Admiring a Classic: The Eames Lounge Chair

Last Monday I went to a friend's birthday dinner party at her newly redecorated apartment in the Lower East Side.  While the food was unbelievable (Vietnamese fare prepared by NYC chef Sung Lee) what really caught my eye was her Eames Lounge chair in the corner.  Hello, gorgeous.  Admittedly, I am not the biggest modern design fan.  I never really could get on board with Corbusier, but there are a few stand out mid-century pieces that just do it for me.  One is Milo Baughman's furniture for Thayer Coggin, and the other is- you guessed it- the Eames Lounge chair.

{Blair Harris}

{desire to inspire}

Designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1956 and produced by Herman Miller, the Eames Lounge chair was inspired by the traditional English club chair.  Charles's vision for the chair was for it to resemble "the warm, receptive look of a well-used first baseman's mitt." Constructed of a 3-part plywood base, innovative hardware fastens the cushions to the shells without damaging the appearance of the wood.  While Charles and Ray were typically known for their desire to mass-produce quality furniture at a reasonable price, the Eames Lounge chair is an exception.  This beauty will costs a pretty penny, and like most high-end products, has attracted several knock offs.  But there's a reason the original has been around for 60 years now- it's sleek, sophisticated, and beautifully simple.

{Architectural Digest}

The chair has become synonymous with tasteful, modern design and is still in production today.  It was a staple on the Frasier set and was spotted in the office of Serena and Bass's apartment on Gossip Girl:

{Could Penn Badgley BE any more shaggable?}

{Blair Harris}

{Dwell}

I'll take mine in pink, please.