It may appear a bit unusual for a piece of furniture to be highlighted, but the Eames Lounge Chair is arguably the design the Eameses are best known for. In fact, the chair is part of a permanent collection at the New York Museum of Modern Art (Museum of Modern Art, “Charles Eames…”). I can see why. I rarely take note of chair designs, but as soon as I saw this chair, I spent at least a minute admiring it.

Designed in 1956 for the high-end market, Charles wanted the chair to have “the warm, receptive look of a well-used first baseman’s mitt” (Museum of Modern Art, “The Story of…”). In that sense, the chair has a distinctly American character to it. It also marked a departure from the Eameses usual goal of creating affordable and easily produced furniture, which is quite sad because I would have liked to own one!