Furniture Store Home Box's Latest Collection Makes Domestic Workers Feel at Home

Expat domestic workers are employed in many homes in the Middle East, but it is a segment that the home furniture and furnishing category, in general, has always left out.

To understand the living spaces of domestic workers, furniture retailer Home Box asked 329 domestic workers about their favourite place in the homes they work in. Out of all the places they spoke about, one space remained unmentioned, hidden from view: their own room.

This insight inspires ‘The Hidden Room’, a short film by Leo Burnett Dubai about four women – Wasanti, Melat, Queenie and Resha. Like many domestic workers, they have come to the Middle East from all over the world, and are living away from their own families.

Many domestic workers are employed in towering skyscrapers and big villas, but their rooms remain very small spaces – typically 7 feet x 10 feet, but sometimes even smaller. To address this issue in a sensitive way, Home Box partnered with Leo Burnett Dubai to launch 'The Hidden Room Collection' – a specially curated collection, designed in collaboration with Home Box’s design team.

The Hidden Room Collection provides beautifully designed furniture and furnishing items for the small spaces where domestic workers typically live. It launched over the weekend during Eid al-Adha, one of the biggest shopping periods of the year.

A second film shows how The Hidden Room Collection transforms small rooms by adding smart storage solutions, enlivened with prints, textures, and colours: 

Both films direct people to The Hidden Room website, where people can shop for The Hidden Room Collection, which is also available at Home Box stores across the Middle East.

“It has been incredibly rewarding working with the design team at Home Box to launch The Hidden Room Collection,” explains Tahaab Rais, Chief Strategy Officer, Publicis Groupe Middle East & Turkey. “While we cannot change the size of domestic workers’ rooms, we can advocate for smart living solutions, and we are proud to have contributed to such a meaningful initiative across the Gulf region.”