Eames Ink

Eames Lounge Chair tattoo

I saw this on Facebook the other day and could not stop laughing. I love the Eames Lounge Chair, but not that much hahahahaha...

Come on Eileen!

E1027 Adjustable Side Table — Eileen Gray (1927)

On Sunday, I bought my first piece of Mid-Century Modern furniture!!! It's the E1027 Adjustable Side Table, designed by Irish furniture designer Eileen Gray in 1927. Okay, it may slightly more Art Deco than Mid-Century, but hey, it's FREAKIN AWESOME!!! This pieces was designed for her summer house in the south of France called E1027.

"How ever did you find such awesomeness in Perth?" I hear you ask! Well, I saw a small furniture ad in the paper last week with a picture of it and I lost my shit! I was like ERMAGERD SERD TERBLE!!! Then on Sunday, I went over to Go-Go Furniture in Osborne Park to check it out! They also have quite a few other affordable bits and pieces I'm eyeing for later (EAMES LOUNGE CHAIR and really cool couches). The chances of finding an E1027 Adjustable Side Table in Perth of all places was slim to none, so I couldn't leave without buying it!!! I'll totally hit this place up again... When I move out... Eventually...

Also, that is not my picture. I couldn't bring myself to take one because it made the rest of the furniture in my room look ugly.

The mysterious coffee table

The mysterious coffee table on Morcheeba's "Big Calm" album cover

Astro Coffee Table — E. Gomme for G Plan (1960s)

I finally found out who designed this awesome coffee table! It was bugging me for years!

Back when I bought "Big Calm" by Morcheeba, I thought it was pretty cool. I knew that there was an Eames Lounge Chair on the right and the chick was sitting on a Bertoia Diamond Chair, but I could never find that table!

Then yesterday, I did a few google image searches and somehow there it was! I typed in "glass and wood coffee table retro" and found it among a whole bunch of random tables, the caption mentioned G Plan. So then, I typed in "G Plan coffee table" and BINGO! Turns out G Plan was an English furniture manufacturing company from the 50s-80s. In a funny way, that kinda explains why it's on Morcheeba's album cover. 

Fly me to the moon...

Sculptura Telephone — Western Electric (1970s) 

When I was a kid, one of my favourite cartoons was The Jetsons. The set designs, architecture and backdrops were all typical of the Mid-Century Modern era. Perhaps that's where my wacky taste in furniture came from? I always thought living in space would be totally awesome, and if I ever move to the moon, I'll definitely need these!

Noguchi Coffee Table — Isamu Noguchi (1948)

Panthella Lamp — Verner Panton (1971)

Ball Clock — George Nelson (1964)

Marshmallow Sofa — George Nelson (1956)

Cabinets — George Nelson (1946)

George Nelson is my favourite designer after Charles and Ray Eames. He designed a lot of nice clocks and I felt this little assortment of cool decor wouldn't be complete without at least one of them.

Pedestal Clock — Blessing (1970s) 

I've slowly come to realise that I have a thing for watches and clocks. I'm not entirely sure why. Anyway, this baby is the one I want most of all. Okay, maybe not this one, perhaps in another colour. It was designed by West German company Blessing in the 70s. That's all I've been able to find out.

Eames Sofa — Charles and Ray Eames (1978)

Bang & Olufsen Beogram RX-2 — Jacob Jensen (1985)

Ain't it pretty!

I could have picked anything from the B&O Beogram range. They're all great, but this one in particular has such a lovely minimalist look. If you do a google image search for Beogram, you won't be disappointed!

Artichoke Pendant Lamp — Poul Henningsen (1958)

Componibili Storage Units — Anna Castelli-Ferrieri (1969)

E1027 Adjustable Side Table — Eileen Gray (1927)

Tulip Table and Chairs — Eero Saarinen (1957)

Starburst Clock (1950s)

No house could be complete without a Starburst clock. Lots of companies made them in the 50s/60s. One day I'll find the perfect Starburst clock, with perfect retro-looking numbers and wooden spokes. However, finding one in Perth won't be easy... eBay!

Enigma 545 — Uchiyama Shoichi (1977?)

Eames Compact Sofa — Charles and Ray Eames (1954)

Weltron 2007 — GEC (1970)

The coolest turntable ever? Yes, I think so.

Genie Telephone — ATC (1970s)

JVC Videosphere — JVC (1970)

Alessi Juicy Salif — Philippe Starck (1990)

This is quite possibly the coolest kitchen item in existence! It looks more like a UFO than a juicer. It was designed by Philippe Starck, my favourite (living) industrial designer. I'm totally getting one, not that I'd ever actually make freshly-squeezed orange juice or anything!

Braun SK4 Turntable — Dieter Rams (1956)

 Anything designed by Dieter Rams is great.

Alpine Bed — Modernica (2010)

Sankyo Flip Clock — Sankyo (1968)

Savoy Vase — Alvar Aalto (1936)

Fox — Jonathan Adler (2009)

 Jonathan Adler is quite a recent Ceramic Artist. All of his animals are fantastic.

Hive H2 — Chris Ferebee (2002)

Airia Desk and Media Cabinet — Kaiju Studios (2009)

Butterfly Chiar — Jorge Ferrari-Hardoy (1938)

Moai Statue — Buy it here!

Who doesn't need a mysterious Easter Island Moai mini statue? It'd make an excellent paper weight.

Mini Designer Chairs — Available from Poketo

For those of you who can't afford all those fancy designer chairs (myself included), you can buy mini versions to give you something to aspire to! I'd love a little Eames Lounge Chair in my cubicle...

If you liked this post, check out my Top 11 designer chairs of all time! Also, I've now joined twitter so you can get all the latest news from d! Konstruct... @d_Konstruct

Sculptural seating

How cool is that?

As I was trawling through one of my favourite design blogs the other day, I came across something rather fascinating.
I found out that the Eames "La Chaise" was designed in 1948 for a competition by the Museum of Modern Art (NY). It was inspired by a sculpture called "Floating Figure" by Gaston Lachaise. Brilliant!

See the original post here, via NOTCOT.

The chair of my dr-eames

1. Eames Lounge Chair — Charles and Ray Eames (1956)

When I become obscenely wealthy, I'll have a place like this with all the chairs!

2. Barcelona Chair — Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe (1929)

3. Corona Chair —Poul M. Volther (1961) 

4. Ball Chair — Eero Aarnio (1966)

5. La Chaise — Charles and Ray Eames (1948)

6. Diamond Chair — Harry Bertoia (1952)

7. Le Corbusier Chaise Lounge — Charles Edouard Jeanneret A.K.A. Le Corbusier (1929)

8. Tulip Chair — Eero Saarinen (1957)

9. Coconut Chair — George Nelson (1955)

10. Wassily Chair — Marcel Breuer (1927) 

11. Egg Chair — Arne Jacobsen (1958)

The chair display at the NGV. Here are more pix from my trip to Melbourne!

I first saw the Eames Lounge Chair when I started watching Frasier in highschool. And yes, I do realise how strange that is. Anyway, Frasier had a very stylish apartment and although I don't agree with all of their decorative choices, I couldn't help but admire the place. But I digress...

It wasn't until my second year of studying Graphic Design that I discovered who created this masterpiece of Mid-century Modern Furniture. We were doing these boring presentations about famous designers in history and a classmate did his on design duo, Charles and Ray Eames. I also found it rather odd that our lecturer let him do his presentation on Furniture Designers instead of a Graphic Designer.

After extensive googling, I discovered more and more about the Eames' and stumbled across the amazing world of Mid-century Modern furniture and decor (ever watched Mad Men). I love designer chairs in particular. This post was only going to be about the Eames Lounge Chair, then it grew to my Top 5, then Top 11! Why chairs? I haven't got a clue! Perhaps I'll do a Top 10 of my favourite general furniture later...

So, what is it about the Eames Lounge Chair huh? Put simply, it's perfect. Elegant, beautiful, comfortable, iconic... I could keep going! The only draw-back being a rather hefty price tag. Sure, there are plenty of cheap knock-offs all over the place, but an authentic Herman Miller reproduction costs thousands. To get one in Perth would cost $AU7487, last time I checked (at Living Edge on Newcastle St). Which is nuts! In the US, it's around $AU5500, depending on what type of wood panels you choose. I want santos palisander, a type of fancy rosewood and the most expensive option. Such a lovely pattern, much better than walnut and cherry.

When I saw a proper Herman Miller reproduction for the first time, the wood panels had a finish that felt like brushed steel, the cushions were covered in the softest leather I'd ever had the privilege of sitting on. Like they were made from the fanciest cows in Italy. All I can say is, it's one thing to see pictures and quite another to actually sit on it! It just felt 'right'. The second time I saw one was in a giant room full of designer chairs in the National Gallery of Victoria. Nearly every chair that I ever wanted was in that room! It was amazing!

Anyway, I had a really hard time putting these awesome chairs in order of preference, but it's just my opinion. I totally could have gone Top 20! I think I need a life...

For more on Mid-century Modern Furniture, visit:
Herman Miller, Vitra, Knoll, Louis Paulsen (for lighting), The Mid-century Modernist and Modernica.