Loose Cushion Armchair Cushion Prototypes

These are just a few of the many cushion prototypes that were made when developing the Loose Cushion Armchair. While designing the seat cushion might seem like a relatively simple task, the Eameses were meticulous in attending to the smallest details of their designs. This meant that even a simple cushion merited careful refinement. According to Johnny Johnson, the Herman Miller employee who was responsible for overseeing the production of Eames furniture at the company’s Gardena, California, manufacturing facility, more than forty different prototypes of the seat cushion were made—“and the one we went with was the one for which Ray had the least objections.” The numerous prototypes left no stone unturned, as the Eameses explored every aspect of the cushion. These examples from 901 Washington Boulevard show several options for stabilizing the cushions’ filling with seams, an approach known as tufting. In one case, they tried a U-shaped curve; for another, a square with rounded corners. The task was made all the more difficult by the fact that the chair would be available in four different textiles, each with its own material properties: nylon Hopsak, Naugahyde, Milnilo (a natural-synthetic blend), and leather.