Hanging out at the Eames House

Constructed in 1949, Case Study House #8 was designed by legendary designers Charles and Ray Eames and Eero Saarinen. The house is in Pacific Palisades, a fancy-looking neighborhood of L.A. just north of Santa Monica. I made a reservation to take a self-guided tour of the outside (only one tour of the interior is granted per year, to Eames foundation members).

When we got there it turned out that the tours are actually guided, which was nice as we learned a lot more about its history and design. Even though we couldn't enter the house, the design is so open that we could easily look inside and see the whole thing (with the exception of the upstairs)--I learned that the intention was to give the impression that the patio was an extension of the house.

Dave sitting in Ray's swing, which she thought provided the best view of the house.

Here's their doorbell.

The space between the house and their studio is of course nicely designed as well.

The pathway is made of a variety of materials, with various carefully placed potted plants.

A view of their studio, which is located about fifteen feet (maybe more...it's pretty close though) from the house. Note the giant praying mantis.

We noticed this little guy in a far corner of the property. It was a gift to the Eames for their grandchildren to use, and came from a London playground. Reminds me quite a bit of this...

We also noticed these toy dump trucks elsewhere on the property (it's a pretty huge piece of land). I love how everywhere we turned there was another little surprise. The yard is situation on top of a cliff overlooking the ocean--those Eames had pretty good taste.

We weren't allowed to take any photos of the indoors but I found this site that has a few interior shots. I love the bookcase. It's hard to see but they have several LTR tables lined up in the hall between the kitchen and living room. And now I of course really want one. Sigh.