Kind of surprised that brushed nickel isn't one of the main options....

I agree, there is no one size fits all. Sometimes I might even want to mix them up depending on how and where they are being used. So much more exciting and fun to put something unexpected in any room rather than the same old same old.

We went with brushed nickel for our newly built guesthouse...for the fixtures and the interior doors/knobs. I just like the clean, soft, modern look. We are using oil rubbed bronze outside for knobs, lights, etc. I have lived in a world of shiny, yellow brass for so long, I guess I was ready for a change.

Brushed nickel - classic and resists fingerprints.

Give me polished nickel any day!

I honestly don't have a favorite, it depends on the room and the quality of the product present...

I love my fixtures sparkly......I have never wavered from polished chrome. Oil-rubbed bronze is beautiful and has a rich, expensive look to it, but is too heavy for me to live with on a day-to-day basis in my own home (although I LOVE to see it in other people's homes).

Polished nickel or unlacquered brass. Satin nothing, ever!

I like stainless steel because it's easier to maintain. Currently, I opted to have all moen spot resist brushed nickel fixtures in my home. To me this material is an alternative to stainless steel and it doesn't get the spots that chrome fixtures tend to get. The picture attached is the moen spot resist brushed nickel I have in my bathrooms.

If you live in a house long enough you'll change things several times. In the 70's I was mad about shiny brass, so every renovation project had a little brass added. I loved the look, but tired of it after 20 years. Next was brushed nickel followed by antique bronze. If I'd stayed in that house longer I would have changed to shiny chrome. It looks like jewelry in the bath. Love the bling thing. Good thing I sold that house.
First thing We did in our new (to me) house was change every faucet to brushed nickel. Such a relief from those builder grade faucets with the acrylic knobs. My nice Delta faucets work perfectly and blend nicely with the other hardware throughout the house (drawer pulls, door levers, locks, etc.) maybe when I redo the shower, I'll do something really different as I'm the only one who'll notice. I'll keep checking Houzz for the new best look.

We use chrome fixtures, knobs and pulls. It adds a shine to the bath or kitchen that's hard to beat. I add one burnished brass accent for contrast and a bit of surprise. A crock or bowl in the kitchen, a vase or orchid pot in the bath. If you love it, it works!

Brushed nickel! We even did our door handles and roses in bushed nickel.

I like the brushed "oil rubbed bronze" right now....

All depends, like a lot of people have said. I like all of them in some situations. Have shiny chrome in bath where I want clean and sparkly, and antique almost black rubbed bronze on doors where i want rustic. Chrome came in the kitchen but i don't like it there, will replace eventually. I really like satin antique brass, kind of a mix of cool and warm in its subtle shimmer, like a harvest moon, but less options available in this finish. Why not have a bit of it all? Who says all metal in a house needs to match?

Brushed nickel. It's transitional enough to blend with other finishes. It also has a warmer/softer look.

The brushed brushed nickel faucets in our master bath still look great after 12 years and are easy to clean. All the metal elements (towel bars, knobs and pulls, etc.) in that room have a brushed or matte look. I love the look of the oil rubbed bronze faucet in our powder room but keeping it free of hard water mineral accumulations around the lip of the faucet is difficult without damaging the finish, so I'm replacing it with brushed nickel later this year. The current shiny chrome kitchen faucet will also be replaced, but with stainless. I don't care for shiny finishes in general - even my jewelry tends to be matte or satin, stones rather than gems, etc. so the "jewelry" of my house tends to be the same. It's all a matter of personal preference and style.

Oil rubbed bronze, no question. Can't help feeling that chrome looks cheap, and I hate having to continually polish chrome. The ORB has nice warm tones, and always looks clean

bathroom - porcelain, kitchen - ss

What is the easiest to keep water spots off? They drive me crazy and even form after cleaning on my cheap stainless unless I dry them each time.

I have the same Moen fixtures as Pretty82 and I love them!

Moen and Delta from Home Depot are less expensive. Invest in good quality fixtures, pay a little more and they will last much longer.

I voted chrome but to me it really depends on the house. Brass for a more traditional house, oiled rubbed bronze for cottage or rustic, chrome for modern look, etc

Satin nickel seems less harsh than traditional Chrome, imo. Not a big fan of bronze personally..

I just chose a polished nickel faucet for our kitchen and I absolutely love it!

Our city water was switched to a source that is very high with silica and the Moen Spot Resist brushed nickel faucets are the only ones that look nice and not covered with horrible spots. Chrome in the shower looks like it's suffering from horrific disease!

@kath245 I discovered stainless steel cleaners leave a bit of a protective finish on my faucets so they stay nicer looking longer. Weiman wipes are easy to use, may need a little buffing off.

Depends on the style of the house. Mostly, I feel that chrome is the safest bet for longevity. It may not always be "in" but it is seldom really "out."

When polished brass is offered without a protective finish, it tarnishes naturally with a beautiful patina. You can either accept the change or polish it to bright finish. Along came the awful polished era of the 1990's with lacquered clear finish atop the brass. When the clear finish was compromised, the brass finish beneath deteriorated resulting in discolored and pitted finish which could not be polished.

Interestingly, the current oil rubbed bronze finish trend is another reaction to the American consumer wanting a consistent finish as factory created coatings attempt a version of the real thing. True oil rubbed bronze is a "living" finish which means it changes over time with wear.

I'd like to see an embracement of understanding of living finishes such as copper, brass and bronze and less of the ubiquitous factory manufactured spray painted look offered today.

To answer poll, polished chrome and polished nickel are my choices.

Think it depends on the style of the home and the decorating within. We are modern here and I love the sparkle and shine of chrome even if I do have to polish off the spots w/ the microfiber rag. It looks clean and it is clean.

Now I would like to know stats on the oversized sink thanks!

Chrome all the way!

Brushed nickel or matte colored - i hate shiny

i like evolving metals. i like copper gutters and copper roofs.... and i LOVE copper fixtures and copper sinks. untreated! i also LOVE real brass fixtures. not the 1960-80 fake looking shiny thin lacquered kind, but the untreated that you can shine up and have darkened edges and have those deep dark crevices.

I don't like my chrome kitchen faucet (similar to the bath ones in the first picture); impossible to use it even slightly, without there being water spots that need to be buffed off. Ridiculous.

It depends what feel i want for each bathroom, I designed my 7 bathrooms and not one is the same, i tend to go for the bronze rubbed, brushed nickle and brushed antique gold

Brushed nickel is a favorite in our kitchen right now. Hasn't been too hard to keep clean.

Just built our retirement home this year and used 3 different metals. Polished chrome for all baths and kitchen sink. It looks so sparkly clean if you take care of it. I've used brushed nickel on all interior doors and cabinets and pull knobs as well as light fixtures and the metals used in the ceiling fans. Lastly, oil rubbed bronze on all exterior door knobs and light fixtures, mailbox, etc. our builder's assistant told us in Florida near the coastal wasters the oil rubbed bronze was going to hold up better and look nicer longer than anything else with the saltier air. I'm very pleased with these choices and love the way it's turned out. I enjoy seeing other's choices that they have made as well. Choices, choices and more choices..! It all makes us who we are as individuals.

Brushed Stainless or Nickel are my FAVORITES. if you're working with existing chrome, Chrome is my second favorite. If you're working with existing brass. I recommend replacing all with either Chrome or Brushed Stainless or Nickel. FYI - The "brushed" options are typically 25% more in price. Happy Decorating! CH

I have both polished nickel & chrome plated brass in my bath. I had to mix original & replacement fixtures. Finding the same finishes from the 20's on a budget was pretty tough!

Industrial Lab quality Stainless. Don't care what it looks like just want it to work forever. Often these fixtures can be picked up extremely cheap from tear downs. Kitchen counters and 4.5' sink from same place.

Wow I'm surprised that oil rubbed bronze is in the top 3. Very interesting - I feel like the stainless steel is not as much of the "craze" as it used to be back in the day.

update-we just finished our renovation, and did use all chrome fixtures. We knew we had hard water, (our first experience living in an area with hard water) but didn't realize what it meant for all that shiny chrome. Lots and lots of water spots and marks. We use cheap washcloths to polish the fixtures in the shower and at the sinks after every use. Small sacrifice for such pretty sparkly fixtures!

I'm redoing our bathroom with mostly polished nickel, but some brushed where I couldn't find the fittings in polished. The stuff hasn't been installed yet, so we'll see how combining brushed and polished looks, but I think it's going to be ok.

Absolutely love polished nickel. It's elegant, warm and classic, but also hard to find! Currently looking for a single hole faucet and shower bar/hand held - also need ADA grab bars. Any suggestions? Like square styles, having a tough time finding the classic polished nickel in a contemporary style.

Polished nickel. I love that it's bright and shiny, and warm and deep all at the same time.

You can never go wrong with chrome.

All finishes are here stay except for rose gold. DO NOT and I repeat DO NOT be afraid to mix finsihes! I struggle with clients all the time because they think everyhing has to match. PLEASE don't go back to the days of Waveryly ! Live a little. Spread the warmth of gold, polished nickle and black. However: YOU can't mix polished nicket with Chrome. One is warm and one is COLD!

For that bathroom I would go with Chrome. Good looking faucets and they will be set off more if the lights are in the same finish I think.

Brushed/Satin Nickel fan!

Polished Nickel a classic look