We have polished chrome hardware on our cream bathroom cabinets (knobs though, not pulls) and I've never seen a fingerprint. The knobs are at least 10 years old and they still look perfectly new and shiny. I'm planning to use the same finish on our off white kitchen cabinets too!

Thanks!

No regrets! But mine are all old and soon to be replaced.

We got polished chrome hardware from Restoration Hardware 13 years ago when we installed our Ikea kitchen. No regrets.

For a slightly different look we selected polished nickel for the new kitchen (to be installed in the next month or so). But we were very happy with the polished chrome. Our pulls and knobs look as new as the day they were installed. We will re purpose them elsewhere.

hi there - we have shiny chrome cup pulls and they can definitely show fingerprints on occasion. Mine are pretty chunky so there is a lot of real estate for smudge but I love them and would not do anything different. About every two weeks I take a windex wipe and run over the top of them (I might do the flatware drawer more often). Like many things (dark wood floors etc) they might involve a little bit of extra work for cleaning, but for me it is worth it! HTH :)

We have polished chrome 5-inch pulls installed for 3 months now. They're good.

Buttery or sticky fingers do leave marks.

They go with polished chrome pendant lights which do not show problems at all.

Never!

So when they're dirty it shows more than it would on black hardware. Fingerprints of the regular variety don't show on mine, and it's been tested by a toddler trying to fix his inverted image. Mine are pretty big for knobs I guess. Shiny. And faucets really are supposed to be chrome (although I've had 1920s polished nickel--it looked a little tired after 80+ years of use).

Anyway chrome is reflective so blotches aren't even that obvious. This one is oily because my cooking oils are in it:

Nickel is a "living finish," which is marketing speak for "dying finish," or, maybe, "finish that makes you want to be living elsewhere."

ORB can--not always, but sometimes--rub off.

Chrome can get finger prints on it, but not in it. The material itself stays pretty virginal for a long time.

Marcolo, could you explain the "living" finish for me a little? I've got a whole houseful of nickel hardware picked out,,,just this close to settling the order. A mistake?

Real nickel isn't chemically inert like chrome. Think silver (tarnishes) vs gold (doesn't). Not that nickel is anywhere near as bad as silver, but it does react with the world a little bit. It's not as hard as chrome either--my nickel faucets (hot and cold) were still pretty shiny and nickely, but had dings.

I wonder how many of these new nickel finishes are actually nickel and not nickel-colored something else.

bump...hoping marcolo sees this again...

I have polished nickel (Restoration Hardware which is made for them by Newport Brass) in the powder room and one of the main bathrooms. It has seemed to get a little darker/burnished where you touch the faucet handles. I'm not totally happy with it. The medicine chest also seems to show darker marks from being touched and they are somewhat resistant to coming off. I'm the only one in this bathroom (DH treats it like my private sanctuary and only uses the other "His" bathroom) and I'm very careful and constantly wiping and cleaning. As a result of this experience, decided to get chrome for the kitchen sink.

sayde, Try writing RH a email/letter with pics. They might stand behind the product and replace for you.

I love polished chrome and that's what I have for my kitchen. It matches the stainles---oh wait, the stainless appliances are not real shiny anymore, lol. The current crop of stainless appliances have anti smudge/fingerprint finishes. Anyway, I love chrome. To me, it's real, not a 21st century design fad.

I do have polished nickel in my master bed, ceiling high drawers and cupboards. Hasn't changed so it's probably a fake.

Thanks everyone...pulled the trigger and ordered the polished hardware! Thanks for responding.

I know this post is over a decade old, but if you see this - would love to hear if you were happy with your decision to go the polished chrome route. Currently considering for the kitchen in our new house build.

We put polished chrome in our kitchen and bathrooms. They are timeless and so easy to clean. Very happy with the decision. Our house is now 3 years old.