Work + Life by Design
The newsletter for entrepreneurs who work from home and want their space to show it.
I’m Nicolene Mausenbaum, interior designer and founder of Dezyna Interiors.
Every week, I share practical insights on how the design of your home directly impacts the way you work, rest, and live. Not productivity hacks. Not surface-level styling. Just honest, experience-led thinking for entrepreneurs who are done letting their space work against them.
If you’ve ever apologised for your Zoom backdrop, worked from your dining table for longer than you planned, or closed your laptop only to find you’re still mentally at work – this newsletter is for you.
Want to browse previous issues first? The full archive is below.
- You don’t need a dedicated room. You need a dedicated approach. June 12, 2026Before an online call, I do a quick camera check. It’s not a vanity check, I do it because I want to know exactly what’s in that frame and what isn’t. Most of the best Presentation Zones I’ve seen aren’t rooms at all, they’re corners.If you’re predominantly on online calls and all you need is a ...
- How a rug creates a work-life boundary in a home office. May 29, 2026How a rug creates a work-life boundary in a home office.
- You finished work an hour ago… but your nervous system didn’t get the memo. May 8, 2026You closed the laptop. You told yourself you were done. The chair is the same chair. The room is the same room. Your brain had no idea the day was over. You stayed, in the same chair, in the same room, and started doom-scrolling. Before you know it, it’s too late to start cooking dinner or having ...
- Where you put your desk is costing you more than you think. April 23, 2026We’ve probably all been there or know someone who has.. you needed to create a dedicated workspace, so you took the only desk you had (a big improvement from the dining room table!) and placed it as close as you could to the plug point, but your back isn’t against the wall. It’s efficient, it’s tidy.. ...
- You said sorry before you said hello. Your home office did that. April 15, 2026You’re an entrepreneur. Not only that, you have over 20 years’ experience in your field, and you’re really good at what you do, with the track record to prove it. Thing is, since working from home, you just haven’t been able to bring yourself to get your space to reflect the quality of your expertise. Sure, ...