So this is my kitchen, I am the Creative Director here at deVOL and I am here to explain my kitchen choices!!

I began working at deVOL almost 20 years ago, in those days we only had the Classic English furniture range, so for me it is the essence of deVOL and I had to include it in my own home. As well as Classic furniture, I have more than a passing affection for the Mediterranean and its uncontrived plethora of old style bars and restaurants. My recentish!! trips to Venice and Sicily were uppermost in my mind (and my absolute favourite places in the world) when considering the style of my kitchen, but I also wanted to acknowledge the era of my home and ensure it didn’t feel like I had tried to recreate Venice in Leicestershire.

So, I had the glorious task of finding and mixing deVOL furniture and accessories with vintage pieces, in the hope I could accomplish this mix of styles in a cohesive and evocative way. My starting point was a still life painting of a fish I bought way before the kitchen was started, it gave me a colour palette and made it much easier to navigate the minefield of options and colours. I settled on a chequered marble floor by Floors of Stone, this gave me the perfect base, it felt Victorian, grand and slightly faded. It’s not the cheapest floor but it is a place worth spending your money in my opinion. Tiny flecks of pink within the marble were beautifully similar to my favourite Farrow and Ball paint colour Setting Plaster, so the walls were now decided on too. The plate in my still life painting has a wonderful teal edge, so having the faded glamour of our lace tiles in Vintage Teal was a no-brainer. I needed lots though, to really make the most of this vintage feel and texture and really make a statement. I love things that look old, but are easy to buy in quantity, easy to fit and give a specific atmosphere to a room. This is the very reason we make so many accessories here at deVOL, to allow us all to recreate an old, or forgotten or hard-to-find item that we yearn for in our homes.

I had picked up a few vintage pieces from Cotes Mill and eBay and with lots of ‘doing up’ they were fit for purpose and added that heirloom, 'been there forever' look to the room, which I crave.

A marble sink and marble worktops and my budget was blown, but hey ho, I now love washing up so it was worth it.

Getting a big table and some seating is so important if you’re creating a bar-come-restaurant!! So Thonet chairs were essential, the world famous bentwood chair is a ‘given’ in any self-respecting bar the world over. Finally, a faded squishy sofa in a powdery shabby blue and my room was done. I have no need to rush onto a plane anymore as I can go home and instantly feel happy.

It is almost too obvious to make your home feel as good as being on holiday, but it really does make sense and seeing as you only spend two weeks away each year it's silly not to try, our homes are our sanctuary. A flourish of deVOL brass rails and café curtains and a French cooker and I am a very happy lady.