Image source: Herman Miller — Eames Collection
© Herman Miller and the respective rights holders. Quoted to accompany INTEBEE's independent design commentary and research.
Collection Story
Origin
The Eames relationship with Herman Miller began with molded plywood. Early in the 1940s Charles and Ray Eames were commissioned by the US Navy to develop lightweight molded plywood leg splints. In 1946 Herman Miller introduced the Eames Molded Plywood Chair, Molded Plywood Lounge Chair, Folding Screen and Coffee Table, the same year New York's Museum of Modern Art staged "New Furniture Designed by Charles Eames"; in 1947 Herman Miller gained exclusive market and distribution rights to the molded plywood products.
Design Language
Lean and modern, playful and functional – Herman Miller calls it the "Eames look". Each project began with the same questions: does it intrigue us, can we make it better, will it be "serious fun"? One material led to the next: molded plywood led to molded fiberglass seating (1950), and later to cast aluminium and leather. "The details are not details," Charles said. "They make the product."
Key Pieces
- Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman (introduced 1956)
- Eames Molded Plywood Lounge Chair LCW and Dining Chair DCW (1946)
- Eames Molded Plastic / Fiberglass chairs, Eames Storage Units and Wire Base Low Table (1950)
- Eames Sofa Compact (1954), Eames Executive Chairs (1960) and Eames Chaise (1968)
- Eames Task Chairs (shell chair on a five-star base), Eames Coffee Table (1949, in production from 2017), Eames Molded Plywood Coffee Table (1946) and Eames Tables (1957-1964)
- Eames Hang-It-All (1953), Eames Aluminum Group, Eames Turned Stools, Eames Soft Pad Group
Pieces in this collection
Eames Chaise
The 1968 Eames Chaise, an 18-inch-wide leather chaise on a die-cast aluminum frame.
Eames Executive Chairs
The 1960 Eames Executive Chair for the Time & Life Building, in leather on an aluminum base.
Eames Tables
The Eames system of table bases and tops, from occasional to conference and standing height.
Eames Desks and Storage Units
Modular Eames desks and storage built from steel, plywood, and hardboard
Eames Tandem Sling Seating
Charles and Ray Eames's 1962 beam seating system for public waiting areas
Eames Wire Stool
A light, airy stool extending the Eames wire experiments to bar and counter height.
Eames Molded Wood Stool
The Eames single-shell stool formed in three-dimensional veneer
Eames Molded Fiberglass Stool
The Eames fiberglass shell raised to counter and bar height
Eames Molded Plastic Stool
A recycled-plastic Eames shell on counter- or bar-height legs
Eames Wire Base Elliptical Table
The Eameses' 1951 low elliptical table with a seven-ply top and wire-rod base.
Eames Rectangular Coffee Table
A low rectangular table that extends the Eameses' molded-plywood exploration.
Eames Wire Base Low Table
A compact 1950 Eames table with a layered top and resistance-welded wire base.
Eames Wire Base Low Table Outdoor
The 1950 Eames wire-base low table, re-engineered for outdoors with a stone top and powder coat.
Eames Molded Plastic Chair
Eames shell-chair family from 1950, now in recycled plastic; the wire-base side chair is measured.
Eames Sofa Compact
The Eames Sofa Compact, a six-foot, three-seat sofa in production since 1954.
Eames Molded Wood Chairs
Three-dimensional veneer completes the Eameses' one-piece molded wood shell.
Eames Molded Fiberglass Chairs
The 1950 Eames fiberglass shell chair, reintroduced in 2014 in a reformulated fiberglass.
Eames Coffee Table
Charles and Ray Eames's 1949 coffee table, reissued with a dowel base and wire struts.
Eames Soft Pad Chairs
The 1969 Eames Soft Pad Group: Aluminum Group chairs with plush individually upholstered cushions.
Eames Aluminum Group Chairs
The Eames suspension chair family in production since 1958, from side chair to executive chair.
Specifying pieces from Eames Collection for your design project?
INTEBEE is the FF&E specification platform for interior designers: spec sheets, finishes, floor plans and client-ready PDFs in one place.
