Lema at London Design Festival

Lema will be among the protagonists of the London Design Festival, scheduled from the 17th to the 25th of September 2022 in the heart of the British capital. Considered today one of the most important meeting places for the international design community, the event returns to London celebrating its 20th anniversary with a full calendar of events and will once again provide the ideal opportunity for designers and creative companies to showcase their work, bringing together an audience keen to discover the diversities and innovation of talent found in the UK.

Lema will participate with a selection of new designs created by internationally renowned designers including Piero Lissoni, David Lopez Quincoces, Gabriele and Oscar Buratti, Federica Biasi, Norm Architects, Steve Leung and Ximi Li.

Previously presented during the Salone del Mobile in Milan last June, they will be in addition to the company’s iconic products. The new furnishings will be the protagonists of the renovated and expanded Chelsea showroom, where the idea of living according to Lema comes to life.

On the evening of Wednesday 21st September from 6:30pm to 8:30pm the flagship store will host a cocktail party open to the city, where the British artist Hatty Pedder will be illustrating portraits live, inspired by the unmistakable design of Lema, creating artworks throughout the evening.

For this year’s London Design Festival, Lema is pleased to bring some of its latest proposals to the United Kingdom, presented in Milan at the Salone del Mobile, along with the company’s best-sellers.

The protagonist of the flagship store window is Eureka: the mobile vanity designed by the Chinese designer Steve Leung. Elegant and feminine, it expresses the charm of furnishing from the past in a contemporary form. By rethinking the wardrobe concept, Eureka integrates perfectly with the Armadio al Centimetro range in the night area, giving the rooms a timeless elegance: an intimate and welcoming space in which to express your personal style. In the next window there is an unprecedented interpretation of the iconic Selecta modular bookcase, with a decorative fabric backdrop and a new vertical lighting, enriched by the new Tetris shelving system. Beyond the space dedicated to the reception, there is the first living area, where Glee appears at the centre of the scene, the modular sofa that stands out for its essential lines and soft volumes.

Inside the flagship store there is no shortage of collections resulting from Lema’s first collaboration with the Norm Architects studio. Nordic aesthetics meets Made in Italy design, giving life to the Fred wooden dining chair, emblem of the skill of Lema’s master cabinetmakers and of Northern European taste.

Minimalism and expressive strength are taken up by the Francis coffee tables and the Claire lounge chair, two simple proposals, always by Norm Architects with a sophisticated taste.

Another novelty by the designer Ximi Li is his In-Between dining table, where space becomes the focal point that attracts the eye of the observer, and its sculptural base is a real work of art. Finally, Federica Biasi signs her second collaboration with Lema through Niveaux, a modular floor sofa available with movable backrest or fixed backrest, a versatile proposal with a contemporary design.

Window dressing and set up:

The London flagship store is designed to be more than just a showroom, it is in fact, both a furniture store and a welcoming space to explore Lema’s bespoke style. The company’s art director, Piero Lissoni, designed this space to draw attention to the pillars of the brand: tradition, innovation, industrial competence and know-how, which define the essence of Italian design and the world of Lema. The design that distinguishes Lema’s production is highlighted by various soft proposals present in the space, including the Jermyn pouf by Gordon Guillamier. A pure style with a marked lightness, Jermyn takes its name from the homonymous London street (Jermyn Street) where the most important sartorial brands are based, real tailor-made workshops, with which Lema shares the vocation for customisation, also highlighted by the Sign tables designed by Studio Kairos. Available in versions with and without drawer, Sign is a family of accessories designed for the sleeping area, which can also be adapted to other rooms in the house and perfect for enriching lounges and hotel spaces. In the adjacent window, the famous Selecta modular bookcase, expression of Lema’s manufacturing ability, presented here with a new vertical lighting and container with flap door perfect to use as a desk.

The furnishings of this second window are completed by the enveloping and monolithic Felix armchairs by Roberto Lazzeroni and the novelty from 2022, Francis, the coffee table system designed by Norm Architects. Also, monolithic and developed based on the encounter between solidity and lightness, the Francis coffee tables reveal their soul in the hardness of the material that composes them and the union between apparently simple and primordial geometric shapes, which give contemporaneity to the whole figure. The continuous and harmonious dialogue between new proposals and iconic furnishings continues inside the showroom, where the contemporary and refined lifestyle philosophy that distinguishes Lema is created in each of the spaces, narrating the route of the Italian company that has become a reference point for Made in Italy at an international level.

Beyond the space dedicated to the reception, there is a first living area, where Glee appears at the centre of the scene, the modular floor sofa that stands out for its essential lines and soft volumes. This 2022 novelty shares the space with the round and square Cruise coffee tables, emblem of that timeless simplicity that springs from the most essential forms. Both designed by Officinadesign Lema, the two furnishings face the Bice armchairs by Roberto Lazzeroni, proposed here with a black leather upholstery. In the same space, a first proposal for a sleeping area whose protagonist is the Victoriano textile bed with extra-large headboard by Lazzeroni, flanked by a composition of Flowers coffee tables proposed with a lacquered top, also designed by Lazzeroni. The space is completed by the Seryasse boiserie wardrobe by David Lopez Quincoces and Victoria, the console with wooden structure also by Roberto Lazzeroni.

The dining area is then found, where a LT40 composition forms the backdrop to the In Between dining table by Ximi Li surrounded by Fred chairs by Norm Architects. Both furnishings are new for 2022 and express the idea of conviviality and sharing that characterises the idea of living according to Lema. The entire area is reflected in Tokujin Yoshioka’s Mirage decorative wall mirror. A second environment then follows, hosting another living area proposal, where the Niveaux sofa by Federica Biasi invites you to show your personality, in an environment where conviviality, comfort and warmth are the key words. Thanks to its infinite combinations of shapes, the sofa allows you to customize your living area by playing with all the many possible variations. The same concept of dynamism is taken up by Dolmen, the coffee table system by David Lopez Quincoces which is characterized by the tops with pure geometric shapes – rectangular, square, or round – to be freely composed in a game of joints. The Selecta bookcase and the LT40 system complete the space.

The night area welcomes the Warp double bed by Francesco Rota, here proposed in the version with storage box. With its relaxed and informal style, Warp finds its strength in the contrast with the refined vertical tailoring stitching that shapes the large, padded headboard. The soft and generous lines are like those of Claire, Norm Architect’s lounge chair. Characterised by the high backrest and rounded shape, Claire invites you to sit down and enjoy moments of relaxation. A composition of LT40 complete with boiserie and bedside tables outlines the perimeter, separating the bed and the armchairs from the space dedicated to the Victor desk by Roberto Lazzeroni and the Hati chair with rigorous comfort by Piero Lissoni. The space is completed by the Ortis coffee tables with metal structure, proposed with round and oval tops, by Gabriele and Oscar Buratti. A second dining area hosts the Shade table by Francesco Rota, the sculpture table defined by the play of shadows created by its base. Perfect in both residential and hospitality settings, Shade is accompanied by the padded Tabby armchairs by Gordon Guillaumier. The result of a careful study of proportions and details, Tabby stands out for its classic soul yet devoted to the contemporary, thanks to the refined shapes of the wooden structure. In the same space the LT40 modular day system can be found by David Lopez Quincoces and the Galerist storage unit by Christophe Pillet. Galerist is a display cabinet defined in the transparency of the extra-clear glass used at three hundred and sixty degrees, Galerist creates a stage with a light volume that enhances objects and memories stored inside. Finally, in the recently expanded showroom area, a selection of wardrobes from the customizable line Armadio al Centimetro are presented together with the LT40 island by David Lopez Quincoces, ideal for a large and spacious walk-in closet, and the Yard daybed by Francesco Rota, perfect to embellish any sleeping area.