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Replica Eames Lounge Chair $200 at Officeworks

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EDIT: Price drop on 8/2 to $200

Was looking at replicas of this chair and decided to get something else. Cheapest on the market vs other retailers. So maybe of interest for people looking for this chair.

Things to note.

  • Box is bulky as it comes pre assembled. Comes in two boxes - one chair and one ottoman. Requires a van or ute. Also heavy at around 30KG.
  • Cushions are held on by Velcro
  • Leather is cow hide but does not feel soft and only wraps the front of the foam padding
  • Veneer is only on the out side and not all the way around
  • If you're taller than 175cm this chair isn't for you. Lack of head rest for a lounge chair unless you slouch which then compresses your spine.
  • Comfort wasn't right for me since lumbar cushioning wasn't adequate. Had to use one of their lumbar support cushions for added comfort
  • Their RRP was $600 now down to $400. Cheapest for basic replica out there. eBay was still $450 plus shipping.

Costco Casula has the real thing for ~$5400 big difference in leather quality and comfort. Still similar points to be made. The real one flexes more than OW due to different shock mounts = more comfort but not worth the big difference in price.

For $400 plus great returns policy plus being able to try it out beats most online retailers.

Related Stores

Officeworks
Officeworks

closed Comments

  • ive sat on this at ow and its very very comfortable!

    • +3

      opposite for me. It was pretty uncomfortable. I always wanted one and was prepared to buy one sight-unseen a few years ago.. but now I actually tried them, not for me. And I'm not tall either.

      • Me too. Was interested in one ready to buy one from the online retailers and low and behold OW sold them out of all places! Definitely requires trying out and compare with the genuine one. Big difference but you have to try the genuine to know. Only place I know that has one readily available to try is Costco Casula

  • +29

    +1 for the detailed description!

    • +1 for a newb with detailed description, no 'pls b kind' and a good deal to boot

  • +4

    So Allan, what did you end up getting for yourself… and can we OzBargain them too? Seriously tho, interested to find out because I'm taller than 175cm so this one probably would do me either.

    • +3

      We got a second hand Stressless chair off a friend. A bit more $$$ was in excellent condition. Would recommend this brand if you can try it out.

      We were also interested in a Harvey Norman one but couldn't get much info from the salesperson and couldn't start disassembling the chair apart for inspection like I did for the Eames at OW :)

      Though you can still sit on this chair if you're over 175cm it just won't be as comfortable. Your head will be tilting back.

  • +5

    +1 for good description, I'm too tall for this one which is good to know!

  • If you are too short, will it be comfortable as well, say 1.5 metres?

    • Have to try it out. My partner is about 160cm and she said it was comfortable but not great. This is probably due to the hard cushioning and lack of tilt. I think your height will be suitable though whether it's comfortable is personal taste

  • +7

    Gotta convince the boss this'll improve my productivity…

  • +2

    In my experience the quality of the replicas of this chair vary wildly.
    If you really like the design, try having a good sit on a few.
    In Sydney there are PLENTY of options - eg. Matt Blatt, Glicks, Life Interiors, etc.

    • The Matt Blatt replica Eames is actually pretty awesome. I'd totally buy it. Which is weird, because normally I hate their stuff.

      • Yea that's the one that I have. Picked up at their warehouse sale in true ozbargain fashion.

  • +2

    Good deal, none in Tassie :(

  • +1

    Out of interest, how are these office chairs? They look like something that belongs in a shrinks office.

    • It doesn't say anywhere that it's an office chair? It is a "Lounge Chair".

      • I'm guessing the fact that it is being sold by a shop purportedly called "Officeworks" may cause confusion

    • They're actually not office chairs, they're lounge chairs. They're designed for a living room/library or sitting room.

      However you generally tend to see them in movies in big wigs offices, because they're 'classy' and rich people own them. The irony of this is that they were designed to be a cheap, easy to manufacture chair for everyone.

  • +1

    They're not kidding when they say quality varies on these.

    I have a Milan Direct Premium Eames Repro. I bought it for about $500 from Milan Direct when they had eBay auctions.

    The chair looks amazing. Great visual reproduction. The leather is really nice quality and feels good to the touch.

    Unfortunately the cushioning on the top cushion is really hard and fat, and the chair is rather uncomfortable as a result. Milan Direct gave me a line that comfort is a subjective thing and it wasn't their problem.

    A friend bought the synthetic leather Milan Direct one, and although the leather felt pretty cheap, it was much more comfortable on the top cushion. I think I just have got a dud cushion :(. Sadly Milan don't sell replacements.

    I recently sat on this one in Officeworks and found it really lacking in quality. It is definitely the 'cheapest' looking Repro I have seen, and the synthetic leather did not feel very nice. That said, I found it really comfortable to sit in! Much more comfortable than mine at least!

    • Went to officeworks chadstone to take a look and agree with your assessment. Chair was comfy but looked cheap

      • I can't agree more. I went to test it out, but diappointed result.

    • the synthetic leather did not feel very nice

      But isn't it supposed to be "Upholstered with Premium Cow Hide Leather" as the OW advert description claims it to be?

  • OW must be running them out. They started at around 499 when I first noticed them, then a few weeks ago were 449.

    I wanted one to replace the recliner I use as a PC chair. Im taller than 175 but I do like to slouch. Its why i never bought one, the front edge will get nasty when the foam padding compresses IMO.

  • Recently, there was a documentary about Eames and his wife on SBS (or perhaps it was ABC).

    Eames furniture were never about comfort (or even function in most cases) - they were are about form. Art that was presumed to be practical but wasn't really.

    • +2

      I disagree, their chairs are usually pretty good to sit in, as was/is most HM product. We have had a 670 for 20+ years. It's biggest fault is that the glue locating the joints on the bottom shells lets go after 10/15 years and has to be repaired.

      The replicas usually use a different method to attach the shells, that is 'the tell".

      "The Eameses focused first on usability in their designs. In addition to the style, the Eames Lounge Chair is very comfortable, a combination not always found in high design. The chair has become iconic with Modern style design, although when it was first made, Ray Eames remarked in a letter to Charles that the chair looked "comfortable and un-designy". Charles's vision was for a chair with "the warm, receptive look of a well-used first baseman's mitt." "

  • +1

    For fans of the TV show Frasier, this is the chair he has in his apartment. Sadly that wasn't a good enough argument to convince Mrs C to let me buy one :-(

  • Thanks for the Costco tip. I wanted to see a real one and this was timely.

    • +1

      I really want to try a real one too, as I one of my dreams is to own one. I wish I was able to try the Milan Direct one before taking the risk.

      Sadly I don't think there are any real ones in Adelaide…

      • +1

        Adelaide Innerspace SA

        Unit 3/10 Transport Avenue
        Netley SA 5037

        The QLD Innerspace is the only local Herman Miller reseller I could find with an online price and it's significantly cheaper than Costco at $4690.

      • +2

        you can buy the real ones from Zest for Livings in Adelaide

        officeworks one is really ugly cheap replica, it's no way as near as the real ones

        • +1

          Awesome thanks. I'll have to go check it out!

  • I picked up one of the Officeworks ones - for $399 it's a pretty decent deal. Sure the build quality isn't top notch, but it's more than serviceable

  • FYI, this has now dropped from $400 to $200!

  • $200 is an absolute bargain for this.

  • $200 is amazing. Beautiful lounge chair!

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