The Eames Lounge Chair

I had one in my rec room growing up. It's a great chair. I think people should buy things they can afford and enjoy without thinking too much about the cost. You need the ottoman and you have lowballed it by many thousands, OP. It sounds like you can't afford it.

My parents had two in our TV lounge. I brought home a stray cat I met in college and she proceeded to scratch both up. My parents were too dysfunctional at that time to care.

I have another cat and I am sure she would do the same if I brought an Eames chair home.

1985 is calling. They want their chair back.

Made it's debut in 1956, R3, but you do you.

Vintage ones are worth about the same as new ones so don’t buy one as an investment piece if that’s a motivator. If it’s the look you like you can get a high quality reproduction for a quarter of the price.

I think they look like machines from some spacecraft.

But then I did buy two of these—

My company's offices in 1985 had those all over the place.

And yet this chair has nothing to do with 1980s aesthetic.

I no longer buy expensive furniture. Years ago, I thought I was a B+-gay. I have since resigned myself to the fact that I only have trashy friends who come to my house high, get drunk and make a mess.

Design Within Reach is having a 15% off sale.

Anyone over 5’10 will find it uncomfortable to sit in.

They make a tall version now, r11. Click on r10.

Do it and snarf up any repair kits and extra pieces of matching leather.and

I bought the Eames chair and ottoman from Herman Miller in 1976 (rosewood frame, no longer offered) and sat in it almost every evening since then. I think the chair either fits you or it doesn't. If you're tall or stocky, you may find the chair sits very low. As R12 notes, they now offer a version with a slightly higher seat which is also a bit deep as well.

My parents bought six of these dining chairs in the 60s and my brothers and I demolished half of them within the decade.

Beautiful chair that will stay in style, but save yourself a bundle and buy a good knockoff

Yes buy a knockoff or a used one

Buy a knockoff

I’ve owned mine for 35 years. My Mom’s is still ticking after 50 years. Very comfortable. With a genuine Herman Miller, they follow the Eames design and that is important to how the chair functions. You can get (and I have gotten) replacement parts. With unauthorized versions, this may not be the case. I imagine some knock-offs are better than others.

What people about Eames chairs is that it has to work with the room. It might be a statement piece but people often think they can make the room. I'll see one tossed in a room with a totally mismatched aesthetic or too many chatychkes and it feels cheap. It looks best with minimalist decor like in R16 's photo. If you have to buy the version for fat people, just don't.

Why does no one speak of rosewood furniture anymore?

The rosewood version is coveted.

They make one for fat people? I know there's a tall version.

Mine is rosewood but it’s quite faded by sunlight.

I have a rosebud - is anyone interested?

I got AIDS by sitting in that chair.

Just saying.

It seems Eemes had something to do with this—

A fine choice, OP.

That chair looks like a sexual moron.

They be ugly!

I bought a knockoff by Selig it reclines and swivels the Eames Chair only swivels. It's as comfortable as the original Eames chair.

They dominate the room. You can't have two of them together in the same room.

Can you get a knock-off in rosewood? They're beautiful.

Vintage versions of this chair come up for auction often. They tend to sell for $3-$5K depending on condition. Check liveauctioneers.

Have one in my living room. Light coloured wood and white leather. With the ottoman. Beautiful to look at, but quite uncomfortable for more than 15 min. I’m 6’3 if that helps.

[quote]They dominate the room. You can't have two of them together in the same room.

If you have a big enough room(s), two are fine. We had two in our TV/lounge room (not the living room) growing up. Very comfy as I recall. Of course the stray cat I brought home used them as a scratching post.

Interesting to see so many votes to buy a knock-off! I never imagined our DL Tasteful Friends would approve of such a thing, haha

I also appreciate the comment that the chair can dominate the room. I was thinking of putting it in the bedroom next to the window as a sort of reading area. Perhaps a bedroom is too small for this kind of chair.

I am tall like R11 and R35. I've sat in the chair at Design Within Reach a couple times and the "tall" version always felt super comfy. But truthfully I've never sat in it for more that five minutes or so who knows...

^ That's because we're cheaper than we are tasteful

I adore the look of the Wassily chairs at R6 but they make my legs go numb. I have to put cushions on them which spoils the look.

Reread my comment at R1. People are suggesting the knockoff because between the lines it seems that the purchase is too dear for your budget. So why bother? Overspending ones budget for name brands isn't really 2022.

Question for the experts. Obviously they don't make the rosewood anymore. But did I read somewhere that the stuffing and leather is also different (and not as good quality) these days? Which is why vintage versions are so in demand? Or is this hype?

R41: The vintage versions stay in demand because they are the real thing, even if you overspend they retain significant value whereas the knock-offs retain some value, but less than paid for them. Quality varies greatly on the knock-off s; some don't get the lines and details of the original right, some get the material and construction details wrong, and some are a mix of both faults.

The quality of the leather does has a different look over time; it's a distinguishing difference between various repros and copies, but also as you suggest it's a difference seen in legit versions old and new. Some people want the exact look and feel of the original leathers, others don't care.

The Design Within Reach version is well within reach of the price of the real McCoy, either vintage or new. I don't see the advantage of paying so close to the price of the real thing.

The vintage

^ I'm impressed :)

[quote] Interesting to see so many votes to buy a knock-off! I never imagined our DL Tasteful Friends would approve of such a thing, haha

The knockoff Barcelona chair and ottoman I sat in was just as sturdy and many, many times for comfortable than the real MVDR deal.

^ Buyer Beware, there are a lot of crap Barcelona chairs out there

It would be very decadent to stain a LC4 with fuck fluids. Why not go with the pleather?

On the other hand, if the lady is paying why not go with Vicuna?

I had the Eames chair and ottoman back in the 70s and 80s. It was the most uncomfortable chair I ever had. I eventually gave it away.

I also inherited a set of original Barcelona furniture (2 chairs and the flat Barcelona couch) from an elderly friend in 1983. The set was made in the 50s and wasn't in good condition, with several tears and cracks in the leather. I spent a small fortune having the pieces recovered and the stainless frames renovated. Another set of the most uncomfortable furniture that no one wanted to sit on. By the mid 90s I had it bagged & boxed and it's been in storage ever since. I refused to give it away as I knew it was valuable. It'll be there for my heirs to deal with as they please. I don't know if I destroyed the value by having it recovered and repaired, but it wasn't usable as it was when I received it.

I want an orbit chair. We just don't have the space for one.

R31 Actually not bad pricing for 1st Dibs, but I avoid that site like the plague. Extremely overpriced.

Such a cliche.

DWR is selling the real McCoy. Herman Miller is the authorized (and the original) manufacturer.

Brazilian Rosewood in now considered an endangered wood and is no longer offered by Herman Miller stopped. Over the years Miller did indeed change the cushion material and they no longer use premium grade hides for the leather. They recently began offering the chair in fabric upholstery.

Herman Miller owns Design Within Reach, so you can be sure they are offering the red deal.

For what it's worth, this link provides some pointers on selecting a replica Eames Lounge Chair (with a link to the same for Barcelona Chairs.)

I would be wary of their connection to The Iconic Chair that they recommend ($2600 or $1700 "on sale") as the best; the site seems to a little content built around paid advertisement, but their points for assessing the various options seem sound.

We Eames to Please.

[quote]Buy a knockoff

Therein lies the problem with the Eames Chair. It has become the Louis Vuitton bag of furniture: so many cheap knock-offs / fakes mean that even if you end up owning the genuine product people will still assume you're a basic bitch and in reality own a knock-off. And so common now as to be seen as a cliche of contemporary decorating (as noted by someone above).

The same can be said of the Barcelona Chair and Noguchi Table.

Shit, buy a Barcalounger, it has drink holders and it reclines!

I buy furniture to please myself, not “people.”

Does it come with a magic fingers option and do you need coins to operate it?

Oh, R1 / R40 you're ADORABLE for thinking this is beyond my budget. Turns out I had you on my ignore list, so thanks for reminding me why :)

Sure Jan.

"sale"

"take the plunge"

"And are they worth the $4,000+ or should I just keep saving for a rainy day?"

I could not sleep at night if I knew there was a knock-off anything in my home!

According to r16's link, you can, r33.

I was trying to sound humble, R61. But I can always go the other direction, too.

Okidokey! I knew something was disingenuous about the wording. I erred downmarket.

If your watch is not a Chinese counterfeit, why should your ass sit on one?

I bought a knock-off a few years ago; I think from Hive, but I'm not sure. The quality is there as they stated many parts are from Herman Miller. I bought it in white leather with rosewood. Lately, I can't sit in it because of an upper back injury. Otherwise it's comfy.

What’s the point of this chair? It can’t be more comfy than a bed. I prefer reading and watching TV in my bed.

R68 it's a different experience of sitting.

Buy it OP!

If you can’t afford an original in rosewood wait until you can. Never buy a copy when there are originals available for almost the same price.

IMO, not a super-attractive piece of furniture (2 pieces, actually). Unless you have a large room, yes it will dominate the room, but if you love it, so what.

However, I would caution, reading about taller guys not being comfortable in it: is it truly comfortable? Would it really be your go-to place to read, lounge, relax? If not, it is akin to a Nordic Track that sits in your living room, unused. IMO.

I tried sitting in a Barcelona chair once (could have been a bad knock-off) and was surprised at how UNcomfortable it was.

My uncle, who was six feet, five bought one in 1985 (since others linked them to this year, they must have had a mini-renaissance). He found it to be extremely comfortable and kept until he died. I didn't much care for its looks but he was a commercial artist in the fifties and though he went on to become a pediatrician, he retained that fifties-design sensibility. The Eames actually went well in his house, which was rather modernist, with big expanses of glass looking into the woods. I would agree that these chairs tend to dominate the room but then, so did Uncle Fred!

You can have a comfortable arm chair or a good-looking arm chair.

You can't expect an arm chair to be both. You need cushions.

Is this chair (Morris with foot ottoman) really "ugly"? I think it looks pretty nice *and* it looks comfortable as well.

^ It will last forever

^ It's very handsome but it needs a bit more support for the Lordosis.

no takers?

Modern is well on its way to being out. The younguns dont like it.

We burned ours.

Gladly.

Despite the fact that DL is dominated by older men who grew up in working class families in Darkest Flyoverstan, this thread has managed to attract responses from dozens of men whose parents owned this expensive chair, whose style would only fit in with a specific type of decor. In fact many DLers report their parents owned several.

All within the course of just a few hours.

Yup.

Ray and Charles Eames didn’t create for the elite, they very much created for the masses and believed that everyone, no matter their socioeconomic level, deserved good design and tried to make it available to them. That was central to their design ethos.

You overlook how many of us are bourgeois Ivy League graduates whose parents bought contemporary furniture.

I know it will kill you but we had the Saarinen as well.

My parents were high school graduates, but we had some of that Scandinavian-looking furniture.

Here’s the televised launch of the lounge chair, including video of its assembly. Arlene Francis gives lip service to a Ray, but nonetheless is incredibly dismissive of her.

Every affluent town had a contemporary furniture shop or two. All these classics were, then, not expensive. It was all LESS expensive than "classy" traditional styles.

[quote] Ray and Charles Eames didn’t create for the elite, they very much created for the masses and believed that everyone, no matter their socioeconomic level, deserved good design and tried to make it available to them. That was central to their design ethos.

How did the chair, which accommodates one person at a time, end up costing more than $5,000, though?

Bent plastic lustres were very inexpensive.

Ikea!

Eames chair was introduced at about 300. About half the price of today's chair, with inflation.

We also had that Saarinen table and chairs. And Jacobsen Swan Chairs (which I now have)

^ The arm rests on those 'Swan Chairs' don't look very restful.

R74, that’s a shoe shine chair.

I have an Eames Chair and Ottoman in my living room. It's genuine Herman Miller in Santos Palisander wood veneer with black Edelman leather. I am 6 feet tall and I have the "tall" version. It' incredibly comfortable -- everyone who comes over wants to sit in it. And it's a beautiful centerpiece in the room. I expect to have it until the day I die. And once I do, who wants my stuff?

^ As long as you haven't dribbled on it, I'll take it ;-)

I just finished re-watching VEEP and they have something to say about Eames arm chairs OP.

A company that made knock-offs in the 1970s was Plycraft. I had one with the ottoman and sold it a few years ago for about 750 (I paid about 250 new in 1979 or so). It was a great chair and I took good care of it. The folks who bought it were thrilled.

The Swan Chairs are surprisingly comfortable.

They're very comfortable so for that reason alone, buy one if you have the money. In terms of how they look, I've always thought they were VERY Jekyll and Hyde - the look great in some settings, not good in others. They seem to need room to breathe and look best (IMO) when there's not a ton right around them or crammed into a small space or a space filled with too much stuff.

R57 & r58 = Martin Crane

Don’t remember seeing that episode of VEEP, but did the sexy Gary Cole character then follow-up with something like “all chaps are assless”?

Cuz they are.

R15, $1,600 per chair for "molded plywood"? Those look like some shit you could get at Ikea for like $35 per chair.

You're highly cultivated, R102.

I hated mine because the arms rests were so low it would cause strain on my shoulders and I had terrible bursitis of both shoulders. The only way I could sit in it was to have two pillows on the arm rests to support my arms. I finally just stopped sitting in it at all and let it sit there for a long time until I could find a friend who wanted it.

My Herman Miller Eames chair broke after 40 years of daily use. The curved rosewood back split in half due to the wood drying out. I originally paid around $950 for the two items. I went online to find someone to restore it and the price from a reputable restorer was $7500. And they warned that the "patch" would be noticeable. For another $1200+ they would reupholster it in leather. So I shopped new one at DWR. Rosewood is no longer offered, but in a similar wood and premium leather (similar to the original) the price was $7600. I decided that, as much as I loved the chair, after 40 years it was time for a change. I sold the broken one to the restorer and bought a Knoll Womb chair and ottoman instead. (And it's wonderful!)

My village ate my chair. D. Orf

R106 I don't understand that culture reference.

R102 I agree. "Molded plywood" was invented last century at the same time as asbestos sheeting as cheap household products 'for The Common Man'.

Plywood was heralded as the CHEAP alternative to paying for genuine carpenters using skills and lots of time working with genuine wood to create genuine furniture.

R107 - You got that right brother!!! Glass is just cheap abundant sand, soda ash and limestone. Only a sucker would pay a fortune for this chunky old lamp just because its so-called "classic" Venini. Big deal! Rip off! Looks like something my nonna had in her rumpus room. Sheesh!

R105 Places like 1st dibs have vetted sellers and authentic products, while this may be a little late to help replace that chair, other pieces can be found (Ive always liked the ABC Carpet and Home showroom, great place to try out older styles, and usually have, or can help you find more obscure older pieces)

R107 I've worked with bent ply, and believe me it is ANYTHING but cheap. Also strong, light, more dimensionally stable and conservative of precious woods and the possibilities are much broader in terms of design possibilities.

R105 Isn't there's real value in a broken old Eames chair for the parts alone?

R110 If you watch the end of the video at R85 where they assemble the chair, you can see all the individual components that make up the chair, so having all those parts as replacements, which are period does make a difference when when fails on another chair you’re restoring.

[quote] Isn't there's real value in a broken old Eames chair for the parts alone?

No!

Plywood is like fibreglass and can't be patched.

Your body breaks the plywood at a particular stress point. The patching needed to repair this stress point will be very bulky and completely destroy the clean aesthetic that Eames and Alvar Aalto wanted when they first chose to use plywood.

R110, yes that's why the restorer bought the broken chair from me - to use for parts.

That 1950s clip says the cushioning is made from goose feathers.

I find that hard to believe.

We have an original Eames chair. My husband got it from his grandfather. I never sit in it because it's really uncomfortable. I don't get why people rave about them.

Snobbery.

It's no Spine Melter 2000.

This back-breaking chair belongs in the Kunstoffhaus.

^ What a trip, that house is groovy baby

Y’all might be interested in this article.

Appreciate all the comments here! I think I'm going to hold off for now.

The plan was to put the chair in a little bedroom reading area, but it seems like it might be too much of a presence for that type of space. Also, I'm a little concerned with how many tall people felt it was uncomfortable to sit in for long periods of time.

If you really like the look, I would suggest buying one of the inexpensive repros, provided you find one that looks good to you. Compare them to the original for looks to see that it's not wildly off, but unless your friends live and breath MCM, everyone will just say, "Oh, that's an Eames chair, isn't it?" and in any case that's not why you're buying it. If you love MCM furniture and want to start a collection of the real thing, there are options at different price ranges for all sorts of furniture and decorative arts, but if it's just one chair, it doesn't make sense to buy for investment. It's something that generally holds its value, even a mid-quality repro is worth some significant chunk of what you paid for it X years ago if kept in good condition. There are better investments, however, and ones that don't leave you looking for a place to sit.

In Europe they are easy to find for €1500 on perpetual sale for €800-sometihng. The quality and look are not bad at all. I can't speak to the longevity, but it's a chair and ottoman for under $1000, which shouldn't take a lot of deciding if you like it. A roughly comparable upholstered chair and ottoman built to last more than couple years is going to cost $1000 or more I should think.

Here are two examples of repro Eames lounge chairs with ottomans: The first/top with a design history conscious text describing it as a slight reinterpretation of the 1956 model: €5740 (the same design with polished chrome bases is €7975; the second/bottom is just called an Eames chair, sale price €890. Everything in the EU is guaranteed for two years against manufacturing defect.

Unless you want to become an Eames connoisseur or throw money away, I would shop for the best looking €800/900 example I could find.

I think the suggestions to "test" out the style, size, and comfort with a knock-off may be a good one. I suppose if I decide I don't care for the chair, I could just gift it to a friend or family member.

The one R16 posted looks pretty good but they don't ship to the US. R54's example is nice, too. Any other high-quality replica suggestions?

Please don't buy a knockoff. Those manufacturers cut corners and it won't be made the same way or with the same materials. (See R120's link.) As a result, the chair will be uncomfortable and it won't hold up. And then when you tell people you hate the Eames lounge chair and it's the most uncomfortable thing you ever sat in and your's fell apart within a couple of years, you'll likely forget to mention that the chair you purchased was a knockoff.

It's like buying a knockoff Rolex watch and complaining the finish wore off. It may look the same from a distance, but it's not the same.

I'd go with this one, it's subtle and goes well with everything.

Build your own, it's sooooo easy!

I’m seeing all these recycled skateboard projects everywhere, how many people have all these old skateboard lying around?

The chair and ottoman are fine. But the bases are hideous, and ruin the design(s) for me.

Everyone knows he’s gay ever since his days on One Life to Live. And he was sending his nudes to other dudes.

The Eames chair?

Send me nudes of the chair!!! 😘😘😘😘

Well, if you can’t afford the chair you should at least be able to afford the pajamas.

Did you buy it, OP?

No, I didn't, R136. Got kinda scared away by multiple comments that it's not particularly comfortable for tall folks...

Correction: No, I didn't, R134. Got kinda scared away by multiple comments that it's not particularly comfortable for tall folks... But I really appreciated everyone's thoughts and advice!

Possibilities.

I found a couple at a Goodwill. Paid 12 dollars for each.

I have one in the den that I bought at Marshall’s years ago for $600. It’s real, made by HM, and it was so cheap because there’s a very noticeable scratch on the back of the wooden frame. But the back of the chair is against the wall, so who cares? Me. I did what I could with wood filler and stain to disguise it but it’s still there if less obvious.

I bought the matching ottoman used on eBay for $400. A new set is now about $7k.

A $6000 discount for a six inch scratch seemed like a deal to me. That’s why I sat in it in the store until my BF got someone at the registers to come get the tag and ring it up for me.

Like a tv set, this was an attention whore piece I tried in the 90s - $500 used at Chicago’s Lakeview Brown Elephant. It worked in a loft, but looked stupid in prewar apartments and suffered from pets when I suburbanized.

Just get yourself one of these. Soooooo comfortable! Zero gravity is where it’s at.

Amazon has an office chair that sells for $32,918.92.

Correcting some misinformation mentioned upstream.

Herman Miller owns Design Within Reach. DWR is Miller's retail distributor in North America.

Registered designers and design firms can purchase HM products from DWR at a trade discount and will sometimes offer the chair to their customers at a discount off the retail price. It's a bit of a great area - HM does not want design firms to compete with DWR for the same customer.

Herman Miller itself has contract distributors all over the world. Their distributors can also market the Eames chair.

Herman Miller has never sold Eames parts to another manufacturer for the purposes of manufacturing a knockoff. They do make some components available to a few select restorers.

Herman Miller recently bought Knoll. As a result, DWR no longer sells knockoffs of Knoll's classic pieces, as they once did. (To the poster above referencing Knoll's Barcelona chair, if you saw the original next to a knockoff, you'd understand there is no comparison.)

If you're someone who would be happy with a knockoff Louis Vuitton bag or bogus Cartier watch, then you can probably convince yourself that a knockoff Eames chair is "just as good as the original".

I think you should buy it! Having it in a small bedroom would be perfect.

If it's in a high traffic area you just know that the fattest most repulsive person at the party would insist on trying it out while trying to balance a plate and a glass on his Divine-like knees.

I bought a well-made reproduction from a reputable dealer and paid $600. I can't tell the difference between it and a $4000 original.

They're great. In the grand scheme of things, though, no chair is -really- "worth" $4000.

I'm too tall for it, unfortunately. I rarely sit in ours.

I'm giving my SIL and daughter one for xmas, I got it at Design..R....with their 15% Black Friday sale. it was still over $5k.

It better last a lifetime