Eames Molded Plastic Chairs are available as side chairs or armchairs, and in a choice of colors, including archival or new options. Armchair and side chair shells can be fully upholstered in a variety of textiles; side chair shells can be specified with an upholstered seat pad. A choice of bases rounds out your customization options.
Charles Eames famously said, “The role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.” With the molded plastic, fiberglass, and wood shell chairs—as well as the wire chair—the Eames have created a universal response to what everyone wants from a chair: a simple, gracious form that fits any body and every place.
Borne out of Charles’ and Eero Saarinen’s early investigations molding plywood at Cranbrook Academy in 1939, and continued with Ray at the Eames studio in Venice, California, the molded chair is exemplary of the Eames iterative process and their desire to make “the best for the most for the least.”
The Eames Shell Chair was designed on the principle of adaptability, offering innumerable configurations to serve a wide variety of applications and environments. It’s what makes the chair a classic worthy of museum collections—and living rooms, Laundromats, lobbies, and cafés. It’s what makes it a great first piece of furniture to buy in your twenties, that’s still worthy and relevant enough to hand down to your children 20 years later. A diverse selection of shell, base, color, and finish options enable you to create your perfect chair. Just like every person, every chair has a story.
