The Queen of the Kitchen has turned her attention to the rest of the house.
The Paula Deen Home Collection, produced by Universal Furniture International Inc. in High Point, N.C., has introduced Down Home, a new furniture line. Stylish, yet casual and comfortable, the line is designed to embody Deen’s motto of “treating family like company and company like family.”
“I’ve got the most beautiful furniture line you’ve ever seen,” Deen said. “When Universal contacted me to see if I would be interested, I jumped all over it.”
The decision has proved to be profitable. “The first year, the furniture did phenomenally well,” Deen said. “Additional pieces were added to the line and are doing as well as the original launch.”
Sales are up by 75 percent. “I’m told it’s the No. 1 bestselling furniture line across America,” Deen said.
‘Real, like Paula’
Not surprisingly, Deen considers the kitchen to be the heart of a house. “I love my kitchen, but I love the whole home,” she said.
Designers from Universal visited Deen in Savannah for research and development “We picked my house apart and talked about some old pieces I had bought that I loved,” she said. “They went back to the home office and hit the drawing board.”
The resulting designs were “right on,” Deen said. “Usually your partners don’t 100 percent get you, but they did,” she said. “It’s a partnership I’m very proud of.”
The furniture is a mix of English, French, Dutch and early American design native to the Lowcountry. In all, the new line includes 42 pieces, ranging from cabinets to rockers to beds.
“Down Home really exemplifies Paula,” said Jeff Scheffer, president and CEO of Universal Furniture. “Much of its beauty is in its welcome familiarity and sparks of personality. Paula’s genuine, friendly nature is reflected in each and every piece. Down Home is real, like Paula.”
The furniture is made of rustic poplar, a wetland-grown hardwood indigenous to the Savannah area. The poplar is placed in uneven planks and distressed to suggest use and age.
Deen’s favorite part of the venture is that the furniture has value. “It’s affordable,” she said. “That’s always been my motto since I started the bag lady business.
“I told the boys, ‘Don’t worry about money, just produce the best food you’re capable of making at the fairest price.’ I’ve carried that same motto through every partnership we have.”
In the original launch, a piece called the Bag Lady Chest was Deen’s favorite. “It can go from the bathroom to the bedroom to the foyer to the dining room to the kitchen,” she said.
The new launch includes the Aunt Peggy Bed, named after Deen’s aunt. It features inserts made to look like old tin ceilings.
“There’s a new desk line, and I love, love, love it,” Deen said. “I ordered one for my husband’s office.”
Deen says the line evokes a welcoming feeling. “I want my house to feel like it’s wrapping its arms around you,” she said.
At one time, Deen couldn’t afford new furniture. “I had to go through yard sales and I love junking,” she said. “I like finding that piece that everyone has overlooked.”
Other ventures
Deen has a line of cookware, and soon will have a line of clothing. “There are so many women shaped like me,” she said.
So what could possibly be next? “I would love a perfume,” Deen said. “My favorite perfume is Prada — light and sweet.”
Sadly, there won’t be a Paula Deen perfume that smells like biscuits or fried chicken. “I wanted to come up with an air freshener that smelled like bacon or onions or peppers, though,” she said.
And there won’t be a talk show in Deen’s future. “I have been bouncing that idea around for several years,” she said. “I actually shot a pilot.
“But I want to spend my time here in Savannah,” Deen said. “The thoughts of me spending 36 weeks a year in New York City sends me into a panic. My life is here.”
Doing a talk show in Savannah isn’t feasible, Deen said. “It could be done, but it would be terribly expensive,” she said.
Leaving her grandchildren to stay in New York or Los Angeles isn’t an option, either.
“I’m still gone six months out of the year to different places,” Deen said. “Unless they want to do something in Savannah, I’m not interested.”
Celebrities are often guests on her Food Network show “Paula’s Home Cooking,” and she has a different guest every time. “I never quite know who’s going to be on next,” she said. “It kind of keeps the show fresh. I love being in the kitchen and getting to know these people.”
Country singer Zac Brown came on the show and sang a song for Deen. “My show was his first national appearance and now he is huge,” she said. “The song was about fried chicken.”
Finding courage
To understand why home is so important to Deen, you have to understand that for two decades, her house was more than a home, it was a refuge.
In her early 20s, Deen struggled with agoraphobia, a persistent fear of public places and open areas that kept her homebound. “I didn’t have any money to go through therapy,” she said. “Agoraphobics don’t like to leave the house, anyway.”
The battle with agoraphobia began after Deen lost both her parents. She was having marital problems and had no money.
“I just went to bed and cried and cried,” Deen said. “Finally, one day I got up. The Serenity Prayer came into my head that day and I said ‘Oh my goodness, I now understand what I’m asking God for.’
“That particular morning it made total sense to surrender to things I could not change, find the courage to change the things I could, and, please, God, help me know the difference,” she said. “At 42, I took total and complete responsibility for myself.”
Her world began to change. Deen formed her own business, which has grown into an empire.
A gift
At times, Deen gets tired of the hectic schedule and constant adulation of fans. “But I love what I do,” she said. “I know that the changes that have happened in my life have been a gift. You don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
Her brother’s restaurant, Uncle Bubba’s, has undergone a massive restoration project. “Oh my goodness, I’m so proud of my brother,” Deen said. “He’s done a wonderful job, and the food is outstanding.”
Deen also has restaurants at Harrah’s Casinos in Cherokee, N.C.; Tunica, Miss.; and Evansville, Ind. A fourth will open at Joliet, Ill.
But she can no longer appear at her own Lady Sons in Savannah because of the havoc it would create.
“I still work hard every day, but you won’t see me,” she said. “If I go there, I have a hard time saying no to one and yes to another, and it kind of creates problems.
“The management team will say, ‘Paula, get out of here, you’re messing up the turning of the tables,’” Deen said. “They’ll run me out.”
