![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.devolkitchens.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/DSC_0892-1200x1798.jpg\")
- <\/a>
- <\/ul><\/div> My favorite view of our Cotes Mill showroom from the millpond.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
An amazing old water mill surrounded by acres of rambling English countryside on the banks of the River Soar. There are peacocks and chickens and guineafowl and swans wandering around and a few friendly rescue cats too. You can find the cosiest cabin built out of an old lorry (check out Paul’s incredible transformation blog<\/a> if you haven’t seen it), makers studios, a brand new greenhouse that we’re hoping will flourish into a delicious kitchen garden and even a very special secret garden in the making that I can’t wait to explore on my next trip. All that and I haven’t even got to the kitchens yet!!<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.devolkitchens.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Greenhouse_0353-02-03-20-1200x1800.jpg\")
- <\/a>
- <\/ul><\/div> Our lovely new greenhouse, full of seedlings waiting to grow into a kitchen garden. <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.devolkitchens.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Secret-Garden_0342-02-03-20-1200x1800.jpg\")
- <\/a>
- <\/ul><\/div> A secret garden in the making.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
Before deVOL, I pictured a showroom as a bunch of sterile, brightly lit, perfectly put together displays. The thought never really appealed to me, it’s not the way I live or the way I want to live and I just couldn’t relate. Growing up, my house was full of hand-me-downs, random paintings my dad liked hanging on the walls (and some my mum hid behind the sofa), mismatched pots and pans, colour and a collection of mine and my sister’s handmade creations, many of which are still proudly displayed on the dresser. It was random and a bit messy (mostly because of me) but it was home and it was comforting. The idea of a sparse, over-styled showhome was boring and the thought of spending hours there seemed like the afternoon from hell.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.devolkitchens.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Cotes-Mill-Showrooms-Apr-08-2020-14-1200x1800.jpg\")
- <\/a>
- <\/ul><\/div> Helen’s beautiful lived-in styling in the Loft Kitchen at Cotes Mill. <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.devolkitchens.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Cotes-Mill-Showrooms-Apr-08-2020-16-1200x1800.jpg\")
- <\/a>
- <\/ul><\/div> Our new handmade Amber Glaze Pottery<\/a> in and amongst a hotchpotch of vintage goodies. <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
I very distinctly remember walking into Cotes Mill for the first time for my interview, even though it’s about 5 years ago now!! I’d never been anywhere like it. It wasn’t just somewhere I wanted to live but it was somewhere I could actually imagine living. It wasn’t bare with a few very precisely placed white bowls, it was filled with a collection of kooky and charming pieces, old tables and wardrobes, handmade pottery, toys and books and, of course, the most beautiful kitchen cupboards I’d ever seen.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.devolkitchens.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Cotes-Mill-Showrooms-Apr-08-2020-13-1200x1800.jpg\")
- <\/a>
- <\/ul><\/div> The latest addition to our lighting collection, deVOL Creamware Pendant Lights<\/a>. <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.devolkitchens.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/Cotes-Mill-Showrooms-Apr-08-2020-19-1200x1800.jpg\")
- <\/ul><\/div> The latest addition to our lighting collection, deVOL Creamware Pendant Lights<\/a>. <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
- <\/ul><\/div> Our new handmade Amber Glaze Pottery<\/a> in and amongst a hotchpotch of vintage goodies. <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
- <\/ul><\/div> Helen’s beautiful lived-in styling in the Loft Kitchen at Cotes Mill. <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
- <\/ul><\/div> A secret garden in the making.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
- <\/ul><\/div> Our lovely new greenhouse, full of seedlings waiting to grow into a kitchen garden. <\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
- <\/ul><\/div> My favorite view of our Cotes Mill showroom from the millpond.<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/pin\/create\/button?&url=https:\/\/www.devolkitchens.com\/blog\/missing-the-mill&media=https:\/\/www.devolkitchens.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/DSC_0892-1200x1798.jpg\")