I have a beat up eames lounge chair. It isn't anything special, it just was abused by the previous owner and her cats. I got the chair for next to nothing with the ottoman and want it to become part of my living room. I'm going to handle to reconditioning of the plywood but will have to hire out for the upholstery. Anyone have any resources for reconditioning furniture? Any tips would be appreciated. It currently has black leather but after watching an episode of 'House' and noticing his version of the chair has a khaki corduroy, I'm thinking of going the same route. It would go better in my living room with my sofa and color scheme. The chair is already one of the most comfortable things I have ever owned and it'll always keep it's classic form. I worry about chosing a shop to do the work but was wondering if I am committing a design sin by changing Charles and Rays original idea. Anyone done anything like this? Anyone vouch for a shop in northern Illinois? edit: forgive the grammar errors.
Sure, but why?
I can recommend a couple good shops in Chicago who are very capable of redoing your seat cushions, but I question why you'd want to put corduroy fabric on the cushions. The classic look is black leather. Back in the day Herman Miller would cover the cushions in the fabric, leather or naugahyde of the customers choice... this was to the dismay of Charles Eames. He and Ray thought they should only be available in black leather.
While the leather will cost you more in material on the front end, it is probably a good investment in the long term. It will undoubtedly hold up better than any fabric which means you will not be reupholstering it again in a few years and if for any reason you were to choose to part with the chair, it's worth more in a nice black leather than in any other color or fabric.
If you are a vegan and object to leather on principal, there are a lot of new high quality vinyls on the market that are very convincing.
If you wanted to compare the cost to re-upholstery, you can also buy replacement sets of leather directly from Herman Miller. Here is a link to them on Highbrow Furniture.
There was also someone selling a set recently on craigslist. You just need to be sure your clips are compatible with any replacement set if you choose to go that route.
http://highbrowfurniture.com/seating/products/67071/
I agree-nothing is more classic than black leather...
Besides,the minute something spills on the corduroy,it's just about done,as it blots into the cloth.Furthermore,it will not wear nearly as long as leather,which improves with time.In total,a second reupholstering with cloth would be more costly than one done with leather.
check out DWR
The Design Within Reach site offers the Eames lounge chair in black, ivory, tan and chocolate leather. Why not go for a different color leather rather than fabric? Fabric just looks utterly, totally wrong to me on this chair. I can understand the desire to have something that fits with your other furniture---I wouldn't want black leather necessarily myself. In fact, I have a nice knockoff of this chair that I redid in espresso leather and I love it. It's a little warmer than black and softens the look just enough for me.
Ditto what the others said about the wear and cleanability factors. Leather lasts way longer than even the the best fabric. Corduroy is especially unsuited for upholstery that will get used a lot as the nap wears off and leaves bald patches. Remember that pair of favorite corduroy pants you wore so much that the knees lost their fuzz? Picture that on the armrests of your Eames chair.
Pegboad,I would like those...
Pegboad,
I would like those Chicago shops if you don't mind.
As to the replies so far, I understand. I usually like to respect the original vision of the designer. I have no objection to leather. My sofa is brown leather, and I'm worried about the match. I have seen the lounge chairs with the brown/white leather and they don't appeal to me. I personally love the black but don't want it to clash with the rest of my living room pieces. I am going to pull it into the room and see if the plywood (which goes great with some of my other pieces) will make up for the obvious mismatch.
And I used to love corduroy... I'm a geek like that. I'm thinking if I choose a thick cord it would last longer. The cleaning and stains would be a major concern but I no longer have any pets... I don't know, it's still an options. I would love to have the chair in my living room, as of right now it is just sitting in the basement.
edit: for some reason on this site when I type it ditches some of my letters. I tried to catch them all.
Go for it!
My chair is black leather, but I bought it second hand and didnt have much say in the matter. But, if you're going to reupholster yours I say go for it. The chair can look brilliant in new clothes! (It can also look awful - I'd do LOTS of tests before you commit)
Some things to consider:
a) The chair is composed of interlocking curved masses set 90 degrees to each other - sort of the position your hands are in when you clap. The black leather does the best to delineate these masses - but anything will do that as long as it contrasts enough with the wood. The chair in brown and camel leathers loses this detail - the wood and the cushions blend together and the chair becomes kind of shapeless. (IMO)
b) Make sure your upholsterer doesnt pull too tightly when s/he is sewing the fabric onto the plastic shell backings. This can cause the cushions to bow forward a bit, and the seam between the cushion and the shells has gaps (see second photo)
c) For all the great furniture in House - the Eames is a fake! I caught an episode recently where the camera was looking up and at the left arm, from under the chair. The tilt mechanism and bolts were visible = Plycraft or Selig.
celebrate the [color] differences
i personally like a black / brown mix; i'm much more bothered when there's an attempt to match two different browns or blacks [or any color for that matter] but they're a bit more than slightly off.
i think it has to do with unity versus uniformity. there can be great individual diversity explored while still achieving unity. i find this much more interesting and fulfilling than everything "matching" in both form and surface. the variety offers depth and breadth unachieved by too much sameness.
go for it!
I understand everyones everyones feelings of keeping it original in black leather - however it is ultimately your chair - and for the 50th anniversary, Herman Miller had a lot of designers do variations of the chair for their showroom to display. I saw it in a very light blue/grey corduroy and fell in love! If/When I get my own 670 I will either have the cream/walnut version or will have it in the corduroy. I'm not a huge fan of leather in general - and I think fabric warms the chair up nicely. I'm a little skeptical of the b/w mixed pattern on the chair above.
Defiintely worth trying
Yes I agree to those who want to personalize the upholstery. I think the 670 in HOUSE looks damn cool & I was searching for the store who sells it when I landed in this discussion. If anyone knows, please post the info. In my search I also found another cool site which seems to be in India offering the Eames for a much desired price. Hmmm...I wonder if I could see the quality. Could at least be better than getting one of those used 670s.
(edited by Design Addict, no advertising on the forum)
From a pervious thread:
Has anyone out there gotten their Eames lounge chair, or reproduction (i.e. Plycraft or Selig) reupholstered with Retro Redo ( http://www.retroredo.com)?
According to their website, the average cost for a reupholster job in vinyl is $250.
For those of you who have used Retro Redo's services, how would you evaluate the finished result, and how much did the services cost you for a vinyl reupholster job?
Thanks - I look forward to hearing from anyone!
posted by mcwinterr
edited on 05-Feb-09 05:16 AM [edit]
The owner of RetroRedo is one of our favorite posters here on DA!
I certainly think he's 'peachy-keen' (a retro expression) and would recommend him to anyone even if I've only ever interacted with him here online. I'm sure many of the rest of the forum likely agrees!
Go get'em Lloyd!
posted by Olive (USA)
[edit]
Excellent.
Good work from a good guy.
posted by the_beloved (US/CAN)
[edit]
olive and the beloved
Thanks for your kind words
posted by LRF (USA)
Chicago Eames restoration shops?
"I can recommend a couple good shops in Chicago who are very capable of redoing your seat cushions..."
Wondering if I missed the shop names in this thread, since it's a few years old. Can you list the names please? Looking to repair/replace seat cushion and ottoman from 1963 Rosewood Eames lounge chair. Thanks.
.
That pricing is a few years old too, for the chair alone I'd expect to pay something like $450 labor + the cost of your choice of material. You'll need a good whole hide of leather, or three+ yards of fabric.
Some fabrics are more durable than leather, specify commercial grade, 50,000+++ double rubs. There is some amazing stuff out there. I would personally lean toward using fabric because very high quality discontinued fabrics can be found at very little cost. Leather is expensive.
The most fantastic Eames lounge I can recall seeing was in Orange-as-can-be leather. Kapow!
If you need any help, please contact us at – info@designaddict.com