With more and more of us WFH, we thought it was time to talk to one of our favourite ladies about the challenges she has faced this year and how a little bit of thought and a few well-chosen items can make all the difference in creating an organised, workable space.
Here, Zeena Shah (@heartzeena), colour lover and lifestyle influencer, shows the pieces she selected from our collection and how she makes them work for her.
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Living and working from a one bedroom rented flat has been a challenge this year (along with navigating a pandemic of course!). The working from home novelty quickly wore off as the months went on and I realised I lost my sense of work and life separation somewhere along the way. As a self-confessed workaholic, I find it difficult to find a work life balance at the best of times let alone during a pandemic. For me getting up, getting dressed and heading off to my studio gives me a routine and change of headspace that I need to find balance during my working day, similarly the commute home offers the same down time to decompress into evening mode. So when everything suddenly centred around the home, finding a space to relax and wind down the switchover became easier said than done.
Living in a rented flat with no spare bedroom to become the office has meant being creative with furniture and decor. Pieces have to be practical as well as beautiful. William Morris put it so well; ‘Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.’ interior decor words to live by and so every piece that lives in our flat has to pass this test. Luckily for me I found my desk of dreams at La Redoute which really is the perfect solution to the working from home vs life shuffle. I loved that duality of this rattan and wood piece, a chic cabinet turns into a practical and spacious desk. So I can happily create an inspiring space to work from within my home and close the cabinet up to hide it all away at the end of the day. It’ll also be brilliant when we can have some guests over although I’ll have to be careful it doesn’t turn into a Monica cupboard. Shop the chair here. 
I do have a thing for great storage, it is such a brilliant way to hide things away in a more considered fashion. La Redoute has a fantastic range of storage solutions for any budget. One of my go-to rented interior tips is to use beautiful baskets and storage boxes in your decor. These checked ones slotted perfectly underneath the desk. I've hidden all of my cables inside as they’re always so messy and filled another with ribbons as I hate waste and keep these for gifts and crafting. Similarly the mint green case brings a pop of colour that ties in perfectly with the rest of the flat - storage does not need to be boring to be practical - and will store away all of my design samples inside those. Along with a matching enamel pink paper file because I love keeping cuttings and postcards and memorabilia to inspire future projects and now they’ll have a home rather than being shoved in a drawer somewhere!
