There’s a certain kind of designer who doesn’t chase noise. Who notices the way light lands on a wall at 4pm. Who obsesses over the depth of a projection or the way a perforation throws a shadow. Leanne (@goodboneslondon) is very much that kind.
Her work is rooted in feeling rather than formula — shaped by the homes she grew up in, the clients she learns from and the quiet discipline of knowing when to hold back. It’s thoughtful, textural and always grounded in how people actually live.
We caught up with her to talk about creative boundaries, demolition-day dopamine, plant-based blinds and what really happens when a designer steps into the world of product development.
Whose work (past or present) quietly influences how you approach design?
I always say this but it’s often not professional designers who inspire me the most – just homeowners with excellent taste. I’m constantly learning from the homes of my clients and friends, and always, forever, inspired by my parents, whose approach to design has influenced me more than anything else.
Speaking of professionals, I’m always inspired by Berdoulat Interior Design.
Is there a material you’re especially drawn to at the moment? Why?
I’m into bamboo, hemp, flax and similar plant-based blinds. Maybe it’s because spring is just around the corner and the light is coming back, but I’m feeling very drawn to them and they way they filter light.
What part of the design process do you secretly love? And what part do you quietly dread?
I not-so-secretly love the demolition stage. It’s exciting, it moves quickly and it means stuff is moving in the right direction! It’s that in-between time where the designs aren’t quite realised but the vision becomes clearer. I, like everyone else, quietly dreads procurement. The time it takes, the emails required, the quadruple-checking and the admin involved can be a headache!
What’s one lesson you’ve learned the hard way in your career so far?
I’ve learned to have boundaries! This sounds so simple but often the intimate nature of the design process means the client-designer relationship becomes a very close one. This can, of course, lead to lifelong friendships and a melding of minds, but it can also lead to work bleeding into life and my inability to switch the work lever off when I should!
When you first said yes to collaborating with Plank Hardware on our lighting collection, what quietly terrified you — and what genuinely excited you?
I wasn’t nervous about anything to begin with but I did get super nervous just before we launched. It sounds absurd, but the design process felt so natural (leisurely almost!) that I hadn’t actually considered the obvious: that people would see the lights and have opinions about them. So there was a moment of panic but it quickly went away :)
Was there a moment in the development process where a design changed direction? What triggered that shift?
In terms of development, the only light that required more than mere tinkering was the DOMINO. We knew what we wanted in practice – a shiny wall light that would sit flush to the wall, conceal the bulb, and have a very shallow projection – but it took quite a lot of experimenting on Tom’s part to get a shape and a perforation pattern we were all happy with. The key was making sure the shape of the 'D' would stand the test of time.
What detail in the collection would most people overlook, but you’re irrationally proud of?
I think a lovely detail we insisted upon is that each fixture with a shade is designed so that a bulb will not sit proud. This means that light will not shine directly into people’s eyes and more light will be pushed up through the shade’s perforations, which means the sparkle through the holes is even more magical.
What did this collaboration teach you about your own design process?
I’ve always known that having restrictions breeds creativity but working within the very new-to-me confines of a commercial context, one with SKUs and suppliers and tariffs and brand identity, can actually be very freeing. Once we aligned on goals for each light within that context, I found that there was actually more space for experimentation than when designing homes. The ability to see prototypes to test various versions, finishes, shapes and proportions was a very different, very fun way to work!
Five years from now, what would make you feel proud when you look back at this collection?
I’ll always be really proud of the price point of these lights. The goal wasn’t just to come up with beautiful, practical light fixtures – there are plenty of gorgeous lights out there – but to do that at a price that would be accessible to the average homeowner.
