The Chair That Comes Recommended By Donald Draper And Frasier

The Chair that Comes Recommended by Donald Draper and Frasier

by

Dylan Pugh

Hailed as \”comfortable and un-designy\” by its creator, the Eames Lounge Chair is as discrete as it is comfortable. Despite that, this it has gone on to become an icon of the Modern movement, appearing in films and television series as diverse as She\’s Out of My League , CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Scrubs . It has also inspired a wide range of replicas, some of which have even been hailed as better than the original.

You ve seen an Eames Lounge Chair. Even if you think you haven t, trust me, you have. OK, OK, I m no mind reader, but the Eames Lounge Chair is an icon of the Modern design movement. First launched in 1956 as the Eames Lounge (670) and Ottoman (671) (the latter is the footstool that accompanies it), the chair s co-designer Charles Eames said he wanted it to resemble the warmth, familiarity and comfort of a well worn baseball mitt . It s that discrete, familiar comfort that made this most famous Eames chair (for Charles and his wife Ray designed many) an icon of the Modern movement and as ubiquitous a piece of unshowy but stylish design as a Vettriano painting.

It s also why anyone who has ever watched an American TV series or film has seen one. Even if you don t think you have. Gilbert Grissom had one in his apartment in \”CSI: Crime Scene Investigation\”. Donald Draper and Dr Gregory House both have them in their offices. There was even a snazzy all white one in \”Tron: Legacy\”. It s hard to do this without pictures, but I ll try. The Eames Lounge Chair almost resembles a bucket seat in design. Its back, arms and seat are joined together by aluminium supports. The whole thing leans slightly backwards on its swivel base, elevating the sitter s legs and giving them little option but to relax their weight backwards into the seat. The raising of the sitter\’s legs makes the accompanying footstool (the one we mentioned earlier, remember?) near essential and the whole thing almost ridiculously comfortable.

There\’s a reason the Eames chair has made so many appearances on film and television. You can\’t seperate the reasons for the Eames Lounge Chair\’s versatility and its many appearances in popular culture. It was unveiled in 1956, on the Home show, NBC s hugely popular daytime magazine programme fronted by actress and game show panellist Arlene Francis and a huge advertising campaign followed immediately. The campaign – which showed the Eames chair in a variety of unlikely locales including a hay field, a Victorian parlour and on the front porch of a house straight out of the America Gothic – focused on the Eames chair s versatility. It s that same versatility which explains its continuous place in popular culture – and, in particular, the American popular imagination. The Eames Lounge Chair is comfortable yet smart, stylish yet understated. That s why it can sit as easily in Frasier s luxurious Seattle apartment as it can in the TARDIS.

The Eames Lounge Chair has been in continuous production ever since. In America, Herman Miller have continued to turn out units since its premier in 1956, while Vitra have continued to produce it for the American market. It has also inspired replicas, imitations and knock offs of varying quality – China being the source of many. Some replicas can be of extremely poor quality. Spray painted cushions, exposed screws and poor quality materials are amongst the complaints that have come from those who bought cheap, fast buck knock offs. On the other hand, some replica Eames chairs have been hailed as even better than the originals, offering increased versatility and the option to customise the colours of your purchase to fit your tastes and the design of your home or office.

For over 50 years, the Eames Lounge Chair has represented discrete style. Now you ve come to understand why it s so popular, maybe it s time you started paying it a bit more attention.

The Author is a content writer for

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