Posts Tagged ‘Eames’
Eames Lounge Chair
February 13th, 2010 | 
Author: The ergonomic design the Eames team came up with in 1956 featured two pieces: the chair itself and the Ottoman that, when sold originally, formed part of a set. Nowadays, they are often sold as separate pieces. The original Eames Lounge Chair first came onto the market in 1956, the result of designs by husband and wife team, Charles and Ray Eames who spent years developing its unique design for the furniture company, Herman Miller, whom they worked for. The Eames Lounge Chair was formulated from leather and molded plywood. The self-same model today, along the same lines as the 670 model and produced for the high-end replica market would set you back between $4 – 6,000.
The original model was manufactured from veneers of Brazilian rosewood, processed into a unique plywood veneer. However, the base of the replica Eames Lounge Chair is manufactured from seven wafers of wood veneer shaped into its characteristic plywood design under the application of intense heat and pressure. Rubber spacers, originally separating the spines of the chair were replaced in the replica version with hard plastic washers and, where the original model often featured a brown zip around the cushions, the replica zips were always black.
The Technology Behind the Design
The 670 model replica features the original design more closely than other replica Eames Lounge Chair. This replica chair incorporates much of the original technology that made these chairs so popular in their heyday, most especially featuring rubber washers as opposed to the plastic variety used in the earlier replica models. Aluminum supports attach the backrest to the headrest, the whole chair being supported in a cradle between the two arm rests.
In the original Eames Lounge Chair heavy rubber washers were glued to the backrest of the chair as well as being screwed into the lumbar supports, enabling the chair to flex with the movement of the body. Besides enabling the chair to flex from the backrest, rubber washers also supported the armrests where they met the interior shell that forms the backrest. The whole chair is supported on an aluminum swivel base so that, whilst the whole chair is able to turn, the plywood veneers maintain the shape of the chair into a permanently reclining position.
Design Flaws
In a way, these chairs were experimental creations, possibly one of the earliest of today’s ergonomic furniture designs. It’s easy to recognize in retrospect, but there were certain flaws in the original design that were not immediately obvious when the original Eames Lounge Chair came on the market. One of these was found to be the rubber washers – their greatest innovation which could actually damage the chair’s fabric through wear and tear. Rubber becomes brittle when it ages, and loses its rebound factor after being compressed. Aside from that, these rubber washers were soundly glued into position on the plywood veneer shells and, if too much excess weight was applied to these shells, they were known to rip the plywood apart.
Buying Retro Furniture
When first deciding on buying retro furniture, it is useful to know a few of the better manufacturers and designers from the period. This has been made slightly harder by the fact that an item of furniture called “retro” can come from the 1950’s through to current production items.
Once you have decided on a particular theme i.e. chromed items with glass (that can be either clear or tinted), sticking to that style lends itself to modern house or flat design. Options of various wood veneers were available as an alternative to glass offering a warmer feel and variety. The most commonly used veneer from the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s was rosewood and this was used by two of the best British manufacturers of the era. They were Merrow Associates and Pieff. Both companies produced items of the highest quality and style. Recognizing these pieces is not always easy due to the fact that Merrow rarely labeled their furniture whereas, fortunately, Pieff did.
Condition is an important factor when buying an item as chips to glass, chrome work that is pitted or flaking or veneers peeling or missing can be expensive to rectify.
Quality leathers were also used by Merrow and Pieff offering an even wider range to choose from. There were many other designers who are now widely collected and two of the leading designers were Robin Day and Ernest Race. They both produced a vast variety of items many of which have become design icons such as the Ernest Race “Heron” chair which had bolt-on legs with a fabric covered seat. Robin Day produced a huge range which included the use of molded plastic seating.
Retro design furniture from the Fifties onwards includes many designers from the USA as well as Europe and Scandinavia. From the USA designers had a huge influence on furniture production throughout the world, possibly the most influential being Eames whose items are very collectible.
George Nelson items are also well respected for style and quality of manufacture in particular the “Coconut” chair. Its radical, triangular shape helped make it become another design icon from the 1950’s.
Scandinavian designers produced many desirable items most of which were produced in teak and occasionally in rosewood. Most of these items were labeled making their origins easy to identify. The vast majority of these being of Danish origin.
Because quite often companies producing furniture manufactured a range for domestic and commercial/office use making it hard to determine their original design function i.e. there is a very fine line between a storage cabinet for office items, files etc and a sideboard for domestic usage. This cross over of use makes it easier to locate retro furniture as many items now turn up in second hand office furniture outlets. From a buyer’s point of view, the most commonly used source for locating items is now via specialist sellers, auction houses and eBay all of which have positive and negative aspects of buying your piece of retro furniture.
My advice would be research the item, obtain a condition report and negotiate a price that both the buyer and seller are happy with.
There are so many good designers of retro furniture it would be impossible to name them all but I couldn’t finish without mentioning one of my personal favorites – Robert Heritage. He also produced a wide range of furniture – one item in particular that has become a true design icon is the “Hamilton” sideboard which is a truly wonderful piece of design and functionality.
I hope you have found this useful and if you would like any further advice, please do not hesitate to get in touch via my website http://www.ovalinteriors.com
Posted in Business Travelers | 
Tags: British Manufacturers, Coconut, Design Furniture, Design Options, Eames, George Nelson, Heron | 
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