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Someday, I Will Own an Authentic Eames Lounge…Until Then, This Will Do Just Fine.

by on Mar 18, 2010

The Eames Lounge (670) and Ottoman (671) set by Herman Miller is, to me, not only the most iconic piece of mid-century design, but the most perfect piece of furniture. Ever. And a new one in cherry or walnut start at $3,000, and a 50th anniversary chair in Santos Palisander rosewood starts at about $4,500, with authentic vintage chairs fetching that much or more.

My new-to-me Frank Doerner copy, on the other hand, cost me just over $100. I just happen to look on Craigslist at the right time, where it had been posted only seconds ago by a man who’d purchased it at a garage sale. He didn’t really seem to know about its Herman Miller-produced predecessor, as whenever I said “Eames” or “mid-century,” he just looked confused.

No, it’s not a real one. To the trained eye, it doesn’t really even look like one: the base has only four legs, not five, and it has chrome hardware instead of black. There are many visible screws, it reclines, and generally just sits at a different angle.

But I sit in it, and I never wanna get up. And for now…that’s good enough.

 

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2 Comments

  1. @anonymous, perhaps you just skimmed the post, but that’s the point. The whole post is about who this is a replica, and he’d eventually like to get a real one, but this one’s good enough for now.