Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman Click on image to zoom Designers: Charles and Ray EamesThe lounge chair and ottoman have their origin in Charles and Ray’s investigations into molding plywood and a desire to improve upon a familiar fixture in many living rooms: the lounge chair. Citing the English club chair as inspiration, Charles said he sought to design a modern version of that chair, one that had “the warm receptive look of a well-used first baseman's mitt.” Almost immediately, the design became an icon of American design. Today, these pieces not only live in museums, but continue to offer comfort and style to interiors around the world. A universally recognized form, the set is available in a variety of veneers, multiple leather options, and two sizes. Whatever selection you make, you can be assured of the quality and authenticity of this design. Configure Your Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman Add to Wish List Own a True Icon of Modern Design When the set was introduced in 1956, there was nothing like it, and there is still nothing to equal it.
The Eameses' modern take on a 19th century club chair has not only endured for more than 50 years, it has become one of the most significant furniture designs of the 20th century—instantly recognizable and enduringly fresh. Like all classics, the chair and ottoman get better with age, in part because of how they are made. From the innovative hardware that fastens the cushions to the shells without marring the appearance of the wood to the fact that each piece continues to be assembled by hand, the combination of craft and manufacturing consistency results in pieces that are genuinely authentic. "A special refuge from the strains of modern living." The Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman has become so recognizable that its configuration is now a registered trademark. That form and the materials used to create it are an integral part of the experience the set delivers. Today, the chair and ottoman are available in a variety of veneers, multiple leather options, and two sizes.
The same high level of quality and workmanship is guaranteed, regardless of the selection you make. Choose contract-grade or our MCL Leather, which possesses a striking balance among softness, durability, and color-fastness. MCL Leather is a premium, semi-aniline, dyed leather with 100 percent natural full grain. Color variations and surface marks are an inherent characteristic of this material, which will acquire wrinkles and creases and develop a rich patina over time. An oiled finish is available for walnut and santos palisander veneers. It closely matches the look and feel of the finish used on the original rosewood chair, and will need to be maintained with periodic hand oiling. You can also choose the standard, high-performance lacquered plywood shell in wood veneer. The lacquered finish requires nothing more than dusting. Luxurious Comfort and Support The comfort and support built into the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman help explain their enduring popularity.
A dynamic blend of hand-craftsmanship and mass production techniques makes this possible. The cushions will not flatten or clump over time. As Charles Eames described them, "The leather cushions do have built-in wrinkles to start with, but that is a clue that spells comfort to come, like the warm, receptive look of a well-used first baseman's mitt." Each hide used for the cushions possesses variations that are a natural occurrence in leather, and each will age to reveal its own unique personality. The seat is permanently tilted to take the weight off your lower spine and distribute it properly to the back of the chair. The lower cushion piece supports your lower back, so you feel relaxed. The angle supports your chest so that you can be comfortable as you read, watch a movie, or have a conversation. A Place of Rest The ottoman also provides a health benefit. Most of us sit or stand all day, so blood collects in the lower extremities. Resting your feet on the ottoman helps restore normal blood circulation.
Like all classics, the chair and ottoman get better with age. Both are hand-assembled with great attention paid to the details. Shells are 7-ply veneers. Cushions are individually upholstered and replaceable. The back braces and bases—of both the chair and ottoman—are die-cast aluminum. The chair base has a built-in swivel mechanism. Shock mounts are resilient natural rubber. Stainless steel glides are adjustable.screen shot, Fast Company and RenestFive years ago, when I was particularly upset about comments regarding the cost of a British product, I quoted Oscar Wilde's complaint, suggesting that the commenters knew the price of everything and the value of nothing. Reading the comments on Suzanne LaBarre's Fast Company post about Vitra's production of the classic Eames Lounge, on our reposting of it, and Cambria Bold's post Re-Nest On... Expensive Green Furniture and Angry People, I think it is time to revisit the issue. There are in fact two questions to address:1) Why is the Eames Lounge so expensive?2) Is this expensive furniture we all show really green?
The discussion started with an appalling comment on Re-nest, the most civil part being "Get off my planet and take your high-priced stupid furniture with you. Mother Earth has no need of you or your crap."That is not in fact true, Herman Miller has been making the thing since it was designed, working with Charles and Ray Eames.In fact, not everything that the Eames's designed was "good design for the masses" and built with economics in mind; this chair was always expensive. In the 1957 catalogue it lists for $ 540; using an inflation calculator, that currently represents $ 4,308, just a little cheaper than the $ 4,499 that the chair lists for at Herman Miller in walnut veneer.As for the $ 9,000 price quoted in Fast Company, one cannot convert a European price in Euros to dollars and complain when the dollar is in the toilet; in five years it has dropped significantly.Then there is Purchasing Power Parity; things cost more in Europe. The Economist's Big Mac index suggests that the Euro is 20% over valued.
Combine the two and that $ 9,000 chair is really only about $ 6500, more than the American price but not that far out of line.But that still is a lot of money.Yes, and as one commenter said, " There are some very good copies out there at a fraction of the cost." But they do not pay royalties to the Eames Foundation, nor do they stick to the standards set by the designers' estate. They knock it off.What goes into an original Eames Chair. Image credit Herman MillerNor do they care about using sustainably harvested woods and maximizing recycled content. The fact of the matter is, it costs a lot of money to make this thing well. If you look at my slideshow or the Vitra video at Fast Company, you see talented craftspeople working carefully. So many of the designs that we show are made by craftspeople using sustainably sourced materials, made in short production runs. They are going to be expensive, but that doesn't mean you can't call it green.Back at ReNest, Cambria Bold summarized many of the attributes that we all admire in this stuff:We continue to believe that great, green design should:
be beautiful, durable, and innovative. be able to improve your life and the planet without sacrificing style and comfort. encourage thoughtful, careful purchasing. celebrate both thrift AND aspiration. That last point is really key: the designers and companies that are shaping our future are worth knowing about, even if their products are currently out of our price range. Our hope is that one day, they won't be--hopefully one day, their ideas, design philosophies, and production and manufacturing processes will have become standard practice, and thus more accessible.Furniture used to be aspirational; one used your grandma's sofa until you could afford your own. Now it is cheaper to buy one at IKEA than it is to hire a mover to bring you your grandma's sofa. Also, in a lot of ways, IKEA has hurt the market for aspirational furniture because their stuff looks so good; cheap furniture used to inevitably be ugly furniture and with IKEA, it isn't. They have changed the entire marketplace.
I believe that the marketplace is going to change again. I have been looking for a decent dining room chair for over twenty years, and have never found one I like to go with my mid-century modern former boardroom table.Two years ago at ICFF I finally found a chair that I thought would work, designed by D E Sellers in Brooklyn. It is a downloadable design, that can be sent electronically and cut out with a CNC Router or shopbot anywhere in the world. Instead of a flatpack design from an unknown Swede cut out in China and purchased in a suburban big box store, I am going to talk directly to the designer, cut it out in downtown Toronto, take it home by subway and streetcar (unless I can borrow a bike trailer) and assemble it.Just because I can't afford a classic doesn't mean I want to drown the writer who shows it on their site. I can still support a designer I admire, know the provenance of the wood my chair is made of, leave most of my money in the hands of a local craftsman cutting out the pieces, and still have something different and special.