De Pree House / Eames

Max and Esther De Pree House (1954) by Charles Eames in Zeeland, Michigan
Max De Pree, the son of D. J. De Pree, and future chairman of Herman Miller, told Charles Eames he wanted a house like the "Eames House" (Case Study House 8). Charles and the Eames Office designed a wood house that would survive the Michigan winters. Per Max's direction, the house was built by local craftsmen. 

The garage is on the left and the matching study on the right was added later. The De Pree family lived in the house until 1975. It's now owned by Herman Miller.
The model

Source: Eames Design by John Neuhart, Marlin Neuhart, and Ray Eames

The house, after completion

Source: Eames Design by John Neuhart, Marlin Neuhart, and Ray Eames


Source: Eames Design by John Neuhart, Marlin Neuhart, and Ray Eames


The Eames Office is credited with designing the interior, but it really looks like a George Nelson Office product.  It's a combination of CSS cabinets and BSC drawers. What's interesting is that the CSS wasn't designed until 1957 and didn't go into production until 1959. 
Most of the hardware used on cabinets and drawers are Herman Miller products by the Nelson Office.


George Nelson for Howard Miller cylinder split open and hung as a sconce at the top of the stairs.


The upstairs bathroom with a CSS-like cabinet and Steelframe pulls.

The foldout mirror is extra special. It was designed by Irving Harper.



Nelson bubble track lighting.

That's a Nelson Office lantern series table lamp base mounted on a wall.  

Irving Harper designed this line. 

Once again, I'd to thank Amy, the Corporate Archivist at Herman Miller, for an amazing tour!