A glimpse inside a modernist masterpiece
Seize the rare opportunity to step inside the legendary Eames House in Los Angeles – a protected modernist icon that remains a family home at its core.
Designed by Charles und Ray EamesCase Study House #8 – the Eames House – is one of the most celebrated buildings of the mid-century era. For the latest episode of In Residence, Nowness gained exclusive access to this light-filled, two-story home that the couple built in 1949 and lived in for the rest of their lives.
Famous for their furniture designs – such as the Eames Molded Fiberglass Side Chair and the Eames Lounge Chair & Ottoman – the Eames House was the duo’s only architectural project designed for themselves. Now a National Historic Landmark, it sits on a 1.4-acre estate in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, surrounded by lush greenery and overlooking the ocean.
Its color-block facade, framed by towering trees, marks it as a beacon of modernist architecture.
says Lucia Dewey Atwood, granddaughter of Charles and Ray Eames and director of the 250 Year Project at the Charles & Ray Eames Foundation.
The house, studio, and grounds remain true to their original form, allowing visitors to experience the site as the Eames intended.
“The house is made out of off-the-shelf parts. It was a reflection of what came out of the war effort,”
explains Eames Demetrios, grandson of Charles and Ray, and director of the Eames Office.
Built in response to the post-war housing shortage, the Eames House demonstrated how design could be both efficient and deeply human.
Following a period of conservation after the Palisades Fire, the Eames House has reopened – and for the first time, visitors can step inside Charles and Ray’s private studio, where many of their most influential ideas took shape.
“It can be an icon of modernism, but it’s more than that. The Eames House was always a home,”
says Eames Demetrios.
Find out more about the Charles & Ray Eames Foundation and how to visit the Eames House.
