It better not become passe'! :o)

Love ORB hardware, but not crazy about the faucets. Then again I was never crazy about the gold ones either. For me it's chrome or stainless.

I agree that ORB hardware and fixtures have been uber popular for the past decade. It stands to reason that they will at some point be less popular as other materials become trendy (I am seeing more and more brass lately for example.) But classic is classic. If ORB works with your kitchen and home, it will always look great in it.

I'm with Natal. The trendy faucets are what look outdated later on. I'd do ORB for hardware and lighting without worru, if it went with my house. If I were worried about the kitchen becoming outdated, I'd stay with chrome, nickel or stainless for the faucet. Those finishes are durable in function as well and usually more reasonably priced.

ORB, antique bronze, Tuscan bronze, antique brass, etc., etc., etc. They're all dark, matte finishes and have always been around and will continue to be around.

As GreenDesigns mentioned, they may go through a seen too much of it ick phase after the trend dies down, like brass did, and like chrome did before that, but that doesn't mean that it'll look bad. It won't be avocado green which wasn't on the finishes spectrum before the designers put it out there, and wasn't after they moved on.

Being blunt here: It is stupid to do up a kitchen as a fashion statement when fashions come and go, and kitchens stay and stay. A kitchen should be investment dressing. That may include certain fashionable elements that you include because you love them, or that's what's most available because it's in, but so long as the item is designed well, it'll stand the test of time.

Sometimes a trend in fashion will be so overdone that it becomes unbearable to look at afterwards, but that's more the avocado thing than any normal metal finish. In fashion, if you're old enough, think what happened to soutache and houndstooth. Two lovely, timeworn elements that got so overplayed as to become disgusting. Think '80's mauve carpet. But shag carpet in general is back--in a restrained way, and so is black furniture, and chrome and glass.

There's no way a dark neutral hardware finish is going to go in that pile, no matter where the trends go.

agree also with the posters above; i'm not crazy about ORB for faucets but love nickel, chrome or stainless. my door and window hardware is ORB. i don't really care if goes "out" of style though, since it works in my home. i think there's too much emphasis about whether somethng is in or out. i wouldn't slap the latest pair of louboutin's on my grandmother just because they are the latest and greatest. kwim?

I also agree with other posters... however, durability - especially in a kitchen is so important. We used ORB in the master bathroom and IMHO it's high maintenance plus the "wear" in terms of the finish changing color is noticeable especially the sink faucet. This is one reason I'm going with chrome in our kitchen remodel.

Not concerned about trendiness if it looks good in your house. But you have to love it enough to put up with the extra care. Each person has different loves and must-haves. I got chrome in the kitchen, but also got marble counters -- willing to go the extra mile there. Do you love the ORB enough?

There will always be places where it is appropriate, and there are places where it got used because it was trendy and in those places it may look passe at some point. I don't think the dark ORB is an old enough finish to be considered classic --not yet. When I was doing a project about 15 years ago, I had to have a number of things custom plated and patinated because they were not available in ORB. But, I think it is a finish that will stay around as an option.

I don't think it makes any difference if a given faucet finish becomes ''ick yuck'' to you or to anyone else - not even if resale is top of mind.

Why? Because a faucet costs $300-$1500 and can be changed out in an hour. So even if ORB became the finish equivalent of a vile racial slur (which I can't see happening), so what - it is a reasonably minor fix.

It's not like if, oh, say ''white, shaker, marble'' becomes the new avocado (which I'm not predicting, so there's no need to rise to its defense) - that would be a major fix.

I mean, even if every pull and hinge and faucet in the kitchen were ORB, it might cost $2-4K to rip and replace it all, using average cost stuff. 10 years from now. Hard to lose sleep.

Thanks for all of your help, folks. ORB absolutely goes in my house - it's an 1880 farmhouse. Your wise words have helped me - I tend to overthink. I also did not realize that orb was used prior to the past 15 years or so. Have a great holiday, everyone!

I don't think it makes any difference if a given faucet finish becomes ''ick yuck'' to you or to anyone else - not even if resale is top of mind.

Why? Because a faucet costs $300-$1500 and can be changed out in an hour. So even if ORB became the finish equivalent of a vile racial slur (which I can't see happening), so what - it is a reasonably minor fix.

It's not like if, oh, say ''white, shaker, marble'' becomes the new avocado (which I'm not predicting, so there's no need to rise to its defense) - that would be a major fix.

I mean, even if every pull and hinge and faucet in the kitchen were ORB, it might cost $2-4K to rip and replace it all, using average cost stuff. 10 years from now. Hard to lose sleep.

I do not know why my post was reposted. I am pretty sure that in the three hours between duplicate postings, ORB did not become passe. The mysteries of GW forum software.

There are several kinds of ORB finishes. The high maintenance one that some have mentioned is a "living finish" where the dark oiled part is meant to wear and reveal shiny brass where it gets rubbed in use. There is also ORB with a permanent finish that is made to look like it has wear but it won't actually wear in use - the Amerock bin pulls that I have in a printer stand in my office are like that. And there is ORB that is a flat brown permanent finish. The latter two don't wear. On a faucet, like any dark finish, one might have problems with them showing water spotting calcium deposits. For hardware and lighting, the permanent finishes are no worse to maintain than the usual other finishes.

We used matte brown permanent finish ORB handles and bin pulls because the matte brown went well with our cabinets and granite and we used it for dining room and hall light fixtures because we like that more than something shiny.
I don't expect either of those to change.

ORB was passe yesterday. But do it if you like it. It's something you can easily change.

You also asked about Danze. I have a really pretty brushed nickel Danze faucet in my main bathroom, I think 3 years old. Within a few months of install, I noticed the "clear coat" started to come off in very small areas. It now has a few small uneven patches on the top of the spout where the finish is off. They look like where your skin peels after a sunburn. I should have gone screaming back to the bath place (McKenna's if you're in Rochester), but I was in denial that it was happening, and I'd had it happen with cheap brushed nickel things from BB&B, so I thought, oh well, brushed nickel, my mistake. Anyway, when I went to a different plumbing supply place to choose a faucet this time, the sales girl actually dissuaded me from Danze before I said anything. She said she wasn't happy with them, but didn't specify why. She wasn't steering me to something more expensive, because she was fine with Delta or Moen.

Many people use Danze, and I'm sure that they must be happy, and Danze makes really lovely faucets, but this is what happened to me. It's part of why I'm not making any decision without asking here first.

You can try asking about Danze over on the plumbing forum. If there are any real problems, they would know.

Thanks, Ginny20, for your input on Danze quaity. I will, indeed, ask for advice on the plumbing thread regarding this brand. I would hope it would be good, as the prices seem somewhat higher than some other brands!

I would weigh in that the style of the faucet is a bigger factor than the finish, imho.

I think that if you select a style of faucet true to your farmhouse, the finish will be irrelevant.

I would bet there will be a lot of those gooseneck pullouts with the lever on the side at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in the next few years as people move on from them.....

I agree with Badgergrrl. My sink is copper, and in my opinion, an ORB faucet that has coppery highlights looks best with it. Because of that, I selected pulls, knobs, and handles with the same finish.

We've had Danze sink faucets in the new bath since 2008. No problems and the chrome finish is easy to maintain.

Yes.

When every builder but one in the latest local home parade used it, DH and I knew ORB will look dated soon, very soon. It reminded us of a few years ago when every kitchen in the parade was Tuscan.

Earth tone and grey glass mosaic tile, which we saw in practically every kitchen backsplash and master bath, is probably also over.

Funny how white and flat painted kitchens are popular here at GW but we have never seen one at one of these shows. Maybe the look is too classic for builders?

When choosing my hardware I modeled it after the hardware on the original kitchen cabinets, which are now in the basement. They are cast iron, but certain ORBs look very close. It was the best choice for an authentic "match" but also have a large variety to chose from. Plus I don't care about whats in or out. I like what i like.

I think the answer to this question is definitely regional in the short term. Our Parade of Homes didn't showcase all ORB kitchens. There were a couple. (There were also a couple tuscan/ceramic, eclectic/anthropologie-looking, several modern/stainless steel looks, etc. It all varied.) In some parts of the country, brass is popular, apparently? Brass is still "out" here and that doesn't appear to be changing any time soon.

In the long term, I think it just depends on the style of your home/decor. Like joyjoyjoy, I view ORB as closest to the antique cast iron look. To me, ORB will always fit in a vintage kitchen or old home. It doesn't matter about the trend.

The oil rubbed finishes are modern adaptations of traditional arts & crafts period hardware and fixtures. Arts & Crafts and mission styles come and go, but like other period looks, they never leave entirely. There will always be a place for it and there will always be some folks who like it.

Hardware? Nah, it'll always be okay. The faucets? They're pushing it already.

To start with, nobody in the "old days" of vintage kitchens would put in a grubby looking faucet. But more than that, it doesn't make SENSE in a faucet.

Bronze in an aged finish (like the oil rubbed look) only makes sense on something that could actually BE BRONZE, like hardware and light fixtures.

I also think white faucets look bad.

(Yes, there are exceptions and white and ORB faucets can look nice in the right setting. But they never look RIGHT. They are always fake.)

I thought faucets are at times made of bronze?

I don't think anyone is suggesting our ancestors installed "grubby looking faucets" in their time. However, those faucets do age/darken with time, even if they are nickel plated. If you are trying to recreate an older look in your kitchen, it doesn't make sense to me to put something shiny and new looking. I wanted a new, functional faucet with an aged look (so...all those faucets labeled with "antiqued" finishes seemed right to me.)

An aged bronze faucet knob circa 1890:

lolauren -- that is such a cool antique bronze knob. Not in the least appropriate for our MCM home but I covet it anyway....

Thanks for the pic.