What is an Eames Chair? A Beginner’s Guide to the Iconic Design

TL;DR

• An Eames chair is any chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames, the American husband-and-wife design team, or a reproduction of one.
• It is not a single chair but a whole family of designs, from the famous lounge chair to plywood, plastic shell, wire, and office chairs.
• Most people who say “an Eames chair” mean the Eames Lounge Chair of 1956.
• The chairs use new materials and simple, functional shapes made for everyday life.
• Licensed originals are made by Herman Miller and Vitra, while quality replicas offer the same designs for far less.

If you have heard the name but never quite known what is an Eames chair, this guide is for you. The short version: it is a chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames, two of the most important designers of the twentieth century. The longer version is more interesting, because “an Eames chair” covers a whole range of designs, not just the leather lounge chair most people picture. Here is everything a beginner needs to know.

What Is an Eames Chair?

An Eames chair is any chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames, or a reproduction based on one of their designs. The name refers to the designers, not to one specific chair. So when people talk about an Eames chair, they could mean any of a dozen different pieces created between the 1940s and the 1960s.

That said, the Eames chair definition most people have in mind is the Eames Lounge Chair – the reclined leather chair with curved wood shells and a matching footstool. It is the most famous of the family, but it is far from the only one. Understanding the Eames chair meaning starts with understanding that it is a family of designs sharing one signature: the Eames name.

Who Were Charles and Ray Eames?

Charles and Ray Eames were an American husband-and-wife design team who worked together from the 1940s onward. Charles trained as an architect and Ray as an abstract painter, and together they designed furniture, films, houses, and toys from their studio in Los Angeles.

Their furniture was made mainly by the American company Herman Miller, and it helped define what we now call mid-century modern design. Ray’s role was long overlooked, but she was an equal partner in the work. You can read their full story in our guide to Charles and Ray Eames, or see the range of designers we cover on our designers page.

The Main Types of Eames Chairs

Charles and Ray Eames designed many chairs, each solving a different problem with a different material. These are the main ones a beginner is likely to come across:

• The Eames Lounge Chair (1956). The famous one – a reclined leather lounge chair with curved plywood shells and a matching ottoman. See our Eames lounge chair collection and its full history.
• Moulded plywood chairs (1945–46). The LCW and DCW, low and dining-height chairs made from curved plywood, were the designs that first made the Eames name. See our plywood chair collection.
• Moulded plastic shell chairs (1948–50). The single-piece shell chairs, such as the DSW, sit on a range of bases and became some of the most copied chairs in the world. See our DSW collection and dining chairs.
• The rocking chair (RAR). A plastic shell on wooden rockers with a wire frame, a favourite for nurseries and reading corners. See our rocking chair collection.
• Office chairs (1958 and 1969). The Aluminum Group and the later Soft Pad chairs brought the Eames approach to the desk. See our office chair collection.

What Do the Letter Codes Mean? (DSW, LCW, RAR)

Eames chairs are often known by short letter codes, which look confusing until you learn the system. The letters simply describe the chair’s height, type, and base.

Reading left to right: the first letter is the height or use (D for dining, L for lounge), the next letter is the seat type (S for side chair, A for armchair), and the last letter is the base material (W for wood, R for rod or wire). So DSW means Dining-height Side chair with a Wood base, LCW means Lounge Chair with a Wood base, and RAR means Rocking Armchair with a Rod base. Once you know the code, the name of almost any Eames shell chair makes sense.

What Makes a Chair “an Eames”?

A chair is “an Eames” if it was designed by Charles and Ray Eames, but the designs also share a clear approach. The Eameses believed in what they called “the best for the most for the least” – good design made affordable for as many people as possible.

To do that, they embraced new materials and manufacturing: moulded plywood, fibreglass, plastic, wire, and cast aluminium, shaped into simple, organic forms that fit the human body. Their chairs were meant to be used every day, not admired behind a rope. That mix of comfort, honesty about materials, and mass production is what gives every Eames chair its recognisable character.

Who Makes Eames Chairs Today?

Licensed original Eames chairs are made by Herman Miller in the United States and Vitra in Europe, the two companies that hold the rights to the designs. A new original lounge chair costs several thousand euros, which puts it out of reach for many people.

That is why the market is full of replicas, which reproduce the designs without the licence and at a fraction of the price. Quality varies a lot, so it pays to know what you are buying – our buyer’s guide to Eames lounge chair replicas covers what to look for. At Sederica, we build honest Eames-style reproductions, including the classic Eames lounge chair and ottoman, with real materials and clear labelling.

Why Are Eames Chairs So Popular?

Eames chairs have stayed popular for over seventy years because they solve a problem most furniture cannot: they look striking and stay genuinely comfortable and useful. That balance is rare, and it is why the designs still sell.

Several things keep them in demand. The shapes are clean and simple, so they suit almost any interior, from a period home to a modern flat. The materials are honest, showing the wood, leather, or plastic for what it is. And the designs carry real history, with several pieces held in museum collections, which gives them a status few chairs have. Add comfort that holds up over years of daily use, and the appeal makes sense. An Eames chair is one of the few designs that works as both a practical seat and a statement piece.

Eames Chairs Compared to Other Mid-Century Designs

The Eames chairs are part of a wider mid-century modern movement, and it helps to know how they sit alongside the other classics of the era.

Where the Eames Lounge Chair is soft and reclined, Eero Saarinen’s Tulip chair is a sculptural pedestal design, and his Womb chair is a deep, enveloping armchair. The Barcelona chair by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich is more formal, built from steel and tufted leather. Each designer worked with different materials and ideas, but they shared the same goal: simple, modern furniture made well. If you like the Eames designs, these related classics are worth knowing, and you can find them across our wider collections.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Eames chair?

An Eames chair is any chair designed by Charles and Ray Eames, or a reproduction of one of their designs. The name refers to the designers, so it covers a whole family of chairs, from the leather lounge chair to plastic shell and office designs.

What is an Eames lounge chair?

The Eames lounge chair is the most famous Eames design – a reclined leather lounge chair with curved plywood shells and a matching ottoman, first made in 1956. When people say “an Eames chair”, this is usually the one they mean.

Who designed Eames chairs?

Eames chairs were designed by Charles and Ray Eames, a married American design team, from the 1940s onward. They were manufactured mainly by Herman Miller, and Ray was an equal creative partner in the work.

What are the different types of Eames chairs?

The main types are the lounge chair, moulded plywood chairs, moulded plastic shell chairs such as the DSW, the RAR rocking chair, wire chairs, and the Aluminum Group and Soft Pad office chairs. Each uses a different material and base.

Are Eames chairs still made?

Yes. Licensed originals are made by Herman Miller in the US and Vitra in Europe, and many companies produce replicas. Quality replicas offer the same designs for a fraction of the licensed price.

Why are Eames chairs so popular?

Eames chairs combine comfort, clean design, and honest use of materials, and they suit almost any interior. Their long history and continuous production have kept them in demand for over seventy years.

Start with the Classic Eames Lounge Chair

The lounge chair is where most people begin, and our Eames-style reproductions bring it home in full-grain leather for far less than the licensed price. A few to compare:

• White leather with rosewood – a soft, contemporary contrast.

See the full Eames lounge chair collection to compare every leather and veneer.