'I like big grand things even in small spaces' – meet Helen Parker the creative genius behind the iconic British kitchen brand deVOL

deVOL is a renowned kitchen designer and maker of kitchens, furniture, and beautiful, practical objects for the home. With a social media following of over a million and counting, impressive showrooms in Leicestershire, London, Bath and New York City, a two-time Emmy-nominated TV series called 'For The Love Of Kitchens' and a prestigious King's Award for Enterprise, deVOL is much, much more than just a kitchen design company.

If you're scrolling through the pages of Homes & Gardens hoping to discover the most wonderfully stylish kitchen ideas, you will likely regularly spot this much-loved British kitchen brand and their highly fanciable kitchen case studies from around the world.

The brand's Creative Director, Helen Parker, is of course a wealth of knowledge on all things kitchens, so I sat down with her to find out more about deVOL, her design background, her personal style, and her expert tips on designing a kitchen.

What is your personal kitchen style aesthetic?

My kitchen style is very much old and new, I like textures and I like patina, but mostly I enjoy finding things that feel soulful and unusual. I love color, but not bold bright colors, just a mix of soft, muted tones.

I love traditional styles such as Victorian and Georgian, but with a contemporary twist. Decorating with artwork is something I like to use to add a big, bold, unexpected look to a room, a splash of quirkiness to stop it feeling too obvious.

I like a mix of styles rather than sticking wholeheartedly to one look. Decorating with vintage pieces is an absolute must for me. I love collections of things, pictures, objects, anything that becomes a cluster. I also like things to be done boldly, I like big grand things even in small spaces, I’m not big on lots of little bits and bobs unless they are carefully displayed to create a collection.

How did it all begin?

It all began in a delicatessen! I was working part-time as my children had moved up to senior school, and I wanted something a little more than being a full-time mum. Paul O’Leary had a little shop called deVOL, they made freestanding kitchens, and he used to buy his lunch from the deli.

He approached me one day as he thought I looked like a middle-aged lady who might relate well to his customers. I had no experience in selling kitchens, but I did have a passion for design and art, and no formal training. It was one of those moments, a chance encounter that changes your whole life, literally in an instant.

deVOL was a tiny shop with a handful of employees in a little village in Leicestershire, England. I began chatting to customers, doing window displays, and then, after a while, designing kitchens. With a lot of support and help from Paul and his little team, I found myself; I loved the creativity I was able to demonstrate, and I found that for the first time in my checkered working career, something I was actually good at.

Helen Parker

Helen is the Creative Director at deVOL, a leading British kitchen design company that mixes classic and contemporary. Helen has been the creative director at the company since 2011, passionate about the signature understated approach deVOL takes to designing kitchens.

What inspires you?

Walking the streets inspires me, I have since found there is a word for this, a 'Flaneur', which I am very pleased to know, as it feels like a proper pastime now.

My favourite streets are those around Spitalfields in East London, England. I have an unhealthy interest in everything that has gone on in this area over the centuries, and now I love nothing more than to wander.

The colors of the woodwork, the grandeur of the houses, a peek through a window, it’s all so beautifully old and carefully preserved, but in a sympathetic way. I love this, things that feel as if time has stood still, houses where people don’t change the windows, add extensions, knock out walls, or just generally try to change things.

My other passion is the Mediterranean, another place where things are far more likely to stay the same, old bars, restaurants, and homes. These people seem less intent on always having to change things, they are content with what they have. I love that. I am not one for changing for changing's sake, I like to enhance a space with beautiful things, but I like those things to be very carefully considered so even if they are new, they feel at home in their space.

The deVOL Kitchen; Paul O'Leary, Robin McLellan, Helen Parker | From $34.49/£30.38 on Amazon

If you are looking for kitchen tips, whether you are starting from scratch or want to update your current space, this book is filled with gorgeous projects and ideas to help.

Do you have any specialisms?

Designing and styling our showrooms has become my thing. I love the process of imagining how I want a room to look. Choosing the colors, the layouts, and sourcing every tiny little item that will then dress the room.

I love to find unique pieces, old or new. I spend so long imagining the finished rooms down to every little detail and scour the antiques fairs and eBay for special things that are just perfect for every little spot. There is such a thrill when you see the rooms take shape, and you can unpack boxes of treasures that you’d forgotten about.

The final job for me is to ensure, with deVOL's photographer Tim, that we get the most beautiful images to show the world. I always know if a room has worked for me if the images look good, it’s one of the most important things to me. The styling of an image for a photoshoot and getting a beautiful shot is where I am at my happiest.

What else do you offer at deVOL?

deVOL has gone from kitchens to a whole range of accessories for the home, again, all these beautiful things have a historical background. We wanted to sell things that used to be easy to find, but for one reason or another, they stopped being made, or they have been reinvented or modernised. Because we love traditional, classic interiors, we wanted traditional, classic things to put in our homes and showrooms, so they feel authentic, humble, and made to last.

We have recently made the most beautiful solid brass door knocker, just because it's impossible to find a proper one, and it reminds us of the houses in Spitalfields. We don’t have a plan; we just make what we can’t find, and the list we have is never-ending.

Every so often, you will see something new on our online shop. It’s a passion here at deVOL, it adds another element to our customer experience, allowing them to add fixtures and fittings to their homes as well as kitchen cabinets.

Who are your dream clients?

We have so many dream clients from all over the world, those with the big Manhattan apartments or the tiny Brooklyn basements have been truly exciting for us, our clients in America have embraced us wholeheartedly.

The classic city of Bath in South West England has also brought us some very special clients since we opened in 2023, their homes are quite possibly the most beautiful. Big windows, high ceilings, incredible light, and so many original features.

There's nothing more beautiful than a Bath townhouse basement kitchen, full of stone and atmosphere. These kitchens are the best to photograph, the light is unbeatable, bouncing off the honey-colored stone.

What's next for you and deVOL?

The West Coast of the USA is our next move. Starting in New York was scary, but the most fun, and we are hoping this will be the same.

The buildings are different, low and modern, so creating the deVOL look may be more challenging, or maybe we will go more West Coast ourselves and embrace the light and warmth to create a slightly different feeling in our showroom.