Skip to main content Skip to accessibility help Next or named day Show in stock items only20 Ways to Hack a Classic Eames Side Chair 6/17/13 6:30pm When Ray and Charles Eames’ classic molded side chair was first produced, in 1951, it was one of the first industrially-manufactured plastic chairs on the market. The wonder of technology went on to become a much-loved classic—today, it’s enjoying a renewed popularity thanks to the popularity of Mid-Century modernism. The side chair may be a classic, but it’s also been customized in a hundred different ways. Even the Eameses themselves tried out dozens of variations, adding different bases, “bikini” covers, and horsehair cushions. And since then, many other artists and designers have tried their hands at making a mark on the side chair—from a knit version to a Federal seal version. Here are some of the most notable variations: This is original look, made from fiberglass and marked by a simple four-leg base.

The Side Chair also comes with a couple of different appendages. The one on the left has the Eiffel base, followed by the stacking side base, and then the wooden dowel-leg version.bertoia wire chair white The Eameses liked to tool with different types of materials for the same side chair design. white chiavari chair rental los angelesIn 1951, they introduced the light, but strong, wire mesh version.wheelchair vans for sale in mn Revealed in 1952, the Bikini Chair was another Herman Miller-ordained exercise in mixing materials and patterns.herman miller chair take apart

This original set of pink bikini chairs with Eiffel bottoms is also great. Did you ever lust after a thing you sit your butt on so much?cheap table and chair rentals inland empire By adding yarn using basic weaving techniques, artist Akira Ishikawa has created her own, softened version of the wire side chair.best chair to relieve sciatica With a rocker base and a padded seat, this 1954 design was often given to Herman Miller employees when they became new parents. Ray and Charles were never shy about remixing their own ideas, either. Here's another official variation, featuring a bikini cover and rocker base. In 1961, the side chair got a desk to go with a stackable base, for stylish, affordable school seating, sold through Herman Miller. Some side chairs come with padded seats, like this official option from the 1970s.

BAPE (as in the same BAPE that makes crazy freaking sneakers) made this limited edition camo side chair back in 2009. This shiny take on the side chair was rehabbed by an unaffiliated designer—looks like it could hang from the ceiling like a disco ball. New York illustrator Mike Perry custom creates these intricate, hand-drawn side chairs for Outdoorz Gallery. Last year, the Textile Museum of Canada asked architects, designers, and artists to redesign 40 different side chairs. These are a few of their interpretations. This is a nice, DIY refurb job on the iconic chair. You can find quite a few Eames knockoffs on Etsy, too, like this one. Artist Tania Aguiniga remixed this found chair by adding some black felt. Herman Miller produced these federal eagle-printed side chairs with Eiffel bottoms in the early 50s. The pair is definitely something for a collector! Some custom Eames pieces, like this set that has the Beatles' faces on it, have you wondering why some people want to mess with a good thing.

But in spite of all the interpretations of the side chair, Herman Miller is still producing the pure, classic version. And it's also producing its own variations. This year, for the first time, the Side Chair is available in molded wood.Charles and Ray Eames, who pioneered modern chair design in the 1940s and '50s, were responsible for some of the most innovative chairs of the 20th century. Their chairs were fabricated from wood, fiberglass, plastic, and metal mesh. Eames chairs have been widely imitated, but originals are highly sought-after by collectors because they are considered breakthroughs in both design and technology. In 1940, Charles Eames met Ray Kaiser at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan, which was also home to architect and Eames collaborator Eero Saarinen and furniture designer Harry Bertoia. The couple married a year later and moved to Los Angeles to continue their work in molded plywood. By 1945, the couple had figured out how to create compound curves in molded plywood.

One of their first pieces was a birch child’s chair and stool manufactured by the Molded Plywood Division of Evans Products — production was limited to just 5,000 pieces. Evans also produced about 1,000 LCW chairs (which stands for Lounge Chair Wood) before the Eameses began a long collaboration with the Herman Miller Furniture Company, which produced and distributed a number of chairs for them, including the DCM (Dining Chair Metal), in which two pieces of plywood are secured to a solid-rod chromed frame with rubber shock mounts. In 1951, Herman Miller was selling 2,000 of these chairs a month (examples with wooden legs were less popular, making them more collectible today). Molded fiberglass chairs in a variety of bright colors — with or without arms, with or without a rocking base — came next. Serious Eames connoisseurs look for chairs from this period, 1950-1953, with a "Miller-Zenith" label on their undersides. The ones with wooden bases (DAW, PAW) are less common and thus more sought-after than the ones with metal legs (DAR, LAX, LAR, RAR).

Around the same time, the couple designed chairs made from sturdy wire mesh, with covers available in leather, vinyl, and fabric by designer Alexander Girard. These were the chairs that the Eameses produced for the mass consumer. By 1956, well-heeled customers could order a Lounge Chair and Ottoman, whose molded rosewood plywood form embraced rich leather upholstery. The chair is still available today from Herman Miller in cherry and walnut. In 1958, the couple launched a chair collection called the Aluminum Group, which included a desk chair and a lounge chair — the armless models of the latter are most prized today. In 1960, Eames designed several chairs and a trio of stools for the new Time-Life Building in New York. One was an Executive Desk Chair, the other an Intermediate Desk Chair, which was a smaller version of the Executive that did not sell as well, making it the more prized of the two today. Steven Cabella's personal homage to Charles and Ray Eames. This site is as clean and visually appealing as the Eame…

[read review or visit site] Work of Charles and Ray Eames This Library of Congress microsite is an overview of the postwar modern design work of Charles (1907-78) and Ray (1… Herman Miller Consortium Collection This website showcases several hundred pieces of furniture, held by thirteen museums, that were designed for Herman… This archived overview produced by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts offers thumbnail sketches of the design moveme… Buffalo Architecture and History Chuck LaChiusa's wonderful guide to the architecture and history of Buffalo, NY, also happens to host an impressive… The Mid Century Modernist Stephen Coles' really visual blog dedicated to the Modernist era of design from 1940 to 1970 (aka Mid-century Moder… This beautiful site showcases the collection of Stanley and Polly Stone of Fox Point, Wisconsin, consisting of earl… Kentucky Online Arts Resource This huge online database from the Speed Art Museum is a rich trove of beautiful photos and reference information o…