meet the Founder of Kinder Design
About Leo Wood
Leo Wood is the founder of Kinder Design, an interior design studio in South East London known for colourful, sustainable, human-centred spaces.
She is also a two-time self-builder, a small-scale housing developer, and a regular voice on panels and stages across the design industry, speaking on colour, sustainability, and waste in design and construction.
The Kinder Journal is where Leo shares her creative journey and industry insights. If you'd like a new piece delivered to your inbox once a month, you can sign up here.
Career Journey
Before founding Kinder Design, Leo worked as a theatre producer - a background that shows up in how she thinks about project planning, atmosphere and the way people move through the spaces.
Her move into interiors began with the founding and designing of co-working spaces, followed by a joint project with her architect husband at Open Practice Architecture. The Gin Distillery, which won them a RIBA London award in 2018, was longlisted for RIBA House of the Year, and was featured on Grand Designs.
The Coach House, their second home renovation, is a hidden backland scheme in East Dulwich that has also been widely featured in the press.
VALUES
Leo's approach is guided by a few consistent principles:
People and place first
Every project starts with how a client actually lives, not just what they say they want. Leo asks lots of questions and lets the answers shape the brief before any design decisions are made.
Colour as psychology
Colour is used for how it makes a space feel, not for what's on trend. Leo thinks of it as mood first and palette second: a hallway that should feel calm, a kitchen that should feel alive, then colour chosen to do that specific job.
Practical & Honest
Two self-builds and small-scale development taught Leo to be honest about cost, realistic about build, and to say so plainly. That experience means clients get a straight answer early, not a nice surprise turned bad one halfway through the project.
Commissioning craft
Leo loves working with makers to create bespoke pieces that become future heirlooms, not just furniture. Each commission is a small collaboration in its own right, built to be lived with and passed on, not replaced in a few years.
"Leo lives up to her design ethos. She listened closely to how I wanted to use my house and carefully planned each room to maximise its potential and livability. Leo has seriously improved my home in ways I never would have considered without her."
JOSEPH
Speaking & press highlights
Leo speaks regularly on interiors, sustainable design, and the realities of small-scale development, including:
-
Spring Fair 2026: panellist, Colour, Texture, Light: The Design Trinity, alongside Michael Cascarino (Michael Grubb Studio) and Kate Aslangul (Oakley Moore)
-
Decorex International: panellist on reducing waste in design and construction, alongside representatives from Fermoie, Rehome, Margent Farm and REHAUS
Her work and commentary have also featured in Grand Designs, Dezeen, The Sunday Times Style, House Beautiful, House & Garden, The Telegraph, The English Home, Ideal Home and the Evening Standard, as well as in the books House London, A Modern Way to Live and East London Homes.
