A room of one’s own: Heal's Tottenham Court Road shop window gets taken over

Passing Heal’s on Tottenham Court Road, you have the sense of peering into someone’s inner sanctum. The furniture shop’s windows have been taken over by five women, who have recreated there the spaces they work in for all to see.

There’s Marina and the Diamonds singer Marina Diamandis’s peach playsuit from her Primadonna video hanging from a clothes rail, and her pink glitter boots; cookery writer Melissa Helmsley’s ceramics, herbs and David Shrigley print; and The Miniaturist author Jessie Burton has decamped her technicolour, trinket-filled writing shed to one window.

Whether you are penning a prize-winning novel or simply ticking off items on your to-do list, space matters. In this spirit, Heal’s has joined forces with creative agency mcgarrybowen London for the London Design Festival for SPACES. You can check the windows out until Sunday.

They reflect a variety of approaches. When Diamandis is writing she needs “somewhere not too cluttered or too homely”. She explains: “I want to feel removed from my home so I can think in a different way and remind myself it’s a place to get stuff done.”

Burton likes to write in a shed at the bottom of her south London garden that is dotted with meaningful objects. They play a role in bringing her ideas to life. She also needs a comfortable (but aesthetically pleasing) chair. Burton’s window has a bright, Mexican feel, with pictures of Frida Kahlo on the wall, an azure pottery skull and a pink throw. She says that “it’s important to have somewhere to write that’s “separate from the house”’ — however small.

Artist, author and colour expert Annie Sloan agrees. “I need somewhere free from too many distractions, where you don’t have to tidy away afterwards; if you have to tidy up you lose the thread.” Her window has a dresser in it, painted to show a work in progress.

Hemlsey’s kitchen table, where she writes recipes, is not designed to be a complete retreat — she likes that she can see her boyfriend working in the living room and her dog, Nelly.

So how can you ace your own space? “Brainstorm 10 moments when you felt at your happiest,” advises Hemlsey. “Use these elements to build your space.”

Jewellery designer Jacqueline Rabun, who displays the minimalist office in her Clerkenwell home, adds: “Choose furniture and objects that stimulate your creativity and enhance your well-being. I need a calm and nurturing environment that allows me to focus, I always burn scented candles to bring harmony.” She works with just a water jug, bunch of lilies, candle and some books. For these women, great ideas need space to breathe.

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