Motherhood, Minimalism, and the Spaces That Hold Us

Motherhood, Design, and Starting Anyway

In 2020, life as we knew it paused. My husband lost his job as a pilot, and our daughter was just one and a half. We were preparing to leave Dubai and move back to England. The world felt like it was on hold, and so did we.

My youngest

Then I listed our house for rent. Within days, a bidding war began. We even hosted a commercial shoot for Just Burger in our living room. A quiet idea surfaced: what if we stayed? What if I started something here, in the middle of all this uncertainty?

And so, D’Ora Tokai Designs was born, on the floor of a lived-in home, with a baby in the background, and no road map but instinct.

From the beginning, my children have been part of this studio’s rhythm. When they’re sick, they come to the office. They nap on me mid-meeting. They colour on site plans and chat with the team like they belong, because they do. Creativity, for them, is part of daily life: in art, in food, in the way we move through the world.

In the messiness of motherhood and entrepreneurship, one thing held steady: the pursuit of calm.

Many of our clients are families, too. They come to us with overstimulated lives, overflowing homes, and a need for clarity. We don’t promise perfection. But we do create systems for peace. Neutrals grounded in natural greens and soft blush. Storage that’s practical, but invisible. Spaces that breathe.

Life with children is loud, beautiful, and often chaotic. Design becomes the framework for quiet inside that motion.

Creative chaos

Mood boards

DTD Office

There’s no such thing as perfect balance, not really. But there are choices. And I choose clarity. For my home. For my clients. For the version of life that makes space for both structure and softness.

This is the work that matters. And it’s never just about a space. It’s about how that space supports the life unfolding within it.

— D’Ora