Guy, guys. Please. I would be happy to settle this if each of you would like to send me one of your most premium chairs to give a layman's review. Please send me a PM.

@Joseph Hillemann, Yup, It's all making sense now.

Something's not adding up in 2 of these pics vs the profile. I noticed it when it was originally posted but didn't think more about it until you mentioned it:

@Curverk Do you have a show room in Industry, CA? Do you have a place I can see your chairs?

We are factory direct, I'm in China, we don't have a showroom in the US. Only warehouses are in California and New Jersey.

Go sell your best replica chairs in the world and stop washing yourself like a jumped-up clown.

That's all for now, I won't be replying to any more post responses that are not about product sales.

**Dateline NBC has entered the chat**

@Curverk, your photoshop work is as sloppy as your marketing. If you continue to use my photos and in particular fabricated with fake reviews and fake letters to promote your business i will escalate this matter to the appropriate legal authorities.

A few years ago I was in the market for an Eames chair and given my budget considered a replica. David, maybe one day I'll even find a deal on an authentic 670/671 (fingers crossed). Without much information available, I found this thread and more important, the views and experiences of Scott B. to be of great value. Influenced by his first hand knowledge, I purchased an Urban Furnishings Eames replica. I have detailed comments about a couple of issues I had with the chair, but nothing that I couldn't deal with or UF didn't resolve. As someone who builds quite a bit of furniture, I can be very particular about little details and it's in those small details that I found issue. It may be something that many wouldn't notice or even care about. I say this only to further express how well I feel my chair was made and the value I recieved for the money. I'm a bit shocked at some of the marketing tactics that have been shown here as of late and certainly don't envy anyone trying to buy a chair at this time. I hope my reviews, discusions and responses have helped at least one person along the way make a positive choice regarding a chair purchase. Lately I feel this thread is turning into something typical of a social media rant and I find myself ready to turn off the notification bell. Scott, thanks for all the solid advice and David, I'll reach out to you shlould I ever get a 670 in my sites. Cheers all!

@edamdnah I hear you. I also wish that the @Urban Furnishing version came in a white ash wood instead of just the white oak. I love the white ash wood on white leather, but do not feel the same about the white oak on white leather. Ugh. Details. :-)

Thanks for the supportive comments. I appreciate that my contributions here were able to help you make a more informed decision. I also share your sentiments with getting this discussion thread back on track. Let's hope that can happen now that the air has been cleared.

I also agree with your comments as well about the issues with interchanging the top and middle back lumbar cushions. Its my understanding that on the authentic HM chairs these are made to be interchangeable but I had never considered or thought about trying that until you mentioned it.

Anyway, I checked on my chair and I found the same. You can technically interchange the back cushions with one another, HOWEVER, the profile edges will not match with the shells and the edges reveal the shell backs. I've attached a few pics to show this design flaw.

This is disappointing and I'm not sure why they decided to make them asymmetrical as it seems it would have been as easy or perhaps less difficult than the present design where the top edges are a different curvature than the bottoms and prevent them from being fully interchangeable for all practical purposes.

Photos below show the effect of interchanging the back cushions (not pretty):

Hopefully the folks at theiconicchair.com can reach out to their factory and convince them to modify the design of the back cushions/shells to match the original design. The bottom cushion and the ottoman are interchangeable, by design, and the back cushions should be as well.

edamdnah Thank you for your nice and well presented comment. Hopefully we can all get this thread back on track to civility. I grew up in LA and live in NY. I've seen the best-of-the-best original Eames Lounge Chairs but I understand that not everyone has access, for many different reasons. Often, budget is an issue, hence why people come to this thread for alternatives. I don't know why I keep commenting. I don't have skin the game. I simply want to prevent people from making mistakes. My advice to anyone, especially those people who do not live near city centers is to save your money, not to buy an original Eames Lounge Chair, but to save enough so that you can take a weekend off to see and experience an original Eames Lounge Chair. It's a crazy idea, I know, but somehow Disney World is O.K. but experiencing fine furntiure isn't? Hogwash. Demanding no compromises is an elitist mindset. It has nothing to do with money nor does it have to do with nose-in-the-air attitude. Let pop culture be pop culture. You've got better things to do.

@edamdnah after a bit more research I stand corrected. Apparently the "old style" design, the one that @davidhunternyc has done a great job here educating us about, has the interchangeable back cushion by design.

HOWEVER, the "new style", the ones our UF chairs are based on, do not have interchangeable back cushions by design. So the authentic HM badged chairs at DWR and HM showrooms have the same appearance as we found in our reviews, when the back cushions are interchanged - its not pretty, the cushion edges don't match the shells. You learn something new every day!

I have to agree with David on this one (at least when it comes to the interchangeable back cushions) I'd prefer the old design in that regard.

You can see the radius difference of the plywood shells very clearly in this video showing an authentic Herman Miller Eames lounge (new style) being restored and put together (Starting at 7:16 you can see it best that the top shell is not symmetrical, but he actually discusses about the radius difference between the two back shells at 16:20):

https://youtu.be/-mleYQVtprA?t=436

The top radius of the upper shell has more curvature than the bottom radius and the top radius of the lumbar shell has the same curvature as the bottom radius of the top shell. That's why the back cushions don't line up with the shells if they are interchanged.

@davidhunternyc, I'll be traveling to LA on Saturday and vacationing there for a week with family. I know you have mentioned Alfie Hume at Hume Modern already, are there some additional locations there you would suggest to make time to visit with regards to mid century modern design, Eames, etc? My wife has most of our days filled but I may be able to sneak in a detour or two while the girls shop.

@Scott B I’m in Vegas for the week, returning home to LA on Saturday. I will see you in the airport on Saturday and we can talk Eames chairs. lol

Hi Scott, unfortunately I haven't lived in LA for 20 years. I have no idea who's around anymore besides Hume Modern. I'm sure a simple Google search and a couple of phone calls would yield promising results. It's insane too how New York has changed over the last 5 years, even before the pandemic. NY used to be a mecca for mid-century modern furniture but the shops have all closed and moved out of town. The only people left are a few guys in Brooklyn operating out of their garages. No one can afford NYC rent. I'm sure it's the same in LA. Luckily I've learned a lot over the years and I still have access to WYETH in Bridgehampton. In my mind, WYETH is the best modern furniture store in the country, perhaps (wait for it) the world. They used to be in NYC too but closed shop here. And for all of you who think I'm rich? I'm not. I'm a struggling artist and a bartender. Furniture is simply one of my passions. Don't get me started about Wegner.

P.S. in LA, if you can, you've got to go to Mozza for dinner.

@Jeffrey Hubbard its a deal, lol! You should be able to message me here. If you want to try to connect next week or call me to discuss all things Eames, I'm happy to talk.

@davidhunternyc, not having much success with getting an appointment with Hume. I think perhaps he's too busy these days to entertain Eames curiosity. I'm also trying to make contact with Daniel Ostroff who is a noted Eames expert and historian there in LA.

Thanks for the tip on Mozza restaurant! I'll add it to our list. Also looking forward to checking out a few pizza spots - "Prime" on Fairfax and "Apollonias" on Wilshire (8+ from Dave Portnoy's "One Bite" pizza reviews).

@David Aldaz, I've just discovered the Iconic Interiors Youtube channel and their reproduction looks very good and the owner Mark appears to be very knowledgable. His version even has the cushion snaps which are true to the original design and I haven't seen those on any other reproduction. Thanks for posting the photos. Possible that you can remove one of the large and small cushions (perhaps the ottoman cushion and the neck cushion) and confirm the foam is open cell? Perhaps a few photos would be awesome.

Scott B
send me a text. I’ll send you some pics of the chair and answer any questions. 956-212-3485

@ScottB

David, done! Thanks

@David Aldaz and @Scott B What chair are we talking about?

Jeffrey, we were discussing to the "Iconic Interiors" Eames reproduction. It's a UK based furniture distributor that specializes in reproduction mid century designs. The owner is Mark Holdsworth and he appears to have a respectable knowledge of the industry and in particular, the Eames legacy of design. Check his Youtube and blog, there is some good and well researched info there. However, he's based in the UK and apparently only reluctantly and rarely ships to the US:

https://www.iconicinteriors.com/designer_furniture/category/chairs/the_eames_lounger_and_ottoman

From everything I can see, his reproduction is on par with UF's theiconicchair version. He mentions in one of his videos that he has a Chinese factory source, could be the same as UF, I'm not certain. But one key difference is that his reproduction has the button snaps on the shells, same as the HM & VItra licensed chairs. The UF reproduction does not have the snap buttons - I don't find that they are needed but it is a small detail that is interesting to note in terms of what it portends for overall fidelity to the original design, in a good way.

Anyway, I'm expecting to get some photos of the foam inside the cushions (the primary driving factor for the seating comfort) - David tells me that the comfort is on the same level with what he recalls from his presale visits to Design Within Reach testing out the HM branded chair.

So, @Urban Furnishing are there any plans on having a sale in the near future of the Iconic Chair for the people in this forum?

I've made up my mind after patiently following this thread for a long time and I've noticed there are some offers from time to time so I'm waiting to see if there's going to be any soon, thanks!

Looking into EAMES replicas on Amazon, I found at least than 6 brands on Amazon (all in China) who use the same product description:

Mid Century Lounge Chair and Ottoman, Modern Chair Classic Design, Top Grain Black Leather Palisander Wood, Heavy Duty Base Support for Living Room Study, Lounge, Office

...as well as nearly identical detailed descriptions.

The brands (Furgle, Rimdoc, Fimdoc, 1inchome, Genniyz, Toomoo….) all seem to be sold by Haiers Home USA or SEMAE or both). Are these actually just one company, or one manufacturer with multiple agents?

The prices are generally in the same range, going as low as $629.

@Tom Bolt Very few of those are available in the tall version, so there is that. However, the bigger point is that the quality of those will be pretty bad. In other words, they will not come close to being similar to a Herman Miller Eames. To my knowledge, none of the companies listed below manufacturer their furniture at the known Chinese factories that make the most realistic Eames chairs. It's my understanding that Keeks and Urban Furnishing both have their chairs made at the factory that provides the most realistic replicas. Those chairs go for around $1700 though, which is almost double the price of the ones you listed. So yeah, you can gamble on one of the cheaper ones, but it will likely not be a victory in the long run. I am not even convinced that a Keeks or Urban Furnishing chair will be a victory in the long run, but I would bet on those before the ones you listed.

After posting my initial question about which Eames lounge chair replica is the best,I am more confused than ever.
Wayyy too much technical information.Geez

@Bobette My opinion: Keeks or Urban Furnishing (The Iconic Chair). However, if you can, buy the Herman Miller. And if you can find an original for a good price, buy that.....

Thanks for the response @Jeffrey Hubbard. I learned much from this long , informative (and occasionally dramatic) thread.

For every assertion, there seems to be a counter-assertion. You say, for example, that UF is a good brand, but then “the chair guy” set up websites to warn people away from them. This thread opens one’s eyes to the misrepresentations and false marketing practices from some (many? all?) of the vendors in the Eames reproduction space.

My sense is that there are a limited number of producers and many brands. The turnover among brands is pretty high. There are many reviews comparing ]brands, but a large fraction of them contain a statement like this:

Comfy Zen is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.

That particular one is https://www.comfyzen.com/the-best-eames-chair-replica/and says it was updated for March 2022. We are still in March, but of 6 of the chairs reviewed, one already has a broken link, one is UF, and the rest are the brands I mentioned in my first post from the same Amazon seller. For older comparison reviews, the links are often broken.

My sense (only an intuition) is that there is not really that much real product differentiation out there, but lots of marketing, hype, and dishonesty. Unfortunately, there is no showroom where I can have a good look at a reproduction to make my own personal judgments.

You are probably correct @Jeffrey Hubbard, the lowball prices on Amazon are more likely to disappoint than not. UF, with only “the Ultra Premium version” has not convinced me that their money is where their mouth is (and they seem to have earned as many haters as lovers).

I am not looking for the original Eames or even HM experience. This design has stood the test of time and as long as a decent real leather version is available at a fair price, I will likely be very happy.

My current lean is toward a $1100 version on Wayfair. At least they put their trademark on it and have a US presence for support and follow-up. Corrigan Studio® Berngard 34.6'' Wide Genuine Leather Manual Swivel Ergonomic Recliner with Ottoman | Wayfair
Does anyone have any ‘dirt’ on the Corrigan Studio versions?

@Tom Bolt very unlikely you are going to find any vendor that has emerged clean and unscathed from attracting any ”dirt”. Best thing you can do is research and be able to identify the key features that make this chair - comfort and quality. Quality reproductions should specify seat cushions with 6 inches of open cell foam (not ”PU Injected foam” or latex). Also look for removable cushions that clip (not velcro) and with high quality aniline leather. if the vendor will not provide those details, best to find one who will. Those are the key components that make the authentic chair so well liked and any replica that skimps on those key features is worth avoiding.

@Scott B I am pretty confident that the PU foam that Keeks advertises is the exact same foam as the open cell foam that Urban Furnishings advertises. For one, PU foam is open cell. And two, both versions are made from the same factory in China.

@Jeffrey Hubbard, good points. With regards to the foam, just suggest to clarify with the vendor that it is "open cell" foam, regardless how its characterized on the description as "PU foam" or "PU Injected foam". The foam (depth, density and composition) is to my experience the most important determinative factor in the comfort of the chair. I would just be cautious if the sales page points does not indicate "open cell" in the description to verify the point and have it in writing for peace of mind.

@Scott B I agree with you. If it is between two different companies advertising the same chair, I would make sure that they both have the same specs/materials/etc....as you said.

@Scott B Just an FYI, and take it for what it's worth. The Keeks rep told me that their chair uses "closed" cell PU Foam because it is the exact same foam currently used in the Herman Miller Eames chairs. I know that Herman Miller uses a PU Foam injection for sure, but it does not specify closed or open. I do know that many other top of the line chairs do use closed cell foam, but I cannot confirm or deny that the current Eames does......That said, it seems as though Urban Furnishing and Keeks do use different foam.......

For every assertion there is a counter-assertion. You gents clearly know a lot about this subject, much more than me, but the exchange shows how hard it is to truly know exactly what is going on in this space.

@Tom Bolt Agreed. It's actually sort of pointless at the end of the day. I am just a regular dude trying to buy a chair. I do know this: The chair I want is $7000 on sale at Design Within Reach right now. I can buy it today. The replica chair that looks identical is $1700. That is the decision you have to make. Is the potential for a bit more comfort worth $5000 to you? That's almost $6300 or so off your salary for the year when you factor in taxes. If money is no object, buy the Herman Miller; however, I don't think anyone would be here if money was not an object......

True, we just need someone to get a real chair and do a teardown!

@jeffrey Hubbard You are right, I went through the same process as everyone here. I narrowed it down to Keeks & UF and went w/UF because I could go to the show room, see the wood, construction, and sit in the 2 sizes. I waited for a sale, ordered it, and hoped it wouldn’t be damaged in shipping. Now I am so happy with my purchase & hoping it will last considering it is an expensive chair albeit way less than the original. My 2 chairs (ordered 3 mo apart) were both flawless but there are always those fluke flawed products that some people experience w/any brand. I feel relieved & happy that I made a good choice!

@steflinc Nice! That's great! Yeah, Keeks and UF seem like they are producing very similar quality chairs. Keeks does have the white leather in the lighter oak color, which UF does not. I am not sure why exactly, but they do. As far as quality, my guess is they will not be too different from each other, but who knows......

@Scott B Soooo, in another chapternof this saga, Keeks sent me an email amd said that they were wrong. Their manufacturer does indeed use open cell PU-Foam. I mean, if Keeks and UF get their chairs from the same manufacturer, this would make sense; however however, it’s odd that they answered me differently at first. Ugh.

During the process of narrowing my choices it came down to Urban Furnishing and Manhatten Home Design. I learned that the MHD is modeled after the Vitra style rather than the Herman Miller. Besides the fact that I prefer the HM base, the (authentic) Vitra chairs were manufactured in Europe and had to have fire resistant foam. This denser foam was the final tie breaker and I went with UF. Foam, even in the open cell range can still vary in thickness and density. What a manufacturer may consider soft medium or stiff is comparable to how we jjudge temperature or volume. What I consider a cold day may only feel cool to others. My music may be too loud for you, but it's "perfect" for me. Without actually sitting on it, it's not clear how comfortable is will be to any particular person, or break in with daily use.. @Jeffrey Hubbard, you could buy a $1700 reproduction and roll the dice on your comfort satisfaction. If the chair feels great, enjoy! Maybe it turns out that you would like something a bit softer. I'm willing to bet you have a local upholsterer that can now custom stuff your cushions and still be far under the cost of a Design Within Reach chair. It does baffle me a bit that the manufacturers fo these chairs aren't making them ridiculously comfortable from the start. I cant imagine that it would cost much more, (maybe even less) to use a less dense version of the same foam, or a firm base with super soft top layer.

Read about Eames replicas for a week and thought I knew a lot. Stumbled upon this thread and realized I do not know even half.... So thank you everyone for your comments and observations. As they are saying, "the evil is in the details" and with this excercise, it truly is. For example, saw a replica advertised to have "removable cushions, just like the original". Right, but attaching to an unfinished plywood side and with velcro. To keep a long story short, I narrow my search down to 3 companies:

- The iconic chair: good overall quality, but complaints about hardware not setting properly in the armrest areas, lots of scratches being reported on new items and a box that needs to be destroyed to be opened, which makes it hard to do a return if needed.

- Curvek: good overall quality, fast shipping and warranty, items well packed. However, the reviews in this discussion group are not the best and then the velcro.... and the extra width... and the 8 ply.

- Keeks Design: never heard of them before reading this thread, and based on their description, they check all the important points that made the original Eames chair what it is. However, there are almost no reviews, and the few on their web site are very generic/one liners. Also, there are a number of places where the chair is quoted at 1395, but on their web site is 1595.

I was set on Curvek, but now I am inclining more towards Keeks. My goal is to get something of very good quality, as close as possible to the original, priced decently. Any comments and suggestions are welcome. Many thanks!

Really..Interesting info..
I’m actually 98% ready to order a chair..
Would you happen to know their return policy?

Has anyone heard of Sohnee?

We bought our replica from TheIconicChair.com and could not be happier with it. It arrived in perfect condition, and was relatively easy to assemble. It is a gorgeous piece and an excellent replica of the original even down to the way the cushions feel as you sit down and get up. Solid craftsmanship, and high quality materials. I have wanted an Eames Lounge-style chair for years, and I am so happy we decided to buy this one. We bought ours in November and absolutely love it.

Wow! Love seeing I'm not the only one struggling here! Has anyone heard of designreplica.com? They have tons of custom options for every piece of the chair from leather type to leg type!

I bought a replica from Keeks about two weeks ago after scrolling this thread and figured I should post my impressions in hopes of giving more insight for those interested. The chair arrived about 1 week after I placed the order and everything was in good condition. There was very little assembly needed when it arrived in one large box. The construction appears sturdy from my initial impressions. The leather is very soft. The cushions are a bit firm, but hopefully they will break in over time. So far after one week I'm quite pleased with the quality and appearance of the chair.

My one main complaint is that I'm actually not so sure the Eames chair design is all that comfortable. This isn't a Keeks replica issue, I'm talking about the design as a whole. I'm 5'10" and I definitely should have gotten the tall version. On my standard version the chair back is too low to give any head or neck support, and if you slouch down to rest your head your lower back is unsupported. I was lucky enough to find a vintage Ekornes stressless recliner at a yard sale for my other living room seat and it is leaps and bounds more comfortable. Don't get me wrong, Eames chairs are gorgeous designs, but if like me your interest is mostly based on appearance I would strongly recommend trying to find one to sit in before you buy because it might not be quite what you are expecting. At the very least I unequivocally recommend that anyone over 5'0" opt for the tall version.

Again, just my impressions so far. Hopefully someone finds this helpful.

Thank you for your post. Can you please comment on the components' finish grade level? i.e. plywood construction and finish, leather quality, fit of the removable cushions, stitching, metal brackets and legs, and anything else worth mentioning. Much appreciated.

Thank you for the reviews/commentary. I just ordered one from Keeks and will post update once it arrives.

Hi, @Beechgrove Design. Did you get the chair and can you please share your impressions?