Designing beautiful living spaces is a natural desire. We choose our furniture — especially our design classics — with care. We pay attention to what harmonises, and in doing so, we may even fulfill a long-held dream.
But when does a living space actually become a home? Perhaps it's when we connect personal memories and feelings with objects. When we look at a photo on the living room wall that's been hanging there for ten years and still transports us back to that moment. When we look at accessories and remember that we brought them back from a trip. Or when we look at our furniture and think about the history of a design—a particular designer whose work we admire.
Precisely this combination of personal history, functionality, and aesthetics shaped the work of Charles and Ray Eames. They loved shaping their environments: In addition to furniture, they also designed smaller, decorative, and useful objects and combined them with mementos from their travels. In the legendary Eames House, a living collage of their lives was created – constantly changing, always in dialogue with the times. Charles and Ray Eames never considered their designs complete. As soon as new possibilities arose, they seized on them to refine or further develop their products. It is precisely this open-mindedness that makes their designs as relevant today as they were in their original form.
In collaboration with the Eames Office, Vitra has now revised the Eames Collection with a focus on sustainable production, materials, and colors. "Forever Modern" is the motto of this new edition, which gives classics like the Eames Lounge Chair, the Shell Chairs, and accessories like the Hang It All, a new, responsible look. Timeless design meets sustainable materials and innovative manufacturing processes.
The revised collection places a clear focus on environmental awareness, with increased use of European woods such as cherry, chestnut, and walnut. The Eames Lounge Chair is now available in these wood species, giving it a contemporary yet timeless appearance. Covers, wooden shells, and bases can be combined as desired.
Surfaces are treated with environmentally friendly materials, and innovative materials such as V-Foam, a fully recyclable polyurethane foam, are used. Design legends such as the Eames Elephant and the Eames House Bird also benefit from sustainable innovations, such as the newly used European woods.
Small but mighty – that's always been true of the Occasional Table LTR. It has now been comprehensively redesigned: new tabletops made of European walnut and chestnut, as well as sustainable linoleum in Jade, Dark Brick, and Smoke Blue, are used. The linoleum is made from renewable raw materials such as linseed oil, resin, and wood flour. The European woods are naturally treated, without chemical surface stress. Stainless steel base frames replace the previous chrome-plated version.
In addition, the tried-and-tested design options are available: table tops are also available in HPL (white or black), with the black version being made from leftover office table production.
In addition to wood and recycled materials, the collection's colors have been carefully reworked: For products like the Hang it all, the new versions draw on historic Eames color palettes, reinterpreted with modern water-based lacquers. Vitra developed new color variants for this in close collaboration with the Eames Office.
Vitra is expanding the collection with sophisticated details: The Wire Chair – Bikini Outdoor Version impresses with its removable clip system, the Anagram Sofa now offers medium-firm upholstery, and a refurbishment service for B2B customers is available for the Aluminium Chairs and Soft Pad Chairs. Vitra thus combines timeless design with modern functionality. The Eames Soft Pad Chairs have also been redesigned with two new powder coatings and a refurbishment concept for B2B customers.
The redesigned Eames Collection demonstrates that design and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. Through the careful selection of European woods, recycled materials, and eco-friendly surface treatments, the iconic furniture pieces are not only more environmentally friendly, but also remain true to their design principles. Vitra interprets the legacy of Charles and Ray Eames for the present day—Forever Modern, in the truest sense. Perhaps we could go a step further and add: Forever At Home.
