Not your basic black. For some people, black might seem to be as bold a choice as orange. But in a home with a limited color palette — black, white, blue, and gray — it fits right in. "The counters are honed black slate, and the cabinets are zebra wood that's been stained indigo blue to essentially make them striped blue and black," says Joel Kelly of Joel Kelly Design. "The kitchen and dining room in this house are one large room, about 50 feet long," he adds. "The primary cabinet wall turns into a paneled wall in the dining room, creating a seamless wall of wood along the length of the house. The kitchen becomes a backdrop for the activity in the house."