and she might be the type of person who changes it out in 5 years because she didn't pay a lot for it.

Mine is high end of mid-range hardware, and the ORB finish does what, technically, an ORB finish is supposed to do: it wears off and burnishes itself at the points of use. So the edges of my doorknobs are getting a little lighter, while the hinges are staying dark brown. ORB is supposed to be a "living" finish in its real form, just like antique brass or really raw brass thats not been lacquered is: the knob will stay relatively bright in spots while the rest turns slowly black. So one of the features of ORB is the complaint that people who chose it purely as a trend have about it: it changes, it doesn't stay matching, it wears off.

For what it's worth -- A decorator that I was just speaking to last week said that the finish that is coming back is antique or natural brass that is not lacquered, so that it will age & patina. She likes it because any metal mixes well with it in a room.

Red- I totally agree with what you wrote.
We all ( I ) would like to believe that what we are doing is classic and not being influenced too much by trends but truth is, ya just can't be in a bubble and ya are gonna be influenced by what is around you.

I am so happy to find this thread. I hope someone gets back to me. I am trying to decide what door knob fixtures to get for my front entry door, which is all white in color. Also, I plan on buying new cabinets and will probably decide on a White color or light maple color with dark counters.

All my door knobs in my house currently are antique brass. I have a "Transitional Style" home in furniture...

If I choose to get a Satin Nickel Door Knob for the Exterior Entry Door, will this clash with my existing hardware? I am stuck between Antique Brass, Antique Bronze and Satin Nickel.

I am looking for a classic neutral finish that will blend with anything.

Thank you so much!

Susan, since you have antique brass in the house, & want to have the entry door hardware coordinate with the interior, you probably would want to select the Antique Brass or Antique Bronze, as they have a gold tone that will be similar to your existing hardware.

To me, the Satin Nickel is silver-toned & very 21st century.