by Nancy

Yes, I know there is only one real Christmas Miracle, but this year at my house, we had a few.

The first?  My kitchen remodeling project was finished hours before my house guests arrived.  Not finished finished, but functional and really pretty if you can pretend the walls were painted.  (I hired the contractor because she said she could finish the whole project in 13 days.  I'm not an idiot, so I didn't really expect to return from our vacation to a completed room, but I figured I stood a pretty good chance of having a kitchen in less than 4 months, which was another contractor's guesstimate. In the end, it took less than 5 weeks, which you have to admit is astonishing, although it felt much longer than that when I was making toast on the living room floor.) Oh, yes, there's a growing punchlist for the carpenters and electrician, but it was basically finished in time for me to start cooking for the starving hordes. 

Here's the kitchen:

 

The second miracle came while I was preparing a filet of beef (for which I paid an insane amount of money, but Christmas comes but once a year, right?)  As the roast roasted, I blithely tossed potato peelings and the stalks of two leeks into the sink and flipped on the brand new garbage disposal which promptly gargled and burped but did not drain.  Yes, my new sink was plugged----and we were minutes from serving dinner for 10, and you can imagine the number of dishes that would need to be washed once the food was consumed. 

But my hero---my husband--got out his Black and Decker collection and fixed the disposal in the nick of time.  That was our second miracle.

The third miracle?  My house guests departed before I collapsed from exhaustion.  Honestly, who decided to put Christmas in the middle of a week so the holiday lasts an inordinate number of days?  Why can't Christmas just be one day??  It's too much work.

Even in a kitchen as beautiful as this one:

I welcome suggestions for a color for the walls.

I highly recommend female contractors, by the way.  They don't try to mess with your head.  Ours gave me straight answers--even when the news was bad. And she understood the importance of having a working dishwasher for the holidays.

 

I'm thinking a kind of blue-green for the walls.  If you have the entire collection of Martha Stewart paint colors--as I do--it's the color called Atlantic.

   

Comments

[Tom]

Nancy, Nancy, Nancy. First of all, congratulations. May you sleep for a week and awaken with the rest of the kitchen completed.

But color? You need nothing but one wall done in an accent color. Just that little area above the desk should be enough. I suggest Maranello Red, like Her, Margie's, Ferrari.

[William Simon]

I second Tom's choice of Maranello Red for the accent wall. It's a statement....

[Susan]

Nancy, I love your new kitchen! As one who lives in a house with all white walls because I have a deep fear of choosing colors, I will suggest leaving it white and be done with it.

I have slept for 12 hours a night for the past two nights to make up for the 3 hours of sleep I got total on Dec. 22, 23 and 24. You are correct that Christmas stretches out ever longer as it moves into mid-week. It's partially my own fault as we insist on celebrating Festivus on the 23rd which launches us into a three day binge of celebration, eating and too little sleep. But you are correct; Christmas only happens but once a year, so let's make merry. And merry we did make.

Enjoy your new kitchen. After you get some sleep.

[Sheila Connolly]

Love your recommendation for a woman contractor. I'll try to find one, if my husband will ever give up control of each and every household project (shall I list the ones that aren't quite finished yet?).

For kitchen color, I would vote for something warm. My kitchen is a rich cream color and feels very welcoming. And I just read that the red/yellow colors make food look more appealing (or if you want to lose weight, go with the blue/green).

[Kathy Reschini Sweeney]

The kitchen looks fantastic - all that white is terrific (and you can tell there are no kids in your house).

I like Tom's suggestion of a red accent wall - but if you decide to paint the whole room, don't forget your dining room colors - you'll be able to see the kitchen from there, right?

Bravo for Handyman Jeff!

Susan - next year is even better: Hanukkah starts Monday (12/22), Festivus is Tuesday and Christmas is Thursday. Yowza.

[SarahS]

Unbelievably gorgeous. And Kathy's right - no kids, clearly. Frankly, for paint, I wouldn't mess around and around the window would stick with white - that is if you can match it (always tricky, no?) The white with red theme is beautiful. And I love your corner cupboard, too. All very, very nice.....

Our disposal clogged up minutes before guests arrived, too. The culprit? Brussels sprouts leaves. Anna felt so guilty, she stayed up until 2 a.m. hauling water from the sink and throwing it onto the snow. The good news is Charlie got it fixed, too. Disposals - are they really worth it???

Five weeks is nothing, but being without a kitchen is awful.

Congratulations!!

PS - Thanks for the tips on roasting the beef - turned out perfect. And I have a GREAT recipe for roasted Brussels sprouts.., will never make them any other way again.

[Maryann Mercer]

Sarah...share the brussel sprouts recipe. I love 'em, husband hates 'em. Please :o)
Nancy, I vote cream ( or warm ivory). Not as crisp as white, but if that's oak I'm seeing, it should accent the wood nicely. An accent wall is good too, and red goes with cream :o) Just depends on what will be displayed on the accent wall...photos, prints, collectibles?
Cath and Kip had a great team of male contractors who gutted the kitchen and put it all back together in six weeks.(They knocked out part of a wall and made a chef's station for Kip so he could cook and converse at the same time) They microwaved...a lot...in the basement. :o) It was worth it though, and yours really looks fantastic. And God bless Black & Decker!
We didn't have company so we just indulged in a couple of good New York Strip steaks and some decent Chardonnay. Here's to rest and relaxation before the next celebration!
Hard to believe 2008 is almost here!

[Kerry, the Martial Tart]

Nancy - congratulations! The kitchen is gorgeous, and I like the white. I think you and I may have the same granite (Uba Tuba? or something like that). My contractor also pulled off the miracle and had the kitchen and the rest of the downstairs functional for Christmas. We're now in the process of cleaning and putting everything back together again. I have to say that a new kitchen is a wonderful thing even for someone like me, who doesn't cook much. It does inspire, doesn't it?

[SarahS]

I agree with Maryann about the cream....would also add warmth.

Atlantic looks like putty on my computer. I have Benjamin Moore's Putnam Ivory on my walls and it looks really nice against the white...I, too, have hardwood floors and dark countertops, though mine are soapstone (gets dinged easily.) I guess what I'm saying is that the cream tones could be nice.

Then again, Martha does have a blue green one called Vintage Kitchen...

Maryann - All you need to do is toss the trimmed Brussels sprouts in some Kosher salt, olive oil and garlic powder. Then spread evenly on a pan and roast at 400 for a half hour, turning once. Unbelievably good. Don't worry about the "blackened" leaves. They're supposed to be that way.

[Maryann Mercer]

Thanks, Sarah! Sounds good...and company worthy as well!

[Nancy Martin]

(Nancy staggers into office after sleeping for 11 hours.)

Good morning, darlings, and aren't you all so perky today! Yes, I love your suggestions of wall color! The cream is a possibility, but the curtains (which you can barely see)have a white background with pink, red and various shades of green in them. ( I invested way too much time and effort and dough into those curtains to part with them.) Plus the dining room is essentially blue-green (the furniture and upholstery, that is--the walls are creamy yellow) so I felt a blue-green on the walls would draw the eye into the dining room. But red is definitely the accent color. I have way too many red accessories to give them up. Plus, it's cheery. I love red. My favorite red is Arabian Blood, which I used on our living room in a previous house. Gorgeous.

The drain clog may have been brussels sprouts leaves with us, too, now that you mention it, Sarah. I had a Cordon Bleu chef here for Christmas (talk about intimidating!) and he cut the sprouts in half and sauted them in butter that had been warming up some cubes of leftover ham for an hour, and we added pecans at the last minute. Amazing.

The floor, by the way, is maple. Warm and beautiful. I love it. I love the whole kitchen. I love you guys. I love everything this morning because I've had a decent night's sleep and can face the world.

[Judy Larsen]

Oh, Nancy, your kitchen is gorgeous. I too have white cabinets/cupboards, lots of windows and dark granite countertops. We went with a merlot/eggplant/cabernet color on the walls. I love it.

[Elaine Viets]

Beautiful kitchen, Nancy. I like Tom's idea of an accent wall, but then I have an all-white kitchen, so what do I know?

[Annette]

Congratulations Nancy, the kitchen looks great.
I vote for creamy yellow for the walls.

[Nancy Martin]

Good eye, Kerry! It *is* Uba Tuba!

[Janis]

I vote for blue-green to carry the dining room color through into the kitchen, especially if it's the only wall that will be seen from the rest of the house. It's such a soothing color that things like a stopped-up garbage disposal won't matter as much!

[Joyce Tremel]

Beautiful kitchen!

I like the idea of a blue-green since it ties in with your dining room. Or just stay with the creamy yellow.

[ArkansasCyndi]

WOW! First - a new kitchen is 5 weeks is pretty darn fast. Congrats. It looks wonderful. As for your disposal...isn't it great to have Handyman Jeff around? I have one of those at my house. I'm not sure what I'd do without Handyman Hubby.

Next - the color of the walls. Have no suggestions, but I do like the idea of the read accent wall.

Last - female contractors...Have to agree. In fact, I found (when househunting) that house designed and built by females had touches others didn't (like LOTS of closets and storage space)

Love the kitchen. Love Christmas but glad it's behind us!

[Harley]

RED! I have one enormous high red wall in my kitchen (24-feet high at one point, I think) and I love it. Plus, look how spectacular that one red dishtowel looks in photo number one. Nancy, I'm weeping at how pretty your kitchen is.

[Nancy Martin]

The corner cupboard by the door was orginally red. We're returning it to its natural color ASAP. (Meaning, as soon as it's warm enough to re-paint it in the garage.)

The rug just arrived by UPS. When did beautiful rugs get so cheap?? (Okay, I know the answer is China. It's hard to resist those low prices, huh?)

Why aren't you all out shopping today??

Nevermind. Don't answer that.

[Lee Lofland]

Nice kitchen, Nancy. It's very similar (white trim and cabinets with hardwood floors) to the one we had in Seattle. Our color choice was a shade of burgundy/red, but the kitchen was part of the family room/den and breakfast nook and really only had one wall plus a large island. The color was more of an accent for the rest of the area.

In your kitchen, a warm color would be nice to really showcase the trim and white cabinets. My vote for a color choice is the blue-green.

Again, really nice. I know you're pleased.

[patty smiley]

Okay, here's what you should do: Leave the walls white for that gallery effect. Then frame all of your book covers and hang them on the walls. Cool, eh?

[michele]

Nancy, it's GORGEOUS! Absolutely worth what you went through to get it.

I vote for the blue-green walls while keeping the red accents in your window treatments, napkins, etc. That's what I have and it looks great. My kitchen is white with wood floors and black countertops, too. (Although I wasn't smart enough to do black granite. I have soapstone, which is a royal pain to care for and never looks right.) My backsplash is a pale bluish green tile, and I have red accents throughout (oven mitts, the knobs on the stove, etc.) It blends beautifully and it's easy on the eyes without being dull.

[Nancy Martin]

Patty, you're such a sweetheart. I used to frame all my covers & used them to decorate my office. But......okay, I'm boasting? being truthful? a little of both?.....I ran out of space. With 40 or 50 books out, I could paper most of the house with them. But all those heaving bosoms and broken-necked romance heroines get a little unappetizing!

[Rita Scott]

Congrats on getting the kitchen done, it's gorgeous!
ugh, potato peels and disposals don't get along real well. One clog and I started composing them!
Someone gave me a tip when painting my kitchen. Get a very pale pink, so pale it looks white until you put a piece of paper against it. It gives a little warmth and would really go well with the red accent wall and curtains.
My brother is an excellent cook and always fixes a prime rib the size of a Volkswagon! So I'm going to heat up a slab of it and then take a nap!