The Other Eames House
Meet the next generations of Eameses and tour their Sonoma County home and workshop
The 1949 Charles and Ray Eames house in Santa Monica, California, is justly famous as an example of innovative design thinking. It was both a design studio and a home for the most influential industrial designers of the 20th century, and an extensive restoration with the help of the Getty Museum is nearing completion. But there is another Eames house: the Sonoma County, California, home of daughter Lucia and granddaughter Llisa Demetrios and her family.
The house itself is a kind of art stockade — white board and batten walls wrap around a large rectangular central courtyard. Enter the portal and you see the living room ahead and the bedroom and library tower to the left, combining references to the towers of San Gimignano in Italy and early "bay region" designs by William Wurster.
Here's a shot of Ray and Charles shown here. After spending time with Charles' daughter and granddaughter, I began to see everything in new ways.
Eames on Film: The Architect and the Painter
Eames on Film: The Architect and the Painter
For example, it suddenly struck me that from a distance the Eames compound is really a modern board and batten version of an Italian hill town: The house is both an archive and a living laboratory.
In 100 Quotes by Charles Eames, a delightful little book published by the Eames office, I found a statement that seemed to fit my tour: “The house must make no insistent demands for itself, but rather aid as a background for life in work. This house acts as a re-orienter and shock absorber.”
In 100 Quotes by Charles Eames, a delightful little book published by the Eames office, I found a statement that seemed to fit my tour: “The house must make no insistent demands for itself, but rather aid as a background for life in work. This house acts as a re-orienter and shock absorber.”
I absolutely agree. I think you could say that the best houses are frames to set you free.
Metal sculpture by Lucia Eames
Next: Explore the Charles and Ray Eames house in Santa Monica
Metal sculpture by Lucia Eames
Next: Explore the Charles and Ray Eames house in Santa Monica
It was a ride through the imagination — like being in Powers of Ten, the famous Eames film about scale. Open those marvelous ornamental blue steel entry gates, designed by Lucia, and follow me into a design wonderland.