The Devol Kitchen: Designing and Styling the Most Important Room in Your Home

A stunningly photographed guide to designing and styling your kitchen, the most used and important room in the home, that showcases the philosophy and fundamentals of deVOL’s iconic values

“When it comes to thoughtful craftsmanship and bespoke kitchen design, deVOL is the benchmark.” – Joanna Gaines

deVOL is much more than a kitchen company. Paul O’Leary, deVOL’s founder, began his journey in a small workshop in Leicestershire, England, more than thirty years ago. Since that day, deVOL has grown into something special, inspiring many people with its unique approach to designing and styling the most important room in the home. 

Written by deVOL’s directors, Paul O’Leary, Robin McLellan and Helen Parker, The deVOL Kitchen is about far more than kitchens. It has stories about their personal journeys, and it is full of passion, determination, and sometimes a little luck. Alongside the inspiring photographs of kitchens they’ve designed and furnished, The deVOL Kitchen reveals childhood memories and fascinating experiences that have undoubtedly shaped their unique approach to designing, making, and running deVOL. 

From total rebuilds to a more modest sink and cupboard upgrade, The deVOL Kitchen will inspire you to design and style the space available to create a unique and stylish kitchen, whatever your budget. It encourages you to throw out the conventional rule book, draw your own plans, and incorporate fitted and existing free-standing furniture and found objects to create a beautiful room that is perfect for your needs. 

The book’s charming photography takes you on a journey, not only of gorgeous kitchens but also into the workshops, studios, and showrooms of deVOL. See craftspeople at work, close-up images of forging metal and throwing clay and how these skills are used to make all of deVOL’s accessories, many of which are as desired as their kitchens.

Paul O'Leary co-founded deVOL in 1989 and began specialising in freestanding kitchen furniture. By the late 90s, Paul became the sole proprietor and continued to focus on producing the highest quality cabinetry which reflected deVOL's affinity with simple Georgian and Victorian furniture. This strong design ethic has attracted clients from around the world to their Cotes Mill, London and New York showrooms and won him numerous kitchen and design awards. Paul has been a regular commentator on kitchen design in magazines and national newspapers, as well as on radio and TV, most recently starring in and helping to create deVOL's Emmy nominated TV series. Paul will forever be a product designer at heart, solving the simplest and most complex of design problems, always considering style, form, function and comfort. His innovative and unique ideas have been key in designing and developing deVOL's furniture ranges and ever-expanding collection of accessories.

Helen Parker is deVOL's Creative Director. Joining in 2004 as a kitchen designer, by 2011 she had become responsible for deVOL's style, creating one-of-a-kind showrooms, sourcing antiques and gifts and designing new pieces of furniture and accessories. Over the years, she has developed deVOL's look and voice, styling all their beautiful imagery, writing for their brochures and website, and is often featured in national and international press. Recently, Helen has been busy helping to produce and starring in deVOL's Emmy nominated TV series. Helen's passion and desire to create a special look for deVOL has proved to be the making of this company.

Robin McLellan began his deVOL career as a placement student and his willingness to turn his hand to anything, passion for period furniture and lifelong interest in carpentry have allowed him to completely transform the way deVOL manufactures its furniture. Since becoming Managing Director in 2011, Robin has introduced state of the art machinery and methods into the workshops, which have enabled deVOL to grow exponentially. Robin has an understanding and love of traditional techniques and never loses sight of the importance of these, but knows just how to use them in a modern way to produce a beautiful product efficiently and accurately. When Robin is not setting up workshops or dealing with the day-to-day business of running deVOL, he can be found in the workshops designing and making prototypes, welding metal or turning wood. He is the force that drives deVOL each and every day.