Materials:
Zinc-coated steel frame, birch top, painted side panels, birch-front file drawer, and adjustable glides.

Dimensions:
Overall: 29" h x 60" w x 28" d
Drawer: 16.25" h x 16" w x 28" d

Design Story

The Eames Desk is first and foremost a work desk. It was designed to be functional and helpful at all times, not merely as a piece of sculpture or modernist art. And indeed, the desk has stood for decades as much more than a simple piece of art, with sales all over the world continuing unabated since it was debuted in 1952. The flat plane of the desk top is large and squared, traditional in nearly every respect. In part, that’s because in the world of Charles and Ray Eames, one never saw the top of the desk; it was too stacked with work, plans, ideas, grandchildren, and books. The drawer on the side of the desk (you can order either a left handed or right handed drawer - the benefits of mass production at work) is large and non-compartmentalized. It can hold anything from models to papers to toys or computer parts. The openness of the drawer shuns the contemporary obsession with perfect compartments that often limit space and usability. There is also space above the drawer for more storage (between the top of the drawer and the bottom of the desk), but it's unstructured as well. If you wish, nothing but air can fill the space between the two. The utility of the desk is simple, classic, and sound.

Of course, that isn't to take anything away from the beauty of the desk, which is ample. The Eameses were some of the first American designers to focus on mass production, specifically, making the mass production of fine furniture easier on companies and easier on the pocketbook of the general public. The Eames Desk is a sterling example of this kind of machine-produced design aesthetic. It's a series of parts, all of them separate (different colors, different materials, different purposes, etc.) but all working together to form a harmonious whole. The brightly colored panels of the desk (which can also be ordered in neutral tones) work as playful counterpoints to the more traditional beechwood accents and metallic support systems that go into the desk. There is a series of wires that criss-between the metallic legs of the desk at irregular angles. The effect is symmetrical when viewed head on, and very pleasing to the eye; it gives the impression that the desk is being held together, as if it may burst from the energy of the panels, materials, color and work. The angles draw the attention of the viewer, but they are a design thrill in keeping with the aesthetic whole rather than a distraction or misstep.

The look of the desk is cheery but professional, robust and energetic. It wears the influence of Japanese architecture and modernism proudly and winningly. The Eameses were great champions of a sense of play; they liked playing with forms in ways that resembled tinker-toys, jigsaw puzzles, and blocks. While very sophisticated, the designs they came up with often captured a joyful attitude (for instance, the way they designed the windows and walls of their personal home was very similar to the way the panels and lines of the Eames Desk are utilized) toward work, play, and living. The desk is an obvious addition to their canon of energetic, bright, and original design ideas. But it is also a very functional work space.

Elements of Function
The desk, defined in very general terms, includes a flat plane workspace and a large attached drawer. It also features extra, open storage space on top of the drawer, between it and the top of the desk. The features are simple but effective, and when combined with the overall design aesthetic, produce the feeling of a re-invented or re-imagined classic.

This is a modern desk only in it's sense of aesthetic design. In form and function, it is classic, marrying a kind of linear austerity to an essentialist philosophy. There is one work surface, one drawer, one extra storage space, one place for a chair. It's singular, but useful, and beguiling in it's simplicity and elegance.

The desk will fit comfortably in most office spaces, including home office space. It's 5 feet wide and 28 inches deep, and it rises 29 inches above the floor. The desk on the left or right hand side (according to your personal preference) rises 16 and 1/4 inches above the floor. In all, while it isn't a "compact" desk, neither is it an expansive one. It's impressive nature comes from it's design and it's aesthetic, as well as it's history, not from a brute impression of size.

There are few desks on the market as efficient and basically functional as the Eames Desk. And there are certainly almost none with the heady mixture of joy, beauty, and utility that this desk brings to the table. Smart Furniture is proud to offer the Eames Desk to our customers, as well as the complimentary Eames Storage Unit.

because in the world of Charles and Ray Eames, one never saw the top of the desk; it was too stacked with work, plans, ideas, grandchildren, and books. The drawer on the side of the desk (you can order either a left handed or right handed drawer - the benefits of mass production at work) is large and non-compartmentalized. It can hold anything from models to papers to toys or computer parts. The openness of the drawer shuns the contemporary obsession with perfect compartments that often limit space and usability. There is also space above the drawer for more storage (between the top of the drawer and the bottom of the desk), but it's unstructured as well. If you wish, nothing but air can fill the space between the two. The utility of the desk is simple, classic, and sound.

Of course, that isn't to take anything away from the beauty of the desk, which is ample. The Eameses were some of the first American designers to focus on mass production, specifically, making the mass production of fine furniture easier on companies and easier on the pocketbook of the general public. The Eames Desk is a sterling example of this kind of machine-produced design aesthetic. It's a series of parts, all of them separate (different colors, different materials, different purposes, etc.) but all working together to form a harmonious whole. The brightly colored panels of the desk (which can also be ordered in neutral tones) work as playful counterpoints to the more traditional beechwood accents and metallic support systems that go into the desk. There is a series of wires that criss-between the metallic legs of the desk at irregular angles. The effect is symmetrical when viewed head on, and very pleasing to the eye; it gives the impression that the desk is being held together, as if it may burst from the energy of the panels, materials, color and work. The angles draw the attention of the viewer, but they are a design thrill in keeping with the aesthetic whole rather than a distraction or misstep.

The look of the desk is cheery but professional, robust and energetic. It wears the influence of Japanese architecture and modernism proudly and winningly. The Eameses were great champions of a sense of play; they liked playing with forms in ways that resembled tinker-toys, jigsaw puzzles, and blocks. While very sophisticated, the designs they came up with often captured a joyful attitude (for instance, the way they designed the windows and walls of their personal home was very similar to the way the panels and lines of the Eames Desk are utilized) toward work, play, and living. The desk is an obvious addition to their canon of energetic, bright, and original design ideas. But it is also a very functional work space.

Herman Miller Warranty

This warranty is a promise that lives up to the highest standards in the industry. If for some reason the product fails to live up to this standard, Herman Miller will ship and repair it at no cost to you. To learn more read the Herman Miller Warranty.

Care & Maintenance

For more care and maintenance instructions please use the care and maintenance link that will take you directly to the Herman Miller Website.

Care and Maintenance