Several of the designers we work with are using what some call a "brushed" brass finish in their high end designs. We just redid our small guest bath and I went with chrome. I think it's a timeless classic look.

No matter what's currently trending will be "dated" sooner than you think! Look at color schemes! What's "in" this year, won't be next. Best to stick with classics and forget trends.

Everyone was doing white cabinets with marble in kitchens and baths with polished nickel or chrome fixtures. Gray paint on walls. Then to be different, gray cabinets started showing up. Now to be different still, soft brass is showing up. It seems to be all about trying not to have what everyone else has.

Chrome is the easiest to take care of. I'd stick with that.

Another bonus about chrome - it all matches. There is so much variation in brass, oiled "bronze", nickel - that you pretty much have to use fixtures by the same company or see them in person. I am simultaneously renovating two baths - one with chrome, one with brass, and the brass one has definitely been more of a headache.

I agree with the others on chrome. We're currently building a house and have decided to go with chrome fixtures. We didn't want to go with al the same brand and it can be hard to match finishes. We're going with matte black door hardware, which will go with anything.

Thank you all! I am using some matte black too, so I feel more direction from your comments!

I am currently remodeling a bathroom - I was also told this brushed brass was the latest thing.

I went with chrome. I think it is beautiful, timeless and like others said if you need to replace in the future it will match.

I really hate anything brass looking no matter how trendy it may be now...

I think brass will go out of style when greige goes away.
But use what you like. We are using stainless in the kitchen, brass in a gold bathroom, and oil rubbed bronze in the tudoresque master suite!

I love brass. Polished brass. Brushed brass. Living brass. That said, on my upcoming master bath reno, I fell in love with Cambria Montgomery quartz, which has sparks of ice and silver in it. (Photos don't do it justice.) so I decided on chrome, which I love. But when I got to the plumbing showroom, the manager plopped down a chrome faucet along with another in polished nickel, and the nickel was a closer match to the silver chips. Honestly, though, chrome is classic. Chrome will always be in fashion, and right now is even -- dare I say it -- a trifle trendy.

I definitely think chrome is having a bit of a renaissance.

Another vote for chrome. Chrome is still the most popular choice, and with good reason: It's the standard. It registers as "Oh, that's a faucet" ... rather than "Oh, that's such-and-such finish". It doesn't stand out in a trendy way, but it also doesn't look old fashioned.

My vote: This isn't something to over-think. Just go with simple and standard chrome.

For your fixtures I'd use chrome. Like others have said it's timeless. If you want to bring in something more trendy, use it for the knobs or handles on the vanity doors or for a light fixture.

Gotta' say, folks, this general response was great, and not what I expected!! Since I often find surprises delightful, I do thank you!!

We are preparing for a bathroom refresh and I agonized over this as well. We decided on brushed nickel for the lights and cabinet hardware. We aren't touching the tub which has chrome fixtures. So then the decision came on sink faucet, towel ring etc.. The faucet we chose didn't have a PVD finish for the brushed nickel so I felt chrome would be less likely to have issues from cleaning chemicals. But this was new and I thought I should match things even though I knew I would still have the chrome. Suddenly I realized our current bathroom has al chrome fixtures and accessories with brass lighting and cab hardware. So essentially going with chrome for faucets, etc and brushed nickel for lights and hardware is basically the split we have been living with other than no more shiny brass. I can't wait.

Bonus with chrome is that its usually less costly than the other finishes.

Place I'm staying during my remodel has polished brass. I notice it every time I walk in. And not in a good way. Even though it may be trendy now (this stuff went in a long time ago), it's still not common and stands out. I guess I don't want my hardware to stand out that much.

The finish is also deteriorating. Ick.

My alternative to chrome, which is just too bright for me, is polished nickel. It has a little color to it and is (to me) classic. And Cal Faucets has a PVD polished nickel which has a lifetime guarantee.

As I understand it, polished nickel is fairly easy to match. All the faucets are coming from Cal Faucets but the bath drain hardware will come from Kohler. I'm comfortable that any difference won't bug me (I'm somewhere in the middle of pickiness on this: more than some, less than others.)

I'm using oil rubbed bronze for my door hardware but polished nickel for all my plumbing hardware.

We did chrome for the fixtures and then brushed brass for the cabinet hardware. The stuff that is expensive and hard to change we did in chrome (timeless), the stuff we can change out easily and cheaply we did with the trendy brass.

I like:

-polished nickel(looks warmer than chrome. don't like chrome,. not to the point of ripping it out of a completely functional space of course..but if I am to pick- chrome is not my choice, and never will be. I must add I don't understand trends in metals..metal is metal. purely individual preference..

-oil rubbed bronze but only high-end(sigh) because cheaper finishes end up looking sloppy pretty often.

-antiqued nickel

-antiqued silver

-antiqued brass

-copper!!

(no I didn't use all of them))

You guys are great. I'm new to my new community, and for now, without meaning to be too gushy, I feel like you're "my peeps"!! ;-}

I'm seeing lots of matte black fixtures in high-end renovations. One modern classic is the Dornbracht Tara in black. I used the less pricey Newport Brass East Linear in Matte Black in my kitchen:

http://www.cocokelley.com/2015/01/kitchen-trend-black-vs-brass/

I think these are too cutting edge to gain wide traction all over the country, so hopefully they won't be featured in every episode of House Hunters. So far I've seen no black fixtures at HD, just ORBronze.

i used polished nickel, which was much more expensive, unavailable in many items (grab bars, etc), and deteriorates quickly if you have minerals in your water. I don't recommend it.

I don't think I'd do black plumbing fixtures, but we are doing matte black door hardware.