The philosophy behind Italian furniture designers LEMA is the concept of slow living, the harmonious enjoyment of life through beauty. This vision is behind all their bespoke items, and underpins the grace and elegance that flows through their interiors.
Francesco Rota, one of LEMA’s most admired designers, has articulated this concept in his exceptional pieces for day and night living. Embracing the values of Italian design – comfort, simplicity, functionality and visual appeal – he has created works that offer flexibility and versatility.
Born in Milan where he opened his studio in 1998, he has a wide scope of work including products, furniture, lighting, showrooms, offices and residential interiors. His products have won numerous awards, including The Good Design Award in 2016 and the Wallpaper Design Award 2017.
OYDO designed by Francesco Rota
He has exhibited at many events including the Biennale di Architettura Venezia, the Royal Academy of Arts in London and the Miami Design District.
Francesco often finds inspiration in the beauty of the industrial production processes as well as in the aesthetics of popular iconic designs. His pieces are timeless, unaffected by fashion and embued with an innate feeling for composition, delicate colours and functionality, complementing their settings.
NEIL designed by Francesco Rota
CASES, an airy sideboard that plays on the contrast of solids and voids, offers a nod to the ‘60s with its titanium-coloured legs. It offers a combination of containers including sideboard, set of drawers, display cabinet and a bar cabinet. The sideboard is available with a glass or marble top, and also in leather with an elegantly stitched border.
CASES designed by Francesco Rota
With either glass or wood doors, wooden drawers of differing heights or even an elegant glass cube that functions as a display cabinet, each unique combination personalises the room and makes CASES a versatile piece that works in all areas of the home. Rota’s OYDO coffee tables for LEMA are similarly versatile, one round and the other rectangular, with many different finishes from heat-treated oak, clay, stone to elegant Portoro marble.
Comfort is the theme for Rota’s NEIL sofa, a modular concept which is the perfect synthesis of made-to-measure comfort. A low seat, generous shape and square back is enhanced by two different heights, one for relaxing and the other for more formal entertaining, giving an interesting movement to the sofa.
