There is so much information about Charles and Ray Eames out there, it seems silly to even try to rehash it here. Here's a fun fact that I hope all of you already know: Charles and Ray are not brothers, they are husband and wife. (Her maiden name was Bernice Alexandra Kaiser. Ray seems to be a little less of a mouthful.) Charles (who was a Junior BTW) was actually born in STL in 1907 and ran these very streets until 1938 when he hightailed it out of here for Cranbrook and ultimately landed in California. I really enjoyed the PBS "American Masters" feature - if you haven't seen it, it is posted online here.
The Eameses (is that the plural of Eames? 8th grade grammar class was a long time ago . . .) are the originators of many iconic designs - today I thought I would focus in on the LCW (aka the Lounge Chair Wood or Low Chair Wood). This simple, molded plywood chair looks great in many settings and I pulled some doozies for you.
First stop - Paris. The city of lights always seems to hold some MCM delights. This flat (found via SFGirlbyBay) is in the attic of a former convent. I really like how the space incorporates both MCM workhorses like the LCW, the Noguchi table and the Bertoia chair but has some updated touches like the floating wood shelves and the funky black wallpaper.
Next stop - Australia. This space by Mim Designs (found via Desire to Inspire) has much more traditional architecture and the black and white looks austere yet livable all at the same time. I think a natural wood LCW chair could look good in this setting as well but the aniline dyed black puts it over the edge into "feature me in a magazine" kind of category.
Last but not least, California. Not only does California know how to party, they know how to display their awesome MCM furniture. This home in Venice, California (via HomeAdore) is an engineering marvel - it can open up almost completely to the outdoors. If you need some more distraction from your work at hand, be sure to click through and see more. This house seems reminiscent of the Eames' own Case Study Home. Pretty cool.
The Snd Cyn office in Irvine, CA is a crazy awesome collaborative workspace aimed at creative types. And man, what did they create! Even though this is an office space, there is nothing corporate about it and there are so many ideas here that could translate to a home. And it's in an old lima bean factory. If that's not a good use for a lima bean factory, than I don't know what is. (via Miss-Design)
And a view looking the other way, for good measure . . . .
This last image (via UnJourUneEames) you may either love or hate. I thought it was too dreamy to leave out . . . There's some debate as to whether this is a DCW or a LCW. Jake says, "Who cares, look at my amazing hair."
Any LCW lovers or haters? I found a lot of images of LCWs at tables but everybody knows they're too low for that so I left those out. Stupid staged photos. Cheers - CT.
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