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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The picture you have on this post is a replica 😉
@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.