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“Sexy” and “better with age” aren’t the first descriptors that come to mind when assessing an office desk chair. Yet they are the exact modifiers Commune Design’s Steven Johanknecht uses when describing his choice seat—a pick that has many designers in agreement.
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In a survey to some 100 interior designers, an overwhelming number of votes were tallied to the Eames office suite, with respondents naming the Aluminum Group chair or the Soft Pad chair—its “cushioned cousin,” as manufacturer Herman Miller refers to it—as their favorite desk chairs.
“There are very few desk chairs that are comfortable and good-looking,” says Frances Merrill of Reath Design, who cast her vote for the lightly padded Aluminum Group seating. The chair’s stylistic versatility must also be counted among its superpowers, insists Johanknecht, who has the Soft Pad iteration in his Los Angeles home office. “The chair is a design icon—so classic that [it] mixes really well with other furnishings.”
The Aluminum Group chair traces back to the Miller House, the 1957-built Columbus, Indiana, home of industrialist scion J. Irwin Miller that frequently appears on must-see modern architecture lists to this day. The project’s blueprint was in good hands with architect Eero Saarinen, interior designer Alexander Girard, and landscape designer Dan Kiley, and even more so when Saarinen and Girard approached Charles and Ray Eames with a request for quality, modern outdoor seating for a stretch of concrete overlooking the property’s vast and verdant lawn.
The resulting chair, which was put into production by Herman Miller in 1958, featured a synthetic mesh support pulled taut within a suspended cast-aluminum frame—a novel technical turn from traditional, shell-structured seating that was inspired by the postures of outdoor counterparts such as the hammock and camp chair. While onlookers can still spot a set of Eames Aluminum Group chairs perched on the patio of the Miller House, the chair became better recognized for its interior applications.
Noticing the shift, the Eameses swapped the mesh seat for a leather one, ribbed for comfort at 1 7/8–inch intervals. In 1969 the design duo added the Soft Pad chair, building upon the upgraded Aluminum Group chair’s comfort concept with plump, individually upholstered cushions stretching horizontally across the aluminum frame.
“It’s elegant, functional, and blends with so many styles,” says Jake Rodehuth-Harrison, of design firm ETC.etera. Perhaps that’s the reason AD100 designers from a range of stylistic backgrounds were able to come to the shared conclusion. Adds Johanknecht, “Depending on how it’s ordered and what desk or table it’s paired it with, the chair can take on a more serious and studious vibe or becomes more of a fashion statement.”
The chairs’ options for personalization—from the choice of seat-back height (the low-back Management or high-back Executive versions) to a variety of leather and upholstery options—made it difficult for surveyed designers to select one exact style. For designer Patrick Mele, the Aluminum Group chair in a camel leather is the go-to. Victoria Hagan prefs the high-back Executive iteration of the Soft Pad chair, while Studio Shamshiri insists on “low back with a shearling throw.” Others request that it be in worn, vintage condition. Merrill, alternatively, likes giving the chair a fresh take: “We have upholstered them in everything from denim to chintz.”
Below, find several ways in which you can source the designer-approved office desk chairs.
