Eames chair/ottoman

14 years ago

Just saw this on my local CL. Price seems way high - but I know nothing about MCM furniture. DH is looking for a recliner, I need it to be fairly small and look good with my "transitional" LR. What's a fair price (we were looking at new Palliser leather recliners for $740-$1000 range but now local furniture store isn't carrying Palliser any more b/c of exchange rate).

Here's our LR (for those of you who haven't seen it in my TV threads!)

New TV (will go on wall with DVD player on table underneath - we already got rid of the old TV stand shoved nder the window in this pic)

New table (bad Paint job - bought it unfinished but this is what I hope for it to look like after finishing) - DVDs will go on the shelf, DVD player on top

Going to hang drapes to frame window something like this (the table is taller than this, will come up b/t the windows something like the table the TV is sitting on now). The rods aren't as hefty as in the drawing.

Drapery fabric and rod

So will something this style fit in with my new leather sofa, "Arts and Crafts" style cheap rubberwood tables, Morroccan Tile drapes, and traditional floral wool rug? What do you think about the price?

Here is a link that might be useful: Eames chair

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Comments (16)

nicole__
14 years ago
If your not a collector, I wouldn't buy it. Sitting on it devalues it......IF it's real, can you tell the difference, I can't. If you want to save money, CL has other pieces for a whole lot less....that you can actually sit on. :0)
Ideefixe
14 years ago
It's great, but do you really want to spend $3000 on a chair? The price is right if it's really a Herman Miller with original materials.
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You have a lot of straight, contemporary lines so I would keep going with that, but I'd use a couch with a few distinctly different details so you don't get that "tried to match but missed" look. For instance, continue the squared arm, but look for a lower arm that isn't full-depth like the loveseat - for instance, Pottery Barn's Seabury (actually I like the dark wood frame and flared legs on that one, which would tie back over to the bookcases) - or a box-style arm/back like Crate & Barrel's Presley which also has that nifty wood frame. Mitchell Gold's Fred couch would be a really awesome transition between the Eames chair and the existing loveseat, with the square shape and tufted back, if you could find some way to keep the Eames chair in the room. Make sure the scale of the two pieces is the same, paying special attention to the seat height - it looks kind of weird to have one seat significantly higher or lower than the other. I think a low-to-the-ground (very short legs, not low seat) style would work better than a skirt if you want a less "leggy" look. Ikea's Karlstad doesn't look bad though, and would be an option if your budget is so tight it squeaks. ;-) The long cover seems to only come in white but you might find a great fabric cheap on Fabricguru.com or eBay and have a replacement cover sewn up using the white one as a pattern. You're not confined to a print unless you want one, but if you do want to go that way I'd look for something in a Deco or Mid-Century Modern style, either very subtle or strongly graphical; but I think a compatible solid in a heavy brushed canvas or twill would be just fine, especially with pillows that bridge the colors. Leather is also an option to consider, if it's in the budget. (If you were keeping the black Eames chair in the room, this black/beige print would be too cool.) BTW, if I may make an unsolicited comment, the pillows on the loveseat are a little traditional in style for the rest of the room, which skews contemporary. A more modern pattern like C&B's Spotlight or Kramer (outrageously expensive, but places like Target are knocking off things from spendier stores like C&B and Pottery Barn) would suit better, IMO. If you sew or can have pillows sewn, this contemporary tapestry fabric would work wonderfully with your colors. But, you didn't ask that so feel free to tell me to stuff it if you're in love with your pillows. :-) (Pun not intended.) Your other option is to call the manufacturer of your loveseat to find out if they still make that model and fabric, and go matching. There really is nothing wrong with that.
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2ajsmama
Original Author
14 years ago
OK, I was hoping you'd tell me to negotiate down to $1000 or something - *that* DH might go for. But no, we wouldn't spend $3000 on a recliner, esp. with kids in the house.

There's a similar Ikea one for $150...but that may be too flimsy.

What do you think of the style (kinda like an office chair with an ottoman?)? I just can't see (or fit) the typical LazyBoy/Barcalounger/Berkline recliner in this room, even if it *is* leather.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ikea chair
mahatmacat1
14 years ago
Honestly, I wouldn't recommend buying it. To me at 5'3", they're not even all that comfortable, and DH at 6'3" can't even fit into it. And I'm a modern fan. And if you think the Ikea one is remotely similar, you really shouldn't get this one.

If you want a gorgeous chair w/ottoman that is insanely comfortable and you have money to spend, get a womb Chair. Now *that's* comfort worth fighting over :) If you have a cat, however, you might want to think about it. But it will certainly hold its value. Another thought: there are always the Ikea chairs on c's list -- wait until one comes up, buy it used, see what you think of it, and then make the choice. The womb chair will always be there.

(I'm linking to the original--but there's now a KNOCKOFF that I very well might ask for for Solstice this year...I so completely love this chair that I would get a knockoff because I know we'd never spend the $$ on a real one, nor would I feel ok doing it -- but if you can afford it, more power to you -- but the knockoff is $500 -- I'm still in shock)

Here is a link that might be useful: the most comfortable chair in my world...
nicole__
14 years ago
My brother owns "that" same eames chair. His is a reproduction. There are a LOT of reproductions out there. REAL eames owners do not negotiate down, it's like owning gold, someone will buy it, it's valuable. :0)

Ikea sells a LOT of very nice, durable things. I'd buy a used Ikea chair. AND I'd sit in it! :0) I like it!
2ajsmama
Original Author
14 years ago
Too rich for my blood ;-) Do you think the IKEA chair is OK? Comfy? The original price was supposedly $200, I'd knock CL seller down from the $150 he's asking.

We spent $3000 on a wool & silk Chinese rug for the DR b4 we had kids, we spent that much on our BR set (dresser, mirror, queen HB and FB, and 2 nightstands), over twice that on our DR set, but I can't see spending that much on a chair unless it was super fantastic supportive massage, medically necessary, and tax deductible!

All of the contents of the room (incl the new TV) don't add up to $3000...
mahatmacat1
14 years ago
I should add that the Womb Chair works for both DH *and* me. It's *simply brilliant* design.
cearab
14 years ago
I have an original Eames chair and ottoman, in the old rosewood they used to use. And I paid...tada...$300 for it at a thrift store in Houston!! It's from the early seventies and is quite a collectors piece. I know I got a steal and it's still in great shape. I should mention that I am an ex-employee of Knoll International and have had and still have many pieces of Knoll furniture. I don't have the womb chair, but many ex Knoll friends do have it. It truly is an extremely comfortable chair.
The $3000 price on the Eames is a good price, btw.
palimpsest
14 years ago
$3000 is a fair price for that chair because you are getting the ottoman for free. I am not sure that sitting in it would devalue it since its a new piece. There is a lot of dispute even among collectors as to whether an Eames piece mass produced in 1960 is any more "original" than one mass produced yesterday. (Prototypes and certain limited edition types of things excepted.) I kinda don't care for knock-offs personally, because when these chairs were developed, it required the development of proprietary equipment to even Build the chair. A knock off would be like buying a Ford and having a Maybach exterior bolted onto the frame. It might be an excellent $30K Ford, but its a poor excuse for a $300K Maybach.

That said, I don't really think it is right for the room because the room as a whole is A & C /transitional: not really eclectic enough to support going in the MCM direction--especially with something so iconic.

If you are going to spend in the $1000s range, I would look for a Morris chair, which would fit with the A&C, or get a decent transitional (leather?) upholstered recliner that goes with the transitionial sofa.
mahatmacat1
14 years ago
pal, just ftr: I'd only get a knockoff because we just will never be in a position to afford the real thing. Wish we could, it would be a much better investment, but not with cats in our house.

cearab, aren't you lucky! What kind of job did you have at Knoll?
susie100
14 years ago
Hi, this was in our local Craigslist for $299. Maybe you could contact the person and see if there is someway you could have it shipped to you. http://parkersburg.craigslist.org/fuo/1557171369.html
2ajsmama
Original Author
14 years ago
Thanks Pal - I got the ottoman but the chair wouldn't fit (for some reason forgot to cancel it when I canceled the chair after doing layout on graph paper - prob. b/c I had seen it later and ordered it separately from the other pieces). I did see a Mission style recliner (don't know manufacturer) in local furniture while out table-hunting last week, didn't see to work and it was $1010. I mentioned it to salesperson, she said they'd just gotten it in (though it had a Sold ticket on it that had been scribbled over so maybe someone else thought it wouldn't recline either?), often mechanisms are strapped down for shipping. Maybe I'll take DH to see it this w/e, but I need to get rid of a wing chair and ottoman in our BR, move my Goodwill silk moire chair out of the LR, and the coffee table I'm not going to use out too so we can *fit* a recliner. DH refuses to sit in the GW chair, and I will only let him sit on the sofa if he takes his Blackberry off (already scratched the wall with it moving coffee table in) so he just lies on the floor!

Do you think dark brown (almost black) leather on the Morris chair would look OK with the existing furniture? It had dark "oak" (ash?) stained frame that looked to be fairly close to the "chocolate cherry" (half Spanish Oak, half Red Mahogany Old Masters stain) on the rest of the furniture.
Sueb20
14 years ago
How about a Poang chair from Ikea? Link below. Kind of a similar look... I have one that I got on CL for $40. Mine is the off-white fabric seat, not the leather. It's in our playroom and everyone in my family fights over who will sit in it for TV watching -- and we range in height from 4' tall to 6'5"!! I have to confess I am not generally a fan of Ikea furniture, but this is a great chair.

Here is a link that might be useful: Poang chair
palimpsest
14 years ago
Flyleft I didnt mean to come of judgmentally about real vs. knock-off :) Its a personal opinion, and I get exposed to the whole "piracy" thing because it is discussedin, and there are ads about it in ID trade magazines.

Interestingly Donghia is one of the firms that runs adds about knock-offs, and I think a lot of their stuff references earlier deco pieces.

If I am picking something iconic to use for a project, I usually give people the option of real or knock off, but my own personal take would be to have a real Heywood Wakefield than a Nak-(off)-ashima. I am totally not against using look alike versions of Saarinen tables, incl.IKEA--if thats what someone else wants.

Its a matter of personal opinion on my part, but I don't have a strong value judgment against it, its okay, just not my choice, usually.
cearab
14 years ago
flyleft: I was a sales rep for Knoll, so I am very well knowledgeable about most of the mid-century modern pieces Knoll or otherwise have manufactured. What a great place to have started an education in the design industry! FWIW: susie100: I did check out that ad from craiglist for which you posted the link. That is not an authentic HM chair. It is 'in the style' but is not a HM chair. Between all the puckering of the leather and the screws on the back of the headrest and chair, it's just a knockoff. Check out the back of the real thing and then look at the craigslist ad. Probably comfortable, though.

Here is a link that might be useful: HM Eames chair photo
mahatmacat1
14 years ago
Gotcha, palimpsest. Of course, if I had the money to hire you, I'd probably have the money to get a real Womb Chair. But if wishes were horses...

and cearab, very nice. I would imagine, to the right audiences, the pieces just sell themselves. So all you have to do is learn and bask in the beauty :)

Eames chair/ottoman

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