Topic: Thinking of buying an Eames replica

[hans]

So I'm a big fan of the Eames lounge chair. However even a used one is quite expensive. I'm thinking of getting a pair of replica ones from Kardiel. My hesitation is they are still relatively expensive and I haven't had the opportunity to actually sit in one, just to read potentially biased internet reviews probably from employees. We recently bought some replica Eames eiffel chairs that ended up being very good (I did buy one Herman Miller and compared the two) and in fact the gf and I actually liked the replica ones better (slightly). My thought is that with current manufacturing technology a chair like this should be very close to the original if made with quality materials and thus my thinking that getting the "premium" version should be decent.

Thoughts? Anyone live in CA nearby their showroom that wants to try and sit in a real one and let me know?

Part of me thinks I should just buy a used original one or maybe even a new one during their 15% off deal.

[jkim]

You should just do it. Become a chair snob.

I know a bunch of people really into chairs. The Eames is real, the Barcelonas are replicas.

[Betazep]

Woah...even the replica is a bit too much for my blood.

[KnuckleBuckett]

You are getting close to my speakers in $$.

Nice chairs tho.

[hans]

Well I pulled the trigger on a replica Eames lounge chair. In the end I went with manhattan home design so we'll see how it turns out. It's kind of an expensive gamble but we had good luck with our eiffel chairs. I went with the MHD chair more because the dimensions matched the original although I'm guessing the Kardiel one is probably pretty nice too. So I'll post a follow up in a couple weeks when the chair hopefully arrives.

[hans]

It arrived today. Overall I'm about 80-90% happy with with. It's definitely not as good as the real deal but it's nice compared to other chairs in the same price range. Shipping was super fast, I ordered it Sunday night and it showed up today (Thurs). Initial impressions, the chair is decent build quality. The leather is ok, but not what I would consider "premium", not quite as soft as I had hoped, maybe some conditioner might help. It is supposed to be full aniline I think. The cushions make air sounds when you sit down/get up which is likely due to the foam used, not sure if that will go away or not with use (probably not). The thing was pretty easy to put together but getting the arms screwed in was a huge pain because it was very hard to line up the screw holes. The chair feels like the back is a bit more upright than the original (maybe 1-2%) as well but is still quite comfortable and works nicely for reading or typing on the laptop. A little bit of a shortcut was taken by only veneering the outside of the chair leaving a few areas in between the cushions where you can see the plain wood. It got approval from Jensina (my gf) as she really liked sitting in the chair but I think someday I might get a real one.

Overall I think it's a nice chair for the money and looks very nice in the room. I'm not trying to fool anyone into thinking it's an Eames, I just like the style. I'll give it a bit to get used to it and see how it holds up and do a followup later.

[KnuckleBuckett]

Very nice!