Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman
Don’t you just love this chair! It is one of, if not the greatest design pieces of the 20th century. If you are looking to buy of these Eames Lounge Chair beauties, here is a couple of things to look out for:
- The ottoman should have 4 legs, not 5! Sure you will get some slick salesperson trying to spin something at you about the benefit of having 5 legs. The problem is that, it looks wrong. The designer intended it to have 4 legs for a reason.
- It also should not swivel. It can actually be quite annoying to have your ottoman wiggle all over the place.
- The angle of the support legs is too steep. The angle should actually be quite flat.
- The height of the chair on some of these cheap versions is way too high. They start to look like an upright office chair rather than a comfortable lounger.
- The ply shells are some cheap veneer. Rather than a beautiful natural grain wood, it looks a bit plasticy (is that a word?)
Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman in the Market
There has been an Australian company that has recently come into the market (they sell a lot of stuff on Trademe). They had been claiming that there Eames Lounge Chair was exactly the same specifications as the original design, yet they have all of the “design flaws” as stated above. There is another company that has store across New Zealand that when called about their furniture stated that they offered no warranty and when pushed reluctantly offered a 1 year warranty on their Eames Lounge Chair and other furniture. What does that say about the confidence that they have in their furniture. They also seem to have a sale every month with around 50% off. Hmmm makes me wonder if their real prices are their 50% off prices and the quality is below par. Just goes to show you that some cowboys will do anything to make a sale.
