As you may or may not know, we're moving to Chico, California on May 31st. Our prospective domicile is a 1980's contemporary extravaganza and I have been up late nights planning the minutia of interior decor to suit the style of the house. Call it overactive nesting instincts. Anyway, the kitchen has dominated much of these nocturnal ponderings. It is an eat-in kitchen with some serious built-in appliances in black... 1983 double ovens anyone? Why not black, I wondered? I have stainless at my current house and have concluded we are not tidy enough to qualify for a package of stainless steel appliances anyway. Black: I'm going with it. A little research on how to decorate a kitchen with black appliances revealed some helpful information. Did you know that black appliances visually recede rather than pop-out? Sounding good so far... I'm down with receding appliances. Can it make the dishes and mess recede as well? Another tidbit: a modern style kitchen with checker