Set within a historic building in the heart of Milan, Casa Lea by LC Atelier reimagines a residence that draws from the natural and urban beauty of its surroundings, thoughtfully mirroring the dynamic personality of its inhabitant.
With a commitment to preserving and restoring the original structure of this striking Milanese home, LC Atelier approached the design without a fixed brief. Instead, their observations of Lea—the homeowner—and her way of life inspired a space that reflects the cadence and quiet rhythms of nature. Honouring the residence’s historical features; the result is a composition of colour, light and surprise, all woven together to create a space that feels quintessentially and irresistibly European.
“We didn’t have a strict brief,” principal architect Lucrezia Calvi says. “Instead, we studied the apartment’s structure and the owner’s personality, allowing the project to emerge from there,” she explains.
A respect for the building’s original features informed every design decision. At the entrance, Joseph Kosuth’s Light Thinks—a piece from the owner’s collection—sits against Dedar’s seaweed-green Didgeridoo Wall wallpaper. Terracotta tiles, laid in a classic Italian herringbone pattern with a bindello border, bring warmth and a reference to the homeowner’s cultural heritage. “We wanted to work with natural materials that echo the homeowner’s roots in the Perugia region and bring that heritage into the heart of Milan,” Calvi says.
