Eames Leather Lounge Chair and Ottoman
View Similar Items
Eames Leather Lounge Chair and Ottoman
About the Item
- Creator:Charles and Ray Eames (Designer),Herman Miller (Manufacturer)
- Design:
- Dimensions:Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 32.75 in (83.19 cm)Depth: 32.75 in (83.19 cm)Seat Height: 15 in (38.1 cm)
- Style:Mid-Century Modern (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:1960s
- Condition:
- Seller Location:Sagaponack, NY
- Reference Number:Seller: 1650.0011stDibs: LU890314159172
Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman
Long before it was the pièce de résistance in a collector’s office or an upscale bachelor pad — landing in ample design magazines, on television and in well-appointed offices over the years — the Eames lounge chair was a fresh, subversive new take on a classic club chair and a culmination of experimentation by its inventive creators.
Charles and Ray Eames (1907–78; 1912–88) met while studying at the Cranbrook Academy of Art, the prestigious Michigan institution that drew such illustrious design minds as Florence Knoll, Eero Saarinen and more. After graduation, they formed the Eames Office, where they spent much time exploring and formulating new techniques in bent plywood and fiberglass with the goal of producing affordable furniture for a mass market. The Eames lounger, on the other hand — with its signature wood-grain back and sumptuous (usually black) leather seat — was different.
While the couple’s DCW chairs, introduced in the 1940s, prioritized ease of production and affordability of materials, the lounge, which debuted in 1956, was Charles and Ray’s interpretation of luxury furniture. And to the Eameses, luxury meant, above all, comfort. The couple famously called the lounge chair and ottoman “a special refuge from the strains of modern living” and described their design as having the “warm receptive look of a well-used first baseman’s mitt.”
Although the seat makes use of the same bentwood technique the Eameses pioneered using their famous “Kazam! Machine” (a handmade apparatus for molding plywood) for their DCW chairs, it tops off this frame with supple leather over a plump, upholstered shape.
Ever fascinated by ergonomics, the Eameses carefully calibrated the pitch of the seat. It has enough flexibility for comfort but not so much that stability is sacrificed. This precise shape comes by way of three connected plywood pieces, which, on early models were covered in five layers of Brazilian rosewood; owing to an early 1990s-era embargo on the material, however, the Brazilian rosewood has since been replaced with either ash, walnut or palisander. The accompanying ottoman is the icing on the comfort cake, inviting the sitter to quite literally kick back and relax.
Today, imitations of the Eames lounge chair and ottoman abound. The seat is currently manufactured by both Herman Miller and Vitra, and when it was launched initially by the former, the supporting marketing blitz emphasized the chair’s versatility — an effort that, given the seat’s current ubiquitousness, was clearly successful.
Charles and Ray Eames
Charles Eames and Ray Eames were the embodiment of the inventiveness, energy and optimism at the heart of mid-century modern American design, and have been recognized as the most influential designers of the 20th century.
As furniture designers, filmmakers, artists, textile and graphic designers and even toy and puzzle makers, the Eameses were a visionary and effective force for the notion that design should be an agent of positive change. They are the happy, ever-curious, ever-adventurous faces of modernism.
Charles (1907–78) studied architecture and industrial design. Ray (née Beatrice Alexandra Kaiser, 1912–88) was an artist, who studied under the Abstract Expressionist painter Hans Hofmann. They met in 1940 at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in suburban Detroit (the legendary institution where Charles also met his frequent collaborator Eero Saarinen and the artist and designer Harry Bertoia) and married the next year.
His technical skills and her artistic flair were wonderfully complementary. They moved to Los Angeles in 1941, where Charles worked on set design for MGM. In the evenings at their apartment, they experimented with molded plywood using a handmade heat-and-pressurization device they called the “Kazam!” machine. The next year, they won a contract from the U.S. Navy for lightweight plywood leg splints for wounded servicemen — they are coveted collectibles today; more so those that Ray used to make sculptures.
The Navy contract allowed Charles to open a professional studio, and the attention-grabbing plywood furniture the firm produced prompted George Nelson, the director of design of the furniture-maker Herman Miller Inc., to enlist Charles and (by association, if not by contract) Ray in 1946. Some of the first Eames items to emerge from Herman Miller are now classics: the LCW, or Lounge Chair Wood, and the DCM, or Dining Chair Metal, supported by tubular steel.
The Eameses eagerly embraced new technology and materials, and one of their peculiar talents was to imbue their supremely modern design with references to folk traditions. Their Wire chair group of the 1950s, for example, was inspired by basket weaving techniques. The populist notion of “good design for all” drove their molded fiberglass chair series that same decade, and also produced the organic-form, ever-delightful La Chaise. In 1956 the Eames lounge chair and ottoman appeared — the supremely comfortable plywood-base-and-leather-upholstery creation that will likely live in homes as long as there are people with good taste and sense.
Charles Eames once said, “The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.” For very good collectors and thoughtful interior designers, a piece of design by the Eameses, the closer produced to original conception the better, is almost de rigueur — for its beauty and comfort, and not least as a tribute to the creative legacy and enduring influence of Charles and Ray Eames.
The collection of original Eames furniture on 1stDibs includes chairs, tables, case pieces and other items.
- Aluminum Group Lounge Chair & Ottoman by Charles and Ray EamesBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Sagaponack, NYA black leather lounge chair with ottoman each on matching anodized polished aluminum frames. Ottoman is 18" H x 21" W x 21" D.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsSteel, Aluminum
- 1960s RAR Rocking Chair by Charles & Ray Eames for Herman MillerBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Sagaponack, NYAn early example of the iconic RAR rocker with a molded, rope-edged fiberglass seat with large shock mounts, made by Zenith Plastics for Herman Miller, set upon cross-braced steel st...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Rocking Chairs
MaterialsSteel
- 1960s Leather Lounge Chair and Ottoman by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Dunbar Furniture, Edward WormleyLocated in Sagaponack, NYWith a nod to the immense popularity of Charles Eames's swivel lounge chair and ottoman, Wormley capitalized on the popularity of his own stationary, winged lounge chair and ottoman ...Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- Set of LAR Chairs by Charles and Ray EamesBy Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Sagaponack, NYA rare set of 4 original LAR upholstered fiberglass lounge chairs on a wire frame base. Original Boris Kroll fabric.Category
Vintage 1960s American Mid-Century Modern Armchairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Fiberglass
$16,000 / set - 1950s Lounge Chair and Ottoman by Edward Wormley for DunbarBy Edward Wormley, Dunbar FurnitureLocated in Sagaponack, NYA Mid-Century Modern high-back chair and ottoman set designed by Edward Wormley featuring mahogany bases and original orange upholstery. Made by Dunbar in the USA, circa 1950s.Category
Vintage 1950s American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsUpholstery, Mahogany
- 1940s Reclining Lounge Chair and Ottoman by Russel Wright for Old HickoryBy Old Hickory Furniture Company, Russel WrightLocated in Sagaponack, NYReclining lounge chair and matching ottoman of chestnut from Russel Wright’s ‘Rustic Modern’ group, part of his American Provincial collection, Manufactured by Old Hickory Furniture ...Category
Vintage 1940s American American Craftsman Lounge Chairs
MaterialsChestnut
- Eames Lounge Chair and OttomanBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYClassic Eames lounge chair and ottoman manufactured by Herman Miller. Circa 1990s production in elegant cherry finish. Warm wood tones and even finish. This was only produced for a s...Category
Late 20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair and OttomanBy Herman Miller, Charles and Ray EamesLocated in Brooklyn, NYHandsome classic Eames lounge chair and ottoman. Executed in rosewood and black leather. Cast aluminum bases, with adjustable “domes of silence” leveling glides. Extremely comfortabl...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
- Gorgeous Avocado Eames Lounge Chair and OttomanBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYNot a color you see often! A classic Eames lounge chair and ottoman with vintage wood and metal components outfitted in brand new leather cushions in Avocado shade. 3-4 week producti...Category
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman in Burnt OrangeBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYBeautiful custom edition of the iconic Eames lounge chair and ottoman. Rosewood shells and aluminum bases cradle the custom burnt orange leather cushions. New leather very soft and i...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman in Burnt OrangeBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in Brooklyn, NYBeautiful custom edition of the iconic Eames lounge chair and ottoman. Rosewood shells have been restored and cradle the custom burnt orange leather cushions. New leather very soft a...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsLeather
- Vintage Herman Miller Eames Lounge Chair and OttomanBy Charles and Ray Eames, Herman MillerLocated in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Nuevo LeonClassic rosewood and black leather lounge chair and ottoman, 670 & 671 designed by Charles and Ray Eames by Herman Miller, circa 1969, original ...Category
20th Century American Mid-Century Modern Lounge Chairs
MaterialsAluminum
Recently Viewed
View AllRead More
The 21 Most Popular Mid-Century Modern Chairs
You know the designs, now get the stories about how they came to be.
Iconic Furniture Makes This 1958 Midwestern Home a True Mid-Century Gem
Designer Susan Yeley turned to 1stDibs to outfit an Indiana home with standout pieces that complement its modernist style.