Camilla Leech

Element Studios creates homes and boutique commercial spaces defined by thoughtful simplicity, careful detailing and a design process that stays close to the people who use them. Founded in 2006 by Camilla Leech, the studio works across architecture and interior design. One team carries an idea from the shape of a building down to the door handles, and from first sketch to the last cushion.

Camilla trained as an architect in Oxford and Washington DC, then worked for a number of Oxford practices, specialising in restoration. Along the way she gained postgraduate diplomas in Built Resource Studies and Interior Design. Her schemes for colleges, schools and houses can be seen across the city. After taking time out to have children, she turned to her real passion, interiors, with a diploma at the KLC School of Design in London, where she later taught as a visiting lecturer.

That background still shapes the work. Much of it is in conservation areas and listed buildings, where we’ve learned to work with a building’s history rather than against it, and to treat craftsmanship and materials with real respect. We favour natural and reclaimed materials, local makers over catalogues, and technology that works quietly in the background. Our services range from a short design consultation to complete design and project management of large schemes. We also design and source bespoke furniture and art for individual clients, drawing on a trusted network of makers and specialists.

We have no house style. We borrow from every period, but nothing we do is fussy or contrived. Every project starts with listening: finding out what a client wants and needs, testing ideas properly, and then delivering it. The studio is based in Oxford and London and works across the UK and abroad.