The Eames lounge chair and ottoman is the culmination of Charles and Ray Eames' efforts to create comfortable and handsome lounge seating by using production techniques that combine technology and handcraftsmanship. Its heritage goes back to the molded plywood chairs pioneered by the Eameses in the 1940s, and it's part of the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art. Charles Eames said his goal for the chair was the "warm, receptive look of a well-used first baseman's mitt." Every one is a special refuge from the strains of modern living.

The first lounge chair and ottoman, produced in 1956, was a birthday gift for friend Billy Wilder, the Academy Award-winning film director, and it made its public debut on the Today show. Every lounge chair and ottoman manufactured since then has received the same meticulous handcrafted attention.

Since its introduction in 1956 it has been regarded as among the 20th century's most significant-and enduring-furniture designs. Treasured by collectors worldwide and manufactured with attention to detail (all pieces are hand-assembled), the Eames lounge and ottoman just gets better with time-not a bad definition for "classic." And while it's true it can disassembled and its material components recycled, the Eames lounge chair and ottoman is more likely to be handed down to future generations. One more important environmental fact: In 1991 Herman Miller stopped using rosewood, an endangered, non-sustainable wood, to build its Eames lounge chair and ottoman, and replaced it with cherry and walnut from sustainably managed forests.

The Eames lounge chair and ottoman's components are constructed from variations of rubber, steel, leather, foam aluminum, and wood. The Eames lounge chair and ottoman is up to 29 percent recyclable at the end of its useful life. The Eames lounge chair and ottoman is comprised of 24 percent recycled materials. This figure breaks down to 12 percent post-consumer and 12 percent pre-consumer recycled content.

Warranty: The Eames lounge chair and ottoman are covered by the Herman Miller Warranty for three years.