Lema's philosophy for a universal design language: the In’Habit project

For designers with clients who own multiple eclectic homes, it’s useful to have a few go-to suppliers in the black book. Yet what about turning to one catalogue, showing a range of contemporary furniture collections that could solve every interior need and seamlessly adapt to each cross-continental residential scenario? Imagine the breeze of a book that could serve up a piece for every function, with a broad range of customisable dimensions and finishes, to blend into all kinds of colour palettes, lifestyles and architectural movements.

This is exactly why Italian design brand Lema has created the In’Habit ‘lifestyle project’. It’s a philosophy for a universal design language, which any architect or designer can depend on for any room, scale or location; expressed through an expansive catalogue that tells the story of a single home within which various Lema furnishings and collections are uniquely tailored to the environment. Each piece offers breadth and extensive options for customisation, while combining traditional ‘Made In Italy’ craftsmanship and sophisticated identities.

In 2019, the catalogue unfolded within a hill-top house in Italy overlooking a vineyard, this year in 2024, Lema has furnished the ‘Sunrise House’ in Miami’s oceanfront neighbourhood of Bay Harbour. You’ll see how together, the many collections harmonise just as well amidst the geometric lines, glazed facades and robust slabs of this modern home. In fact, Lema’s furniture tempers the boldness of its show-stopping spaces, voluptuous metallic staircase and huge floor-to-ceiling windows, with the warmth of natural materials, neutral tones, assemblages of textures and details.

‘Setting this scene allowed us to create a poetic and emotional story, rather than a didactic one,’ explains the team at Lema. ‘With each page, the catalogue unfolds a day in the life of a Lema home, illustrating how our products adapt to daily life from sunrise to sunset.’

So let’s open the door and step inside the dynamic entrance hallway to explore Lema’s collections. Here, the coffee-coloured leather Yard daybed and the circular Sign coffee table offer a welcoming embrace of domesticity. The soaring double-height of the open plan entertaining space draws guests into a sculptural arrangement of two curved sofas from the Venise system (with many geometric variables for endless compositions) and the similarly artistic positioning of two Oydo coffee tables in Imperial Portoro Marble – an elegant composition sure to spark some conversations.

As well as sophisticated style, there’s plenty of practicality to be found in Lema’s wide series of multi-functional storage units, which display or conceal, guide or blend, according to their purpose. For example the subtle bifrontal low unit of the LT40 system smoothly intersects living and dining, while the decorative Selecta glass cabinet illuminates each object inside, or alternatively, the heat-treated oak Selecta bookcase evokes a treasure chest with options for open or closed compartments.

Although the products are highly functional, the level of sensory detail is also high. The bedrooms of the Sunrise House are furnished with pieces such as – the Maddox bed, featuring an airy structure and various integrated lighting options; the Eureka vanity, designed to be secretly embedded as an intimate wall cupboard; or the Tian wardrobe with transparencies that playfully reveal and blur.

Lema is well-versed in its holistic approach to space; in the 70s, it was the first Italian company to design and produce integrated furniture systems, managing the entire production cycle internally, from raw materials to the finished product. The entrepreneurial family company has innovated by adding a carefully considered layer of fine-tuning to every piece: 'Today Lema offers the widest range of tailor-made solutions we have ever achieved,' says Lema, 'demonstrating the increasing importance of customisation today, where designers are seeking both unique and adaptive pieces.'

For Lema, In’Habit is a trusty ‘tool’ for any designers’ back pocket – a fail-safe catalogue for luxury, ready to replace that little black book.

© Architonic

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