Grand designs
LEANNE KILROY • Good Bones
WORK • Wednesday Routine
LEANNE KILROY • interior designer • Good Bones
Neighbourhood you work & live in: Islington
It’s Wednesday morning. What’s the scene at your workplace?
I’ve just dropped my youngest kids at school. I’ll do a quick round of tidying the kitchen after the morning rush, then I’ll sit at the dining table with my computer and a coffee to start the day. If I’m not onsite with a client, I’m usually working from home. I’m an interior designer working on residential projects and doing a lot of consulting at the moment too. There’s such an appetite for intensive interior design support without the massive expense of hiring a designer for the whole project. I also have a weekly Substack, The Good Bones Life, where I share interior design tips and tricks and favourite recipes.
What’s on the agenda for today?
I’m working on some procurement pieces for a client project, and I have a one-hour virtual consultation with a client who’s looking for support on an upcoming kitchen renovation. I’m going to carve out time for an upcoming lighting collaboration, and will attempt to work out some logistics for an upcoming renovation at my own house. I’m also writing up a Substack post about how to partition a bedroom.
Any restaurant plans today, tonight, this weekend?
I just went to Wildflowers in Belgravia, which I loved. The formula isn’t new but they execute it so well. We’re planning our third visit to Perilla in Newington Green, which is outstanding, and Tofu Vegan on Upper Street, which is delightfully delicious. I’m also dreaming of going back to Vasiniko, which gets my vote for the best pizza in London.
How about a little leisure or culture?
We’ve recently discovered the joys of concerts in Hyde Park and going to the Opera. These are two very different sides of live music performance but there’s something so magical about both venues. Outdoor concerts at Hyde Park are just electric and we love sitting in the cheapest possible seats at the Royal Opera House – way up at the top. It feels like a sneaky treat and the acoustics are just incredible. A perfect kind of grown up London night out.
Any weekend getaways?
My whole family and I adore Bath. It’s 90 minutes by train from London and one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. We’ve toyed with the idea of moving there, it’s that beautiful!
What was your last great vacation?
We recently returned from Puglia, where we’ve been going for a long time, but this trip was extra special. We stayed in a gorgeous villa with a large group of family and friends to celebrate my mother-in-law’s 70th birthday. We love to go to the southernmost part of Puglia, near the tip of the heel of Italy’s boot. For big group lunches, we especially love Trattoria Picaló and for a memorable but unfussy dinner, Ristorantino da Fabio, which has a great bar with desserts and ice cream right across the piazza. The beaches near Torre Guaceto are some of my favourite on the planet. And for typical, inexpensive, hardwearing Pugliese ceramics, I love to visit Benegiamo.
What’s a recent big-ticket purchase you love?
We’re about to get a new sofa! It’s a design collaboration between Good Bones and the legendary The House Upstairs and I couldn’t be more excited.
What store or service do you always recommend?
I love Ocado and I recommend it to everyone who, like us, doesn’t have a car. There are some absolute bangers on there. I also love Wheely, a high-end version of Uber. On the other end of the spectrum, I adore Lime bikes. It’s such a freeing way to get around London, especially in the warmer months.
Photo: Matt Joy