After more than five decades, the Eames’ chair is iconic, still looking both contemporary and classic. The RAR was first shown at the Museum of Modern Art in 1948, and it has remained as popular as it did in the 40’s as it is in 2014. However, I just couldn’t justify spending big $$$ on a a piece of furniture. It seemed hardly a priority.
Despite how beautiful it is! I’ve previously blogged about my Eames yellow dining chair that I use at my desk and I absolutely love it. It’s a perfect way to add a splash of clue and give a contemporary feel to any room. You can read more here, where I included it in a post about keeping your desk organised.
Eames developed a whole range of seating solutions made up from interchangeable seats and bases to meet the needs and moods of homes, offices, schools and other environments. Each piece is designated by a letter code. The A in the centre of this designation means it has the same shell seat as the DAR and DAW dining height armchairs, but in this instance the chair is set lower, at a Rocking height, and is mounted on the Rocker base.
Eames chair inspiration
I’ve seen the chair appearing on design blogs everywhere and admittedly fell in love straight away, but I had to question – are they really comfortable? If not, then why are people forking out so much for essentially an accessory. I had the investigate for myself. I picked up a replica Charles Eames Style RAR Rocking Chair from Fusion Living.
The seat is made from one piece of ergonomically moulded ABS plastic, which is easy to wipe clean and has enough flexibility to be comfortable without the need for a cushion. Set atop a series of chrome plated rods which then attach to the beech wood rockers, the chair is sleek, stylish and very inviting.
Despite arriving with the wrong set of instructions (Oops!) it was easy to assembly and it only took about ten minutes to put it all together. It was a bit of a struggle fitting the seat through my bedroom door so I’d recommend that you measure the width of your door before buying one of these chairs.
I’ve got a small room but I just couldn’t resist and it looks adorable with my chevron rug from John Lewis! The orchids on my bedroom table make this arrangement the ultimate trilogy. I’ve attached the full dimensions of the Eames RAR rocker: Height 70cm, Height To Seat 39cm, Seat Width 40cm, Seat Depth 44cm, Backrest Height Internal 41cm, Width 62cm, Depth 70cm, Arm Rest Height 24cm.
All of the Eames chairs are amazingly comfortable, even when they don’t look it, like the moulded plywood lounge chair, which looks like it would be very uncomfortable for a tall person, but is actually very easy to get in and out of as well as perfectly moulded to the human body, which honestly makes it more comfortable than a squishy chair.
Don’t they look fantastic? You can of course buy them in different colours from many sources. Next on my designer furniture wish list is the the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman by Herman Miller.
