A kitchen faucet gets used more than any other fitting in the house, so the finish is a practical decision before it is an aesthetic one. Brushed nickel is the one that survives that.
The grain does the work. It scatters light rather than reflecting it, which means water marks, fingerprints and the film that hard water leaves simply do not show the way they do on polished chrome. At a sink used twenty times a day that is the difference between a faucet you wipe and one you ignore.
It is also warmer than chrome, which matters in a kitchen more than a bathroom, because kitchens carry timber and stone that a cool metal can look borrowed against.
All of these are solid lead free brass. Check the spout reach against your sink before ordering, since a kitchen spout that lands short of the drain is a daily irritation.
