The Eames Lounge Chair that Charles and Ray Eames designed in 1956 is one of the most imitated pieces of furniture ever made. Herman Miller has made it since the beginning and lists it at $7,745 with the ottoman. This guide explains how to tell a licensed chair from a lookalike, what the law protects, and how to own the real thing for less. We do not recommend or link lookalikes of this design.
What a licensed chair has that a lookalike skips
The original Eames Lounge Chair was designed to be industrial. Charles and Ray Eames were working with molded plywood, aluminum, and rubber shock mounts because those were the materials of industrial production in 1956, not because they were expensive. Four details separate a licensed chair from a lookalike:
- The shells. Three separate shells of molded veneer plywood (seven-ply on current production), curved under heat and pressure. Lookalikes often use MDF or thinner plywood with a flatter curve.
- The shock mounts. Rubber mounts join the shells to the aluminum spines and give the chair its slight flex. They are the part most often simplified or left out.
- The cushions. Leather cushions that clip onto the shells and can be removed and replaced. Lookalikes commonly use PU or bonded leather that cracks within a few years.
- The marks and the seller. A licensed chair carries Herman Miller’s label (Vitra’s in Europe) and is sold by Herman Miller or an authorized dealer. A new chair far below Herman Miller’s price is not a Herman Miller chair.
Why so many lookalikes exist
Charles and Ray Eames introduced the Model 670 lounge chair in 1956. Charles described the design goal as “the warm, receptive look of a well-used first baseman’s mitt.” Ray, when she saw the finished chair, said it looked “comfortable and un-designy.” That combination of ergonomic warmth without decorative excess is what imitators have been trying to approximate for decades.
Herman Miller (US) and Vitra (Europe) are the only licensed manufacturers today. The design is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. The Eameses recognized the problem early: in 1962, they published newspaper advertisements warning consumers about fakes.
Lookalikes exist because the patents lapsed. What the Eames Office and Herman Miller still hold is the name and the registered trade dress, which is why a lookalike can reproduce the five-star base, the three shells and the leather cushions, but cannot be sold as an Eames chair. The gap between those two facts is the whole market, and it is worth understanding before you spend anything.
What the law actually protects
The shorthand — the patents expired, so copies are legal — is half the story. Design patents in the United States run fifteen years from grant (35 U.S.C. §173), so every patent on a 1956 design lapsed generations ago. That is why a factory can lawfully produce the form.
What does not lapse is trademark and trade dress, which can run indefinitely so long as they are used and defended. Herman Miller’s registered trade dress in this chair was upheld as protectable and willfully infringed in Blumenthal Distributing v. Herman Miller (9th Cir. 2020); the Supreme Court denied review in 2021. The shape can be made; the name and the maker’s marks cannot, and a seller who reaches for either is telling you something about the rest of the object.
Outside the United States the ground shifts again: in the EU and the UK, furniture is protected as applied art for the designer’s life plus seventy years, and the UK repealed its twenty-five-year carve-out in 2016. The fuller version of this argument, with the case law, is in our piece on identifying an authentic Barcelona Chair.
If you want this chair
New, from the licence holder. Herman Miller lists the Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman from $7,745 and up to $12,745, and it is sold in the United States through Design Within Reach, which is the same company. That price buys the specification described above and a piece that can be serviced and reupholstered rather than replaced.
Secondhand, which is where the actual bargain is. A licensed example from the 1970s or 1980s, refurbished once, is a better object than anything at the copy price and frequently costs less than half of new. Look at 1stDibs, Chairish, regional auction houses and estate sales. Check the shell laminate count, the shock mount rubber, and the depth of the cushion — those are the things an older licensed piece will still show honestly.
If the budget is a few hundred dollars. It does not buy this design in any version, and the honest alternative is a well-made piece that is not imitating one. Something with its own logic will age better in a room than an approximation whose whole argument is that it resembles something famous.
Frequently Asked Questions
How can I tell if an Eames Lounge Chair is authentic?
Check four things: molded veneer plywood shells rather than MDF, rubber shock mounts joining the shells to the aluminum spines, removable leather cushions, and a Herman Miller label (Vitra in Europe) under the seat. New licensed chairs are sold only by Herman Miller and its authorized dealers, so a new chair priced far below Herman Miller’s list is not a Herman Miller chair.
Is it legal to sell a chair that looks like the Eames Lounge?
Only partly. The design patents expired long ago, but Herman Miller’s registered trade dress in the chair was upheld as protectable and willfully infringed in Blumenthal Distributing v. Herman Miller (9th Cir. 2020), and no one else may sell a chair under the Eames name. In the EU and UK, furniture is protected as applied art for the designer’s life plus seventy years.
Does the Eames Lounge Chair come with an ottoman?
It can. The original Model 670 chair was sold with the matching Model 671 ottoman, and Herman Miller still sells them together or separately. At Design Within Reach in September 2026 the chair and ottoman listed at $7,745 and the chair alone at $6,320.
What wood is used in the Eames Lounge Chair?
The shells are molded veneer plywood. Early chairs used Brazilian rosewood veneer; current production offers walnut, cherry and other veneers, and Herman Miller has used sustainably sourced Santos palisander as its rosewood-toned option.
How long does an authentic Eames Lounge Chair last?
Decades. The parts that wear, the cushions and the shock mounts, can be replaced, which is why chairs from the 1960s and 1970s are still in daily use. That repairability is a large part of what the price buys.
Where can I buy a secondhand Eames Lounge Chair?
1stDibs, Chairish, regional auction houses and estate sales all carry licensed Herman Miller chairs. A refurbished example from the 1970s or 1980s often costs less than half of new. Check the label, the shell laminate and the shock mounts before you buy.
For the broader context of this work, see the Iconic Furniture Design hub, a survey of the chairs and objects that defined twentieth-century design. For the full design history and the original Eames design philosophy, see the Charles and Ray Eames design philosophy profile.
About Zoe Post
Zoe Post holds a BFA and a Master of Architecture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She now works as a product marketing leader at an architectural product design firm, bringing hands-on industry perspective to everything she writes. At ADI she covers contemporary artists, textile and pattern design, and the design objects that sit at the boundary of art and function.
