Originally, I had thought our kitchen color scheme would be black, gray and white. I love black, gray and white (who doesn’t?). The blaze orange countertops would be our “pop of color,” if you will.

Reality has had a different plan for us, though. First, that perfect inky-black Soot color read wayyyy bluer on the cabinets than it does on the fireplace. Once the floor was in place next to those cabinets, the little bluish-gray flecks in the cork really “popped,” too. (In the photo below the floor looks almost pink. I assure you, it is not.)

Then I brought in that rug with its corresponding inky blue and turquoise, plus some blue tea towels and dishcloths that–I swear–just happened to be the first ones we unpacked. Yesterday’s kitchen progress photo shows this “color story” unfolding–

By the time I started working on the dining area, I decided to embrace the blue+orange. Our mismatched dining chairs were varying shades of blue anyway, and the way the bright light hits the back of the cabinets makes that side look especially blue–

Hard to believe the cabinet paint color and the fireplace paint color are nominally the same shade, isn’t it? Makes you wonder a little bit about the guys at the paint shop, even.

And then I brought in that rug. Oh, that rug.

It was on sale at West Elm last week, and I could not resist its sweet geometric shapes and playful mix of blues.

Suddenly our chairs don’t look quite so mismatched. I found a nice place to hang that subway-style map of North American waterways, too! (More on that map in this post here.)

The orange countertop (original to the house) is still pretty dominating, but I think the complementary blues do a really nice job of making it look more intentional and even a little more subdued. Maybe.

Also, I don’t care that you don’t need candlelight when you have a pendant lamp overhead. I love that lamp, and I love those brassy candleholders. I love them both. And that brass fruit bowl, I love it too. This kitchen is finally turning into a room full of things I really love.

Speaking of things I love, you might notice there’s a big gap in the molding along that back wall. That’s where we removed the baseboard heater when Ben was installing the floor. It would be so sad to put that ugly yellow-green monster back in place, so I found something shiny and new instead–

Runtal, the European brand better known for its hydraulic radiators and towel warmers, now also makes cast iron, powder-coated electric baseboard heaters, and they are such a far cry from the flimsy, ugly, oversized beasts I expect baseboard heaters to be.  As you can see, ours is sitting in the living room behind the couch, and next to another old baseboard heater that I hope to someday replace as well. Our house is full of baseboard heaters, and the Runtal ones are definitely not cheap, so it’s going to be a long process to replace them all, but it’s something I’m really excited about.

I don’t want to end with a messy, unfinished project, so let me just show you two more things I’ve been enjoying gazing at this week:

On the left, a bouquet of snapdragons from the farm Ben works on. I love late summer for its bounty of flowers. On the right, a handwoven basket made by our friend Laura. She selects the branches, dyes them and weaves the baskets, and she’s incredibly talented. If you’re ever passing through this part of the country, I highly recommend stopping at the Farm Stand at Red Dog Farm, and checking them out.