Albuquerque woman gifted kitchen remodel thanks to community
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – An Albuquerque woman is receiving a once-in-a-lifetime gift; a free kitchen remodel all thanks to the community. Those who know Debra Padilla say she is the most deserving of something like this.
“She does so much. She helps with pick-ups and drop-offs. If there’s an emergency, she’s right there,” said Rosemary Pagliaro, Padilla’s best friend.
So, it was a no-brainer for Pagliaro to nominate her best friend, Debra, a single mom, for the chance to win a room remodel for a Mother’s Day giveaway. Interior designer, Emily Foster, helped organize the giveaway and chose Padilla as the winner.
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“She just takes care of everybody and so, now it’s time to take care of her,” said Foster, founder of Emily Foster Interiors. She brought in people and companies she usually works with to help out and said they were immediately on board.
“It’s just people that I just do jobs with. When I told them about the project, that it was kind of a give-back. they were like hands down 100%,” she said.
This week, Padilla got to see her newly remodeled kitchen for the first time. “It’s beautiful,” said Debora Padilla when she first saw it. “I can cook and bake on this counter, I can roll out bread. That’s the most amazing thing.”
“To have just so much love and so many people give just feels really amazing, I can’t be more grateful,” said Padilla.
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The kitchen remodel included new cabinets, counters, light fixtures, and a new dishwasher. It also kept meaningful touches like her son’s artwork as décor and one of her beloved gnomes.
“The community got together and everyone gifted this kitchen to you,” said Foster to Padilla.
Rocky Mountain Stone provided the counters, Doc Savage provided the sink and faucet, Sergio’s Drywall helped with construction and painting, Paul Garcia with PG Electric provided all the electric work, and a past client of Foster’s provided the tile for the backsplash in the kitchen. Jade Enterprises Inc. also had a hand in the renovation providing the cabinets
“There’s good people and in time it’ll come around and it’s just such a really refreshing feeling…our community’s a really great community. No matter what people say, there’s good out there and I know it, this proves it to me,” said Padilla.
She’s ready to start making memories in her new kitchen with Foster, a new friend she’s made along the way. “I didn’t get a new kitchen, I got a new friend, more important than anything,” said Padilla.
