Our Story

When we bought our first home and finished renovating and styling it 15yrs ago, I had no idea that this would be something that I would end up pursuing as a career, but a seed was planted back then. Becoming a designer was organic for me, I’ve always believed if you’re passionate, hardworking and willing to take calculated risks in life, the opportunities are truly endless. I know this sounds cliché but chasing a dream/passion shouldn’t be something we ignore, it should be pursued. If you lose, you learn and if you succeed well, it was all worth it. To live a life of no regrets. And, that folks, is exactly what I’m doing!! 

I’ve spent the best part of my entire adult life in the corporate world and although, I have thoroughly enjoyed the journey, my soul was craving something else and I simply couldn’t ignore it any longer. I read somewhere, if you do something you love, you don’t work a day in your life and if you follow your passion, the benefits automatically follow - I felt that deeply.

The property market is somewhere we've spent a lot of our time and started quite young. Investing, buying/selling and renovating. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened. We spend most our weekends furniture and decor shopping and have redecorated our home so many times, I’ve actually lost track Lol! I’m definitely in my element when I’m being creative, it’s who I am, always have been.

We purchased our first home when I was 21, by age 35, we owned 3. During that time we have completely renovated our 90’s build home into a modern provincial dream. Took 10yrs but the outcome is something we are super proud of. It’s classic, homely and we kept the scheme neutral, monochromatic and incorporated loads of natural timber and stone - the result, a timeless forever home.

In 2020, I was asked to help renovate a clients home. They wanted a Modern Hamptons Farmhouse and what we designed blew all our expectations. The entire project was planned, managed, designed and executed within 4 months. This is where my self confidence grew even further, the challenge helped develop my project management and design skills. The final product: a neutral, homely, hamptons, farmhouse with a modern feel.

I was beginning to realise that I had to stop thinking about it and start doing, so that's how this journey began…

I began pouring my thoughts and ideas on paper, researching and reading. That progressed into a plan with dates and deadlines - Before I knew it, I was actually starting my own business. I was going to pursuit my own dream. I was lucky enough to work from home, so during the day, I was working at my full-time job and focusing on my side project at night. 

From the beginning I had a pretty clear style vision and knew the ‘feeling’ I wanted to create, so when sourcing products I had a list of ‘non-negotiables’ - must be eco-friendly, sustainable, ethical but durable, unique and stylish – that wasn't an easy task. This was the most challenging part of the entire process, it was all riding on this. I simply refuse to source anything unless I would be proud to have it in my own home. I’m quite picky when it comes to style, quality is important, not a huge fan of ‘standard’ and all about exclusivity – you guys are lucky! I went through a mountain of manufacturers before selecting the right ones, ones that gave me an opportunity to provide input in the design process and finished product incl. things like material, size, colour etc. Slowly but surely, we were making real progress.

Once stock was locked in, I shifted gears to build my online store, learned the basics of photography and crash coursed on things like marketing/advertising/accounting/business planning and strategy. Our online store went live in Jan, 2021!!! We were ready to share our big crazy plan with the world, spotlight our unique style and showcase our products. Styling and photography was in full swing. Things were turning out exactly how I imagined… Was it smooth? Far from it, was quite chaotic but we were finally here!

Bit about us, 

We’re nature lovers, adventurers, seekers – try to eat clean, embrace all things organic and train pretty hard. Love travelling (I mean, who doesn’t) We embrace all living things and fascinated by different cultures, religions and history. We work hard and do our bit for humanity. We’re grounded and ‘give back’ every opportunity we get. It’s all about peace, equality, unity and love for us. Life’s too short, there’s so much we can learn from each-other. Our differences should be celebrated and embraced to live our best lives. We’re crazy enough to think we can change the world but we also recognise it’s only possible by focusing on self-improvement, doing the inner work - beginning and ending with gratitude. I read lots of self-care books, enjoy cooking and all-things STYLING (of course!) Our ultimate goal is to one day own an acreage out in the country with floor to ceiling windows, a wrap-around veranda where we can grow our own food and retire young! (dreaming is free haha)

We’re a small Melbourne based online business, my husband and I make up our entire organisation. He is the support and muscles + I’m the creative brain. I am very blessed and lucky to have him and the support of my amazing family/friends. They give me the courage and self-belief to chase my dreams, challenge me to be better a person and love unconditionally. I don't know alot of people who sacrifice their time/energy/effort to help others but my army of selfless angels are always there when I need them, even helped unpack my first container on a 30+ degree day and every single container since. A solid support network is the foundation to living a successful life and I am beyond grateful for the people in mine. 

Who knows where this little adventure will take us but we’re excited for the future and having so much fun already. Watching something slowly come to life is incredibly rewarding - almost surreal. We’re not finished yet, still lots to do but feeling hopeful.

Our style is influenced by Nature, it's neutral, earthy, vintage but modern minimal. It’s true to who we are as people so naturally, we’re drawn to it. Natural materials add a sense of calmness to interiors, we simply adore it. A neutral pallette with the right textures is warm and cosy. We mix styles and as long as what we're styling looks good together, we don't mind which design trend we're embracing. Style is a very personal thing (so it should be!) we hope you get inspired by ours.

We believe our homes should be a sanctuary, somewhere relaxing, warm and cosy, it should be a collection of the things WE love and a reflection of who we are. It’s our place of peace and it should embody every aspect of it. This is what we want to help create – Beautiful. Natural. Homes. A place where you can create memories surrounded by the people you cherish and love. Earthy, natural spaces, unique to your style. 

The part I'm most looking forward to is sharing in the excitement and joy when you receive your new furniture/decor and if we get the opportunity to co-partner on a project together, leaving pieces of our creativity and heart in your beautiful homes/lives.

We’re just like anyone else, trying to make the most of our time here and build something we are proud of, share our design ideas and help play a small role in creating a more beautiful world.

We hope you come on this journey with us and get inspired along the way. Sending an abundance of love for taking the time to read our story.

Thank you for supporting local and choosing eco-friendly. 

Shenaz & Tariq x
(this is us below)