The Making of a House Style That Lives In Its Subject
Creating a tone of voice that speaks from inside the kitchen — blending lived experience with lived-in charm.
The Brief That Set the Table
When Paula Rosa approached us, they weren’t looking for something loud. They were looking for something right.
They already had a design philosophy that leaned into calm confidence — elegant cabinetry, thoughtful layouts, understated appeal. Their kitchens weren’t attention-seeking. They were beautifully considered.
The existing tone of voice reflected this: a clean, restrained system built on five pillars, led by a central line — ‘Signature Style, Simply Put’ — that mirrored their product language. It was neat. Quietly poised. Safe.
But therein lay the problem: it didn’t quite own its voice.
While the supporting pillars still worked, the central house tone lacked the distinction the brand needed to step out of the showroom and into the hearts (and homes) of a wider audience. The client wanted something more… them. Something human, confident, and conversational. Something customers could warm to. So we re-set the tone.
From Quiet Classicism to Characterful Conversation
To unlock Paula Rosa’s true voice, we came back with three new routes — distinct house styles that could anchor the remaining pillars and give the brand a core tone to build from.
- Language That’s Lived In: A calm, capable voice shaped by real-world experience. No showroom artifice — just practical insight, warm humanity, and a sense of quiet pride in how a kitchen gets used, not just how it looks.
- The Challenger: Edgier. Bolder. Designed to challenge the tropes of the category with a brand that refused to be just another sleek slab of marketing minimalism.
- Let’s Talk Kitchen: Chatty, inviting, and stamped with personality. A voice that framed ‘kitchen’ not as a room, but a language — full of functional turns of phrase like “cupboard logic,” “storage smarts,” and “tape measure anxiety.”
Each route was written up, trialled, and tested across a series of showroom intros, range descriptions, and design-led straplines. Each came with its own tone ladder, working principles, and list of vocabulary inventions — designed to help the brand build equity in a voice that felt genuinely theirs.
Two Voices Meet (Over a Cuppa)
The feedback was clear: ‘Let’s Talk Kitchen’ had the client grinning.
The tone struck a chord — with its charm, its turns of phrase, and its relaxed refusal to do the usual showroom song-and-dance. It was funny, credible, and warm — the kind of brand voice that didn’t just talk about kitchens. It talked kitchen.
But they also missed the grounded calm of ‘Language That’s Lived In’ — a style that spoke with the quiet confidence of a brand that’s designed thousands of kitchens, and lived in every one.
So, we did what any good kitchen designer would do: we combined the best of both.
Introducing: Language That’s Lived In
This is Paula Rosa’s new house style. And it speaks kitchen like it’s a second language — because it lives in one.
It’s warm. Witty. Comfortable in its skin. A tone that brings the chatty charm of ‘Let’s Talk Kitchen’ together with the lived-through insight of our original proposal. It celebrates the rituals of everyday kitchen life (from the breakfast bottleneck to the Sunday roast) while showing customers we know our way around a measuring tape and a mug tree.
It’s underpinned by a simple, clear tonal mission:
“An easy-going, knowledgeable voice that speaks kitchen like it’s a second language — because it lives in one.”
This became the new lead pillar, taking the top spot in a refreshed five-pillar framework. The supporting slides were kept intact (to maintain the brand’s strategic guidance and training value), but everything now stemmed from this singular, lived-in voice.
The Tone in Action
What does Language That’s Lived In sound like? Here’s how it shows up in the wild:
Showroom Welcome
Let’s Talk Kitchen (Over a Cuppa)
“At Paula Rosa, we don’t do showroom airs and graces. You’ll find us ready to talk kitchen — with a proper hello, a cup of something warm, and a chat about the best place for the spice rack or the right drawer for the cling film.”
Range Descriptions
Petworth Kitchen
“Simply beautiful, beautifully simple. The Petworth range brings a sense of calm to modern living — with in‑frame design and a classic finish that’s quietly confident, never shouty.”
Brand Stamp
“We’ve been designing kitchens since before slow cookers were a thing. Seventy years on, we’re still excited to talk layouts, larders, and finishes that make a room feel like yours.”
Playful Product Lines
“Plug-point peace of mind built in — because the toaster, blender and phone charger all want a say.”
“Prep-to-serve symmetry — no backtracking, no traffic jams, no cold mash.”
“Cupboard logic you can feel — and reach without a tiptoe.”
It’s a lexicon designed to humanise. To demystify. To let Paula Rosa own its space without ever raising its voice.
Why It Works
This final tone doesn’t just sound good — it’s built well. Like the best kitchens, it’s been laid out with care and clear intentions:
- Emotional Familiarity: Warmth, reassurance, and natural charm.
- Functional Fluency: Product-first without ever sounding salesy.
- Quiet Distinction: Full of originality without being self-consciously clever.
And it holds space for a broad range of brand moments — from showrooms to social, web to welcome pack. It’s a system you can live with. And more importantly — a tone customers want to live with.
Where We Go From Here
We’ve landed on a house style that gives Paula Rosa a voice as distinctive as its cabinetry. One that makes the practical feel poetic. One that speaks customer, not catalogue.
And now that it’s in place — it’s time to make it sing across every touchpoint.
So go on. Let’s talk kitchen.
(Singular, not plural.)
