All About Eames

Charles and Ray Eames are among the most prominent names in Twentieth century design. The husband and wife team designed a huge range of beautiful furniture throughout the middle of the last century. This timeline will take you on a journey through the development of their iconic pieces. Vitra have the license to produce all Eames furniture in Europe and the Middle East. We only sell Authorised Original Eames designs.

1940

Organic Chair

One of Charles and Ray’s first designs was the Organic chair, in conjunction with Eero Saarinen in 1940. It won the “Organic Furniture” prize for the Museum of Modern Art at the time.

1945

Plywood Group of Chairs

Soon after this, and through extensive experimentation with three-dimensional plywood, the Plywood group of chairs was born in 1945. The Eameses produced both dining and Lounge chairs in the Plywood range, with both wooden (LCW, DCW) and metal (LCM, DCM) bases.

1945

Eames Plywood Elephant

Almost no animal enjoys such popularity as the elephant. Charles and Ray Eames also succumbed to its charms and in 1945 designed a toy elephant made of plywood. However, it never made it to mass production until the plastic version went into production decades later.

1946

Eames Folding Screen

The Folding Screen was another result from Eameses’ experiments with moulded plywood. It is formed by six moulded plywood segments joined together with a textile section, which makes it quite mobile and gives it a wave-like shape.

1948

Eames La Chaise

Charles and Ray designed La Chaise for a competition organised by the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York. The beautiful seating sculpture was inspired by the “Floating Figure” by the sculptor Gaston Lachaise, and is nowadays an icon of organic design.

1949

EDU and ESU Shelves and Desks

The Eames Desk Unit (EDU) and Eames Storage Unit (ESU) are Charles and Ray’s freestanding, multifunctional shelves and desks, quite innovative for the time, created at the same time as their own famous Eames House in Los Angeles and adhering to the same principles of industrial production.

1950

Eames Plastic Chairs

The Eames had a big breakthrough in 1950, with the first industrially manufactured plastic chairs to be brought to market. The Eames plastic chair group was presented at the “Low Cost Furniture Design” competition by MOMA in New York. The range of side and armchairs have a wide variety of bases: the DSR chair, DSX chair, DSW chair, DAR chair, DAW chair, DAL chair, and RAR chair. The DSR chair is the most popular in terms of sales, with its “Eiffel Tower” base. The PACC and PSCC complete the range with a 5-star base to be used as a task or office chair.

1950

Eames Occasional Table LTR

The LTR (Low Table Rod Base) is a small multipurpose occasional table designed in 1950, available in three different top versions. It was used by the Eamses in their own home. In fact, a few LTRs can be still found in the Eames House in Los Angeles today.

1950

Eames Contract Table

The Contract table was designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1950, as part of a series of high-quality furniture especially created for outdoor use.

1951

Elliptical Table ETR

Due to its resemblance to a surfboard, the Elliptical table ETR (Elliptical table rod base) was nicknamed “Surfboard Table”. The bent steel wire from the table’s base is a commonly used element by Charles and Ray Eames, quite characteristic of their style.

1951

Eames Wire Chair

Shortly after their success with plastic, Charles and Ray experimented with three-dimensional wire, which resulted in the Eames Wire chair, a moulded seat of cross-woven wires on a 4-legged base with cross struts, with similar proportions and overall shape to the Eames plastic side chairs. The Eames Wire chair has a light transparency and high technicality, and can be specified with or without upholstery. One of the upholstery options has a two-piece design, and has led to the name Eames Bikini Wire chair.

1953

Eames Hang It All

The Hang It All is part of a series of design toys and furniture for children that the Eameses started designing in the mid-1940s. Loved by kids and adults alike, this brightly coloured coat rack holds jackets, caps, bags, scarfs and almost anything else. It was originally designed in a multi-coloured version, and three new versions in hues of red, green, and white were added in 2012 to commemorate what would have been the 100th birthday of Ray Eames.

1956

Eames Lounge chair and ottoman

In 1956, Charles and Ray Eames designed the Eames Lounge chair and ottoman, one of the most iconic chairs of the modern era. The Eames Lounge chair presents a modern interpretation of the British club chair, with bent plywood shells and soft leather upholstery, designed to give the impression of a “well-used baseball glove”. The original design has rosewood veneer and black leather; a combination which is still popular today.

1958

Eames Aluminium Group

The next big success for the Eames couple came with the Aluminium group of chairs, designed in 1958. The Aluminium Chair’s design strength lies in its elegant simplicity – it has stretched leather (or fabric) for the seat and backrest, thus forming the load-bearing part of the chair. The stretched upholstery is combined with a sleek aluminium frame to produce a timeless design, with a unique profile. Today, the Aluminium chair is a popular choice for executive and home office use. Aluminium chair models include the EA 117, EA 119, EA 107, EA124 and EA125.

1960

Eames Lobby Chair

In 1960, Charles and Ray Eames designed the Eames Lobby chair for the lobby of the Rockefeller Centre in New York. Due to the chair’s generously cushioned seat and back, it is extremely comfortable and this was possibly the main reason for its use in the talk show Parkinson” for so many years on British television. It was also famously chosen for its comfort during the World Chess Championships in 1972 in Reykjavik.

1960

Eames Stool

The Eames stool, made of solid walnut, was also designed as part of the project for the interiors of the three lobbies in the New York Rockefeller Centre. It is available in three different versions, and can also be used as a coffee table.

1962

Eames Tandem Seating

Charles and Ray Eames designed the Eames Tandem Seating upon request by their friend Eero Saarinen, who needed comfortable seating for the waiting rooms of the Dulles Airport Terminal in Washington, D.C. that he was designing at the time. The Tandem was designed to withstand very heavy use in a variety of public places such as airports and train stations.

1969

Eames Soft Pad

Just over a decade after the introduction of the Aluminium Group of chairs, in 1969, The Eames couple revisited the design and added stitched leather upholstery, providing extra more comfort. Today Vitra grants a 30-year guarantee to the entire Aluminium and Soft pad group of chairs.

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Bed/Bath4 Products

All About Eames

Organic Chair

Plywood Group of Chairs

Eames Plywood Elephant

Eames Folding Screen

Eames La Chaise

EDU and ESU Shelves and Desks

Eames Plastic Chairs

Eames Occasional Table LTR

Eames Contract Table

Elliptical Table ETR

Eames Wire Chair

Eames Hang It All

Eames Lounge chair and ottoman

Eames Aluminium Group

Eames Lobby Chair

Eames Stool

Eames Tandem Seating

Eames Soft Pad