How this couple from the VERY English kitchens of Loughborough have taken America by storm

The first time kitchen designers Paul O’Leary, 59, and Helen Parker, 58, were recognized in New York felt surreal.

When approached by an American fan in a Manhattan bar and asked if they would pose for a selfie, the East Midlands couple politely but very bewilderedly said yes.

These days it’s perfectly normal for them to be harassed on their frequent trips to New York – while in the UK hardly anyone knows who they are.

Their sudden rise to fame is due to the appearance of O’Leary and Parker on the Emmy-nominated reality show For The Love Of Kitchens, which originally aired on the American DIY channel Magnolia Network, but has since been picked up by HBO and Discovery+ (where you can watch it now in the UK).

Since it first aired in August 2021, the couple at the helm of deVOL Kitchens – based in the less-than-star-rich Loughborough, Leicestershire – have become huge celebrities in America, where everyone wants one of their bespoke, handmade refits.

Revered for its nostalgic design style, the company is spearheading a trend for kitchens featuring understated Georgian cabinetry, aged faucets, and tall, double-door pantries that reference the large under-stair cooking areas in sprawling estates.

Such is the power of reality TV in the US that revenues have more than doubled since the show first aired: from £16 million in 2020 to a predicted £35 million this year. DeVOL now has the largest following for a furniture maker on Instagram, with 720,000 followers.

“Lots of Americans come to our London showroom as a special part of their journey,” says deVOL creative director Parker.

‘In sleepy Loughborough no one recognizes us and most of our friends haven’t even bothered to watch the show.

“My sister and her husband thought it was hilarious when I was recognized in a restaurant in Belsize Park, North London, and couldn’t stop laughing.”

It all started when they opened a showroom in Manhattan, New York in April 2019, which quickly attracted Americans who wanted an “English kitchen”.

deVOL’s open shelves, muted colours, turned legs on tables and islands, and vintage-inspired kitchenware are reminiscent of Downton Abbey.

However, company founder O’Leary points out that it’s an aesthetic that Americans have long loved. “We just make kitchens the way they made 150 years ago, like the Shaker kitchen in New England.

“I wish everyone would stop trying to redesign kitchens and make them more modern,” he adds, “because it’s pretty obvious what everyone loves. They like kitchens that remind them of their childhood.’

The showroom in Manhattan was a huge financial commitment for what was then a very small outfit. Refurbishing the space cost around £1 million – about four times what they originally thought – and took seven grueling months to complete.

“It was scary — reckless, even,” says O’Leary. “Once we signed a 15-year lease, we had to be confident it would pay off.”

The night before the grand opening, they received an unexpected request for a private tour.

Two people named Chip and Joanna Gaines apparently wanted a personal taste.

“We had no idea who they were and wanted to save our energy for the opening,” says Parker. “But then we found out they had ten million followers on Instagram and we thought we’d better do it!”

As it turned out, Chip and Joanna, from Waco, Texas, were DIY TV VIPs, who had built a fan base and an empire worth over £40 million thanks to their hit US TV show Fixer Upper.

“They were rocking in a big black sedan, wearing cowboy hats and boots, with a baby and a retinue in tow,” says Helen. “But they were very level-headed. Towards the end of the tour, they asked Paul if he wanted to do a ten-minute television show.’

It was so successful that a series soon followed.

For The Love Of Kitchens, starring Paul, Helen and their creative team, is now in its second season. The show follows the design duo as they conjure up unique kitchens for their stylish UK clients, who sometimes pay eye-watering sums.

The average price of a deVOL kitchen is £20,000, but some multi-room projects – customers may want a boot room or even a ‘gift wrapping room’ – can run into six figures.

In addition to unraveling the design process, the show follows the personal designers as they ‘find’ trips to antique markets and inspiring visits to country houses.

It’s Britain scrubbed and dressed in its Sunday cutlery, with the same nostalgic appeal as a period costume drama or a show like The Great British Bake Off, which has turned out to be catnip for Americans.

Parker and O’Leary, a couple for 14 years, each with two children from their first marriage, swear their newfound celebrity status hasn’t changed them.

In fact, O’Leary is positively optimistic about his unkempt appearance, which is something of a trademark. ‘I have a phobia of hairdressers’, he laughs. “I’m a designer, not a celebrity!”

He is quick to point out that he comes from humble beginnings. After graduating in product design from Loughborough University, he said he “failed at a lot of things,” including restoring classic cars, before eventually stripping doors for money.

It took him and business partner Phillip DeVries three years to save enough money to buy a second-hand circular saw to begin making and restoring furniture.

In 1989 they founded deVOL (a combination of their two names that happens to be spelled LOVED backwards).

“In the 1990s, people loved freestanding kitchens and we would find old furniture and remake it to put sinks and cabinets in it,” he says.

The factory complex in Loughborough, where all deVOL products are made by hand, houses a carpentry workshop, foundry, ceramics studio and antiques warehouse, employing more than 350 people and 100 graduate designers.

“Paul’s great talent is spotting good people and persuading them to work with him,” says Helen. She herself was recruited by O’Leary 19 years ago when she worked in a sandwich shop in Loughborough, where he got his lunch.

“I was about to turn 40 and a single mother of two. Paul jumped in my car and asked me if I wanted to work for him selling kitchens. I thought he was crazy.’

A few years later, the pair had become a couple, and by 2011, Helen was responsible for deVOL’s now much-imitated style. “If Paul hadn’t taken a risk with me, I could have lived a very different life,” she says.

In a cost-of-living crisis, a deVOL refit seems out of reach for most people. But Paul insists there are cheaper ways to do it.

‘You don’t need a big budget to create the deVOL sentiment. Don’t buy everything from a kitchen company. Just go for a few key pieces – and don’t go for cheap imitations.’

Helen’s kitchen is a perfect example, he says: ‘She has a series of four cabinets made by deVOL that contain a sink, dishwasher and double bin.

“All the other furniture in the kitchen has been reclaimed, including an antique pine cabinet used as a larder, a glass cabinet for serving dishes, and a painted prep table. They’ve all been picked up at antique fairs for a few hundred thousand dollars.’

The rules for sourcing reclaimed furniture are simple, says Helen. “Check that the furniture is sturdy, functional and the right size and style for your space.”

So what’s next for the design duo? “We’ve renovated an old Airstream caravan and are eager to travel the Mediterranean in search of the ultimate cuisine,” says O’Leary.

“For us, the perfect kitchen isn’t about new cabinets, it’s a lifestyle. We like the idea of ​​an extended family, together until the early hours with the doors open to the outside.’ No wonder the Americans buy in.

• For The Love Of Kitchens is available on Discovery+. The DeVOL Kitchen, Ebury Press, £50.