The deVOL New York showroom is now open!!
17th May 2019
Three weeks in New York, one showroom opening, hundreds of amazing customers and countless delicious meals. My clothes may be a little snug but wow, what a trip! It’s been a couple of weeks since Zoe and I got back from the Big Apple so I thought it was about time we shared some of our snaps of the incredible new deVOL showroom and some of our favourite places around the city too.
This is it… 28 Bond Street, New York, our very first showroom outside the British Isles!!
We arrived slightly jet lagged but so excited to see what everyone has been working so hard on for the last six months. We’d seen so many pictures documenting the whole transformation (you can check some of them out on my last blog), but it’s so hard to capture the utterly charming and atmospheric rooms that Helen has managed to create. Helen is our Creative Director, she dreamed up the design of the showroom and then filled it with all the quirky things that make it feel so unique. Helen has a knack for bringing spaces to life and creating authentic rooms with real soul and character, she isn’t afraid of a bold colour scheme or dismissing the rule book to go with something she loves. You won’t open our cupboards to find row upon row of white plates and mugs and bowls, you’ll find little treasures and trinkets and kitcheny things that are a bit different, things from places we’ve travelled or things we’ve made ourselves, and that is what makes our showrooms so unique.
This Classic English Kitchen is the first thing you see when you walk through the doors, so we wanted to make a memorable first impression – colour, marble, artwork, vintage curiosities, our beautiful handmade cupboards and a huge Wolf range cooker.
Back in our little ceramics studio at Cotes Mill, Claire hand-cut, rolled and fired 500 of our Emerald Green London tiles to fill this wall. Paired with a full set of deVOL Aged Brass Taps, an exquisite Arabascato Marble Sink and one of our hand-aged hanging rails, this may be one of my favourite spots.
Arsenic green, dark blue and pretty pink – this is a colour scheme so cool and unique only Helen would be clever enough to think it up and pull it off.
The Shaker Kitchen is a corner of true Mediterranean loveliness, ‘Lead’ grey cupboards mixed with rich yellows, dark Belgian Blue limestone worktops, vintage pots and of course some delightful artwork – the olive twigs and sprigs of rosemary even travelled all the way to New York from Helen’s little garden in Leicestershire.
We’re not really very conventional when it comes to the displays in our showrooms, whether it’s original artwork or an old wooden toy horse, we hope to give you the courage to throw away the rule book and instead fill your home with things that you cherish, your memories and whatever makes you smile. That is how you create a really memorable kitchen.
Our latest collection in all its glory, it was such a joy to see the Haberdasher’s Kitchen looking so at home here in New York. It’s definitely caught people’s imaginations, we’ve even had Facetime requests just to show people these charming oak cupboards… don’t worry we will have one in London very soon!
I loved sitting on this Classic English bench seat working on my laptop, surrounded by plush velvet cushions and these beautiful ladies painted by Seed of Memory Art.
You might have seen this hand-painted Curiosity Cupboard at Cotes Mill but it was always made for New York and it looks so good in this little corner. The dark colours and botanical design feels very English and it’s even finished with a crackle glaze to give it a beautiful aged look.
Right at the very back of the showroom is the Sebastian Cox Potting Shed, which leads straight out onto our private little yard. This room is fast becoming a favourite of everyone who visits us, there is nothing quite like seeing these beautifully textured cupboards in person.
A delightfully simple freestanding Sebastian Cox pantry and an iconic FAB Smeg fridge, the perfect pair!
Thursday came around really quickly and it was finally time to take down the dust curtain and open up the doors. A chance to celebrate with our builders, architects, artists, new neighbours and some of our friends from the press who have been so supportive of deVOL over the past few years. It was the best feeling ever seeing people’s faces as they walked in for the first time and a bit of a pinch yourself moment to look around and see rooms of deVOL Kitchens filled with happy people… in New York!!
The amazing spread, styled by our Creative Director, Helen… yep, she’s just super talented.
deVOL’s New York opening party – what a wonderful evening!!
Admiring the beautiful art by the very talented Wendy Prather Burwell.
I’ve visited New York once before but forgot how much I loved it. The architecture, the nightlife, the food, the general vibe… everything is just so cool. We were super busy in the showroom but did get a chance to explore, so I thought I’d share some of our favourite spots…
The New Yorker, West 34th Street… the day we walked a million miles!!
If you want a sandwich as big as your head filled with mouth-wateringly good pastrami, this is the spot! It’s also where they filmed the famous diner scene in When Harry Met Sally.
This is Maison Premiere, a very cool oyster bar in Williamsburg. We sat up at the bar surrounded by rich woods, brown leather and soft jazz.
I love this photo that Georgia, one of our Kitchen Designers, took of the Flatiron, it will always be one of my favourtie buildings.
The fabulous houses of Greenwich Village, can you imagine living here?? Heaven.
Suki is a little Japanese restaurant on East 7th St. It’s tiny but if you’re lucky, you can eat your pork katsu and spicy ramen in the few window seats – the perfect spot for people watching.
Mismatched buildings on the corner of Bond Street and Lafayette, just across the street from our new showroom.
This place was in the bustling Chelsea Market, which is pretty much a trendy food hall. It’s called Very Fresh Noodles, and they mean it. You can watch your noodles being made and pulled out right in front of you. I had the Tingly and Spicy Lamb and it was ridiculously tasty but pretty spicy so don’t forget to order water!
Everywhere you look there’s amazing street art, you can find the chap on the left at Chelsea Market and the two children are on the wall outside ‘Lovers of Today’, a cool cocktail bar by Tompkins Square Park.
Dreamy skies in our little corner of East Village, I love this place.
It was a busy three weeks, most of it spent in the showroom chatting to all the wonderful people who came to visit, some were big deVOL fans, lots followed us on Instagram, others had never heard of us but were drawn in by the intriguing colours of the Classic English display that sits at the front of the shop. No matter what brought them through the door, the reaction was always amazing and I just wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who came to see the little piece of England we have created in the middle of Manhattan. If you are in the area, do pop in and say hello to Paul, Georgia, Tom, Charlie and Steph… miss you all already!!
deVOL Kitchens. Leicestershire. London. New York. How cool is that?!
You can find our new showroom at 28 Bond Street, Manhattan, New York NY 10012.
usa.enquiries@devolkitchens.com. +1 212 210 6269.
