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Leo Wood • Interior Designer

@leokinderdesign

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I commission artists & makers
to create homes with soul.
Reclaimed, bespoke, considered.
Grand Designs · The Times · Dezeen
SE London 👋

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Lovely feedback from clients always makes me smile.

Interior design isn’t ultimately about making rooms look pretty - it’s about using a wide range of skills to help our clients feel really happy in their homes or places of work.

We have recently delivered several projects for clients who are now completely delighted with their homes:

* One client told us the renovation we did for their West London home transformed it in ways they still notice every day, months on, from the choice of paint colour to the bespoke furniture and artwork we commissioned.

* Another said we’d respected the heritage of their home throughout, and appreciated how honest and clear we were with them, especially when it came to where to spend and where to save.

* And on another recent project, a client said we took their vague ideas and turned them into rooms that feel cohesive, and that we were there for them the whole way through, including when it came to dealing with contractors.

It means a lot to know clients feel so contented at the end of our experience working together. If you’re thinking about a renovation, we’d love to hear from you. by @leokinderdesign

Flashback to a project we completed a couple of years ago: a tiny bachelor apartment with big impact.

This flat was very small and had only three spaces - kitchen/living, bedroom and hallway (of course also a bathroom but we didn’t do any design work here).

With so few rooms we wanted to make sure that each space had a distinct identity: starting with a warm ochre hallway to provide a welcoming entrance with real definition. Hallways are so often overlooked but using colour strategically to create a distinct zone and designing in as much storage as possible, can totally transform a home.

Then with the open plan living and dining space, we used @bauwerkcolour limewash paint to add texture and warmth to an otherwise stark modern box. Bringing texture and interest onto walls through lime or plaster is an easy trick to soften a space. Limewash isn’t the most durable wall surface but as this is a home without dogs and small kids, we knew it would stand up.

The furniture sourced for this home is a balanced mix of design classics, vintage pieces and new commissions which for us is the perfect balance. We like every room to have at least one antique or vintage piece in it to add a bit of soul, and there’s nothing I like more than working with makers to create totally unique pieces for our clients. This project features bespoke joinery by our regular collaborators Ben & Charlie @bench.studio and a rug by another of our fave suppliers @coralandhive. Artwork was sourced with @artgazette, a brilliant one stop shop for contemporary art pieces.

Thankfully our client was super happy with his new home: ‘Leo’s work is visionary, approachable, and efficient and I am very happy with the process and outcome. Leo was keen to ensure sustainability and social accountability for the project, up-cycling reclaimed pieces and making sure existing furniture had another lease of life by gifting it to Furnishing Futures charity.’ by @leokinderdesign

When you hire an interior designer, what are you really paying for?

The best word I’ve found to sum up the entirety of our role on a design project is: stewardship.

A good interior designer isn’t just making things look nice. They’re looking after your project, creatively and logistically, from the first sketch to the last bookshelf.

In practice that means you get clarity and someone to go to with questions at every stage.

It also means you gain back your time, and a lot of it too. Ridiculous though it seems, sourcing the right sofa can take a full day.

And it means access to a little black book of suppliers, makers, joiners and contractors you can trust, not the ones you’d do best to avoid.

And working with an interior designer also means you can unlock exciting new design ideas you hadn’t thought of.

You might come to me for a new kitchen, and I’ll design that, but I might also suggest joinery you hadn’t considered or a different layout entirely.

We wrote a post this month on the roles and costs of an interior designer - read more by signing up to our Journal via the link in our bio. by @leokinderdesign

At Kinder, we believe in being upfront about fees and project costs from the very first conversation.

Money is one of the hardest things to talk about openly in this industry, but clarity on both sides is what allows us to give the best advice and the best service.

So what does it cost to work with us? If we are providing full interior design services, project and procurement, our fees usually come to around 15 to 20% of the build cost.

To put that in context, a £300,000 project (which might involve building works such as a side return, new kitchen and low level refurb throughout a house, likely running over 8 to 12 months) would typically involve designer fees of around £50,000 on top.

Most people think of the budget their contractor gives them as the whole picture but design fees (whether those of an architect or interior designer) are calculated against the build cost before VAT, and therefore are “on top”. This is such a common error of communication as once VAT, fixtures, fittings and design fees are allowed for, that £300,000 builder quote could easily cost closer to £450,000.

Recognising the full project budget from end to end is the single most useful thing for a client to understand well before the ground gets broken, so we always like to have frank conversations to help our clients map out their likely full project budget at the very beginning of our design process.

Given the insanely high cost of renovating, we completely recognise many projects can’t afford full interior services. But an interior designer can be such a useful specialist to have on board when you’re navigating endless questions and costs, and there ways to make it work.

For projects with tighter budgets, we offer daily and hourly design consultancy services and have also just launched a new ‘Design Concept only’ package, where we can develop a visual and technical “road map” for a project, giving our clients what they need to comfortably then go it alone.

It goes without saying that every project is different, so think of these figures as the start of a conversation rather than a quote. I’ve written more about this in our monthly journal - sign up via the link in bio. by @leokinderdesign

I love a playful touch when a space allows for it.

A client asked us to help source furniture for his living room. As is often the case, we couldn’t help ourselves and went a touch further.

The joinery was in, the fireplace was in, but something felt a bit flat. We were sourcing a colourful rug and soft furnishings, and wanted the fireplace to bring some quirk too.

I’d been wanting to work with Cecilia Carey for a while, one of the most creative, playful people I know, so we commissioned her to paint it. We landed on a Moroccan meets Art Deco mash up: a geometric striped pattern that gives the period room a strong new focal point while staying true to its Art Deco bones.

We tested a lot along the way, landing on Paint and Paper Library’s Copper Beech to match paint already in the house, then sealed it properly so it can take daily use and plenty of drinks. Not a working fire, so we had a bit more freedom with materials than we’d have on a functioning surface, but it still needed to hold up as part of a lived in room.

It doesn’t cost much: a bit of creative confidence, some tape and paint. But it’s completely transformed the room.

We love working with independent artists at Kinder. They bring something we simply couldn’t create alone.

Cecilia’s background is in theatre design, and it shows: a real sense of wonder and transformation, brought into a domestic space.

Follow her work @ceciliacareydesign by @leokinderdesign

New to the Directory: Kinder Design⁠
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Creative studio @leokinderdesign takes an 'eclectically minimalist' approach to interiors. Streamlined architecture pairs with expressive colour; considered furniture meets crafted details. Founded by Leo Wood and Camberwell-based, with projects across the city, they seek to transform with a personal, resourceful and sustainability-minded approach.⁠
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Explore Kinder Design and other creative visionaries on our Design Directory. Link in bio.⁠
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#DomusNova⁠
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#designled #interiordesigninspiration #design #architecture #luxuryhomes #londonarchitecture #architecturelovers #archidaily #interiordecor #interiorinspiration by @leokinderdesign

There’s a contradiction I navigate constantly. I run a commercial design practice and every project has a brief, a budget, a programme. Clients want to move in quickly and there’s often a need for speed.

But working with a designer is very rarely going to be the fast option.

If you wing it and skip straight to working direct with a builder, you could be on site within weeks. But bring in a designer and you’ll go through a tried and tested design process - design concept, then design detail, then tendering and procurement - often before much happens on site at all.

Phase by phase, ideas are generated and thought through and works are planned in minute detail. Even when working quickly, a good designer will need at the very least a couple of months to get a project just right and ready to action on site.

Of course I would say that working with a designer and having a proper design process is well worth it, even when there is pressure to move quickly. Good ideas need proper time to develop and designs always benefit from several iterations to make them as strong as possible. And designing and commissioning bespoke pieces will take months.

So it’s always helpful when potential clients get in touch when they are at least 3-6 months off needing to start building work rather than - as often happens - needing to be starting on site in a couple of weeks!

#KinderDesign #SlowRenovation #UKInteriorDesign #southeastlondondesigner by @leokinderdesign

We recently commissioned talented muralist @izzybourdillon_design to help decorate two kids’ bedrooms for us.

Her murals featured a playful monkey for a peach coloured bedroom and a magnificent leopard for a green bedroom.

Izzy and I worked together to map out the designs across each wall - it was important that the mural wasn’t ‘stuck’ on a single wall but that it flowed more organically across the room, featuring characters and details to catch the eye from multiple viewpoints.

We also worked with Izzy to define a colour palette for both murals - to make sure the murals calmly integrated with the furniture in the bedrooms.

It is always a total pleasure to commission artists like Izzy to help us create completely unique homes.
It’s safe to say that these particular pre-school clients are absolutely delighted with their new bedrooms! by @leokinderdesign

Quick colour scheming session today in the studio for our exciting new project: a villa in Tuscany.

We have completed the first piece of design concept work for each of the spaces and now are starting to get more specific on the fabrics that we might use for each of the bedrooms and living spaces.

It is my birthday today but this part of the design process is so creative and joyful that a sneaky hour in the studio this morning was a total delight.

We have so much more to share on this project soon! by @leokinderdesign

Once upon a time my husband and I bought a derelict warehouse in the corner of a car park in Whitechapel and decided we would have a go turning it into a family home.

I wanted to share some of the photos from that journey - particularly of course the “before” shots, to remind myself what a rat-infested dump it was and how we turned it into a pretty spectacular home.

We were lucky that Tower Hamlets council were supportive of our planning application (the warehouse was being illegally used for snooker nights and was in a bad way), although getting the easement (access rights) through the council earned car park was a little more arduous.

The build process itself was fairly straightforward thanks to Dan and his team at @evoke.projectslondon, and took a year to the day to complete, or at least to be ready enough for us to move in, and start the actual process of homemaking.

Watching the slow transformation of the space was fun, ripping out the existing gubbins is always the best bit, putting in steels and opening up the brickwork for new windows and doors.

Massive and total credit to @openpracticearch who conceived and led the whole thing, while I was a supportive wingman.

Our kids lived at the Gin Distillery between the ages of about 1-6 and now they are practically teenagers so our time living in this self-build was a while ago now!

But it gave us both a lot - I decided I wanted to become an interior designer off the back of developing this project, and we were fortunate to win a RIBA London award AND go on Grand Designs House of the Year, both of which were fantastic experiences, and felt like we received the necessary pat on the back after several years of persistence, fastidiousness and creativity.

You can read more about the project at our website: https://www.kinderdesign.co.uk/portfolio/gin-distillery-whitechapel
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#KinderDesign #selfbuild #GinDistillery #SlowInteriors #LondonInteriors DesignProcess RenovationJourney by @leokinderdesign

For Rent: Upper Addison Gardens W14

Dusky tones, uplifting proportions and Mediterranean-inspired interiors by @leokinderdesign give this five-bedroom triplex a relaxed rhythm. Across three floors, generous entertaining spaces sit alongside restorative corners, including an infrared sauna among the treetops and a secluded yoga studio on the top floor. With two terraces and access to leafy communal gardens, the outdoors feels like a natural extension of the home.

Explore Upper Addison Gardens. Link in bio.

#DomusNova
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#forrent #torent #tolet #luxuryproperty #londonproperty #westlondon #interiorinspiration #designinspiration #architecturelovers #interiordesign #architecture #luxuryhomes #londonarchitecture by @leokinderdesign