We have a Simplice with our Orca, it's been installed for several months and so far no problems. It is a nice combination, you will love it! We put the handle in front as recommended here and absolutely love that, I highly recommend doing that.

Do you happen to have a photo of the handle in front? I'm having a hard time visualizing this. Also, was your plumber/ contractor skeptical about this? I'm finding sometimes that when I bring my GW ideas to others, I sometimes get push back, even though I usually think they are great ideas.

I do happen to have a pic

I did get a little skepticism, but I knew what I was doing and stood my ground. I knew the spout has to swivel 360 degrees to do this, and I knew the hot and cold lines would probably need to be reversed to stay in the right orientation. And I knew it has been done by multiple people here, so it is in fact possible. So they did it, and it's great.

I did get some pushback on stuff I brought in from GW. The key seems to be doing a ton of research and convincing whoever it is that you know your stuff. The cabinet company was great, but nothing groundbreaking in my design. I essentially brought the design to the table anyway.

I've worked with this GC before, and he knows I do my research. I also ask his advice on things, so we have a two way street. I ended up using flooring and UCL he had never used, so I had all the install instructions and technical support numbers on hand from day one for him. Nothing terribly difficult, just new to him. And I asked him at the final quote time if he really could/wanted to do the install, I was willing to hire in someone if needed.

Do the research and stay in top of things. I had to ask more than once to have the toilet plumbing measured as I knew the placement could be a potential issue with the skirted toilet I wanted. I finally had to have them physically bring in the toilet before they started putting the drywall back up, and sure enough they did have to move the shut off up, which is easy enough when the wall is already open.

Wow, beautiful kitchen! I particularly love the backsplash and granite, but it all looks wonderful.

Thanks! Still haven't done an actual reveal thread, still working on some finishing details. It's Rocky Mountain granite with diamond shape MOP backsplash.

This is exactly the combination I'm coming to: Franke Orca with Kohler Simplice. But the foaming issue gives me pause. Is that an old issue? Is anyone finding this with newly purchased Simplices? Thanks.

We did end up going with the Franke Orca and the Kohler Simplice. No foaming yet, but it has only been a couple of weeks.
By the way, we were able to put the detergent pump on the far left side, instead of the right. There is more room on the right for holes, but I much preferred having the detergent on the left, because that is the section of the sink where more of the washing takes place (we have the upper grid in the right).

Oh that's great to hear! I will also go with the detergent on the left - I'm lucky to have extra space behind the sink because of a window sill at the same level as my countertops. What's over on the right (besides the Simplice)?