February 9, 2016 - Today's adventure took us on a long drive to the Pacific coastline to see the Eames House in Pacific Palisades. The Eames House (also known as Case Study House No. 8) is a landmark of mid-20th century modern architecture. It was constructed in 1949 by husband-and-wife design pioneers Charles and Ray Eames, to serve as their home and studio. Charles Ormond Eames, Jr. (1907–1978) and Bernice Alexandra "Ray" (née Kaiser) Eames (1912–1988) were American designers who made significant historical contributions to the development of modern architecture and furniture. Among their most well-known designs is the Eames Lounge Chair. They also worked in the fields of industrial and graphic design, fine art and film. Today the Eames House is considered one of the most important post-war residences anywhere in the world.
This is a basic plan of the house. The module on the left is the living quarters with a large living room and kitchen on the first floor and one large bedroom on the second floor. The module on the right was their design studio, offices and darkroom. A patio separates the two wings.
Judy is standing in front of their two story living room.
This lovely tree seat is under the canopy.
There's an Eames chair in the living room.
This circular stairway leads to the upstairs bedroom.
This is the kitchen end of the structure.
This is the patio separating the two structures.
These pictures are of the design studio structure.
The property is over one acre and it has an abundance of trees, especially eucalyptus. The large meadow in front of the house ends on a cliff overlooking the ocean.
All of the exterior pictures above were taken by me since the fee for the docent-guided interior tours cost $275.00, for either one or two persons! That's a little too steep for us poor pensioners. However, the pictures below offer a glimpse of their living room, which is the most photogenic room in the house.
The Eames House is spectacular. Here's Charles and Ray clowning around on the patio with the metal frames from the chairs that they designed.
After touring the house, it was time for lunch so we stopped at Cafe Vida in downtown Pacific Palisades. I had their Caesar Salad and Judy had a wonderful avocado-tuna sandwich. It was a great adventure.
