Eames House Tour

[Mark Singer]

Of the famous Soutern California furniture Designers ....Charles and Ray Eames are certainly at the top ofthe list.... From his early case study homes to all of his wonderful Herman Miller designs , Eames was an amazing man. His wife , Ray was a great designer as well....grapics and photography. Last week Ryan and I saw their home as part of a workshop on modular housing , sponsered by Dwell magazine. The Maloof book talks about Eames and others at major furniture events and discussions between them....another important piece of California history. They both passed away, he in 1978 and her , eactly 10 years after to the day!
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[Jamie Buxton]

More info, Mark! Did they design the house? If so, what is it like? Is it populated with furniture they designed? Did they choose to live with designs of theirs which are icons, or were others their favorites? Or did they choose to live with furniture by others? Or maybe is there furniture which they designed, but which didn't make it to production? More pix, too!

[Dan Larson]

Mark, is the Eames home open to the general public for tours?

For those of you with an interest in learning more about the Eames's, you should take a look at the book: "The Work of Charles and Ray Eames: A Legacy of Invention." by Harry Abrams Publishers. It's an excellent read that details their contributions to design, architecture, and visual arts. Truly an inspiration.

Dan

[Mark Singer]

Sorry, The Eames house was designed by Charles Eames and Soriano originally then modified during construction by Charles and Ray Eames. It was completed in 1949..They lived tthere until their death. It is 2 buildings that flank a courtyard which create an outdoor room-like space. One building is his Studio with a loft. The other building is the house and also has a loft with bedrooms above. The house was made from a steel frame and steel windows. The roof is open web steel bar joists and a roberston type of steel decking. They both worked there and designed all their famous furniture in that studio... It was a live work situation...like Maloof. (I enjoy that as well as many of you I am sure) The house is designed in the Dutch de Stil language....similar to the Reitveld house using primary colors and orthoganal forms...It is an oriiginal work inspired by a movement...not a copied work or replica...
The home is open for public tours...from the outside only. It is very transparent though...

Reitveld House


eames house


Eames living room

[Dan Oliphant]

Mark,
Great photos, this house reminds me of some of the photos you post of your own house. Was Eames an insperation to you?
What I wasn't expecting was that the house was designed in the '40s.

[Mark Singer]

Mark,
Great photos, this house reminds me of some of the photos you post of your own house. Was Eames an insperation to you?
What I wasn't expecting was that the house was designed in the '40s.

Dan,
In My early college years I lived in Silverlake , Los Angeles. It is very rich in "Case Study" homes and other masterpieces. Shindler,Nuetra, Wright, Soriano, Lautner , Elwood,Walker homes were everywhere....My inspirations were many and all of the "Case Study" homes were built in the LA area.
As I reflect back , a few projects were very important too me and served as a springboard to find my own architectural sensibilities. The homes were Schroders' Reitveld house in Utrect, Netherlands; The Ennis Brown House by Wright , in Los Angeles, Maison de Ver by Chareau in Paris, Villa Savoy, Corbusier in Paris....Mies Brick Country Villas, and his Tugenhat house....
Well as i am writing the list seems to get longer...add Louis Kahn's work...Baragan...Ando...Utzon..Piano.,Sverre Fenn.....All of them had a great respect for living and nature...the essence of architecture...finding peace and tranquility....knowing as Eames new..."Too much design may not be a good thing"

I think there are just too many...We end up being influenced by so many great things and in the end , if we are fortunate, something good comes from within....