This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.
The Model DKR chair, designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1951, transforms industrial steel wire into a remarkably light and visually transparent piece of furniture. Manufactured by Herman Miller, this example combines a welded wire shell, chromed metal base and shaped sections of beige imitation-leather upholstery.
Its open construction reflects the Eameses’ sustained interest in efficient materials, adaptable components and mass-production techniques. Rather than concealing its structure, the Model DKR 2 makes that structure the principal source of its visual identity.
Model DKR 2 Chair: Museum Object Details
| Field | Object information |
|---|---|
| Object | Chair |
| Manufacturer’s title | Model DKR 2 |
| Designers | Ray Eames and Charles Eames |
| Manufacturer | Herman Miller Furniture Company |
| Design date | 1951 |
| Place of manufacture | Zeeland, United States |
| Materials | Steel wire, chromed metal and beige imitation leather |
| Upholstery material | Naugahyde |
| Production | Mass-produced |
| Dimensions | Height 830 mm; width 480 mm; depth 515 mm |
| V&A accession number | CIRC.71&A-1969 |
| V&A system number | O119275 |
| Collection | Furniture and Woodwork |
| Image credit | © Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
The dimensions were extrapolated by the Victoria and Albert Museum from imperial measurements in the registered description. The museum records the object as comprising a chair and removable cushion.
Development of the Eames Model DKR Wire Chair
The Model DKR emerged from a longer sequence of experiments with the single-piece chair shell. Charles Eames and Eero Saarinen had explored unified shell forms in 1940. Charles and Ray Eames subsequently developed the idea through moulded plywood and fibreglass, searching for a seat that could support the human body without relying on a conventional frame, separate back and upholstered structure.
Their fibreglass shell chair of 1950 provided the immediate formal basis for the wire version. Instead of treating the fibreglass model as a finished solution, the Eameses regarded its shape as a flexible design problem that could be reconsidered through different materials and production methods.
The wire chair therefore represents an adaptation rather than a completely separate type. Its seat and back follow the continuous profile of the earlier shell, but welded steel wire replaces the solid surface. This change reduced the chair to a network of structural lines while preserving the underlying ergonomic form.
The V&A object record relates this development to the designers’ fascination with ordinary wire products, including baskets, trays and rat traps. Such objects demonstrated how a modest industrial material could become rigid, durable and lightweight when bent and joined into an appropriate structure.
Steel Wire as Structure and Surface
The Model DKR chair is constructed from steel wire arranged as both a grid and a supporting frame. Closely spaced wires define the seat and back, while heavier perimeter members reinforce the outer edge. The resulting shell appears delicate, but its strength comes from the relationship between the welded wires rather than from the mass of any single component.
This method allowed the Eameses to create a chair that remained structurally legible. The sitter can see how the seat is formed, supported and connected to its base. Light passes through the shell, allowing the chair to occupy space without appearing visually heavy.
The wire surface also produces a changing pattern when viewed from different angles. Where wires overlap, the grid appears denser; where the chair is seen directly from the front or side, its structure becomes clearer. This optical effect gives the Model DKR a sculptural quality while remaining a consequence of its construction.
The Eames Office account of the Wire Chairs confirms that Charles and Ray Eames introduced the series in 1951 after studying established wire-fabrication techniques. Their objective was not simply to create an unusual appearance. Wire offered an efficient use of material and a production process already proven in many types of everyday objects.
The Eiffel Tower Wire Base
The chair’s chromed wire base extends the structural language of the shell. Its rods cross and brace one another to distribute weight while using relatively little material. The intricate arrangement has often been compared to the open lattice structure of the Eiffel Tower.
This base was part of the Eameses’ broader system of interchangeable shells and supports. The wire shell could be combined with bases developed for related fibreglass chairs, enabling the designers and manufacturer to produce different configurations from a family of compatible components.
Such interchangeability was central to the Eameses’ approach. Instead of designing every chair as an isolated object, they developed a system in which shells, bases and upholstery options could be combined according to setting, function and price. A recognisable form could therefore serve dining rooms, offices, public interiors and other environments.
Herman Miller continues to describe the wire chair as part of the evolving Eames shell-chair family. The manufacturer’s history of the Eames Wire Chair identifies bent and welded wire as one stage in the Eames Office’s continuing investigation of the single-shell seat.
Upholstery and the Model DKR 2
This museum example includes beige imitation-leather upholstery that partially covers the wire seat and back. The material is identified in the V&A record as Naugahyde, a proprietary coated upholstery material.
The upholstery moderates contact between the body and the wire grid while leaving much of the chair’s construction visible. It therefore provides comfort without converting the object into a fully upholstered chair. The contrast between the soft beige covering and chromed metal also clarifies the different functions of the chair’s components.
Upholstered versions of the wire chair became particularly recognisable through the two-piece seat-and-back cushion later known as the “Bikini” pad. The Eames Office designed the upholstery so that it could be removed and replaced. This extended the chair’s adaptability and separated components likely to wear at different rates.
Although discussions of sustainability were not framed in contemporary terms in 1951, the replaceable pad is significant. It allowed damaged upholstery to be renewed without discarding the complete chair. The Eames Office now identifies this repairable and interchangeable approach as an important feature of the design.
Charles and Ray Eames as Collaborative Designers
The Model DKR 2 is attributed jointly to Charles Eames and Ray Eames. This shared attribution is essential to understanding the work of the Eames Office. Their practice combined material experimentation, engineering, visual composition, photography, film, exhibition design and close collaboration with manufacturers.
Charles brought experience in architecture and construction, while Ray’s artistic training informed the studio’s sensitivity to colour, arrangement and visual communication. However, their responsibilities frequently overlapped. The resulting work should not be separated into narrowly defined individual contributions without documentary evidence.
The Model DKR demonstrates the character of this partnership. It is technically inventive, visually distinctive and suitable for serial production. At the same time, it remains responsive to the body and to the domestic or public spaces in which it might be used.
Museum Significance of the Model DKR Chair
The Model DKR chair holds an important place in post-war furniture design because it brings together several central modernist concerns: economy of material, clarity of construction, industrial production and adaptability.
Its significance also lies in the way it challenges the expected appearance of a comfortable chair. Instead of presenting comfort through substantial padding and visual weight, it uses a thin structural grid supplemented by precisely positioned upholstery. The chair appears almost immaterial, yet its form remains immediately recognisable.
The Model DKR also illustrates the Eameses’ iterative working method. The design did not emerge as an isolated stroke of inspiration. It developed through earlier shell-chair experiments, observation of ordinary manufactured objects and continued testing of materials and connections. Each version became part of a larger family rather than replacing everything that came before it.
Contemporary production has preserved this principle of variation. The wire chair remains available with different finishes, bases and upholstery choices. Its continued manufacture demonstrates the durability of the underlying system as much as the appeal of its appearance.
Legacy of the Eames Model DKR
The Model DKR helped establish welded wire as a credible material for domestic furniture. Later designers adopted similar principles in seating, storage and architectural products, often using open grids to combine strength with visual lightness.
Nevertheless, the chair’s influence extends beyond wire construction. Its interchangeable components anticipate later modular product systems. Its visible structure encourages an honest relationship between form and manufacture. Its replaceable upholstery demonstrates how components can be renewed independently.
The Model DKR chair remains persuasive because its technical and visual qualities are inseparable. The wire shell is not decoration applied to a conventional chair; it is the chair’s structure, surface and defining image. In this respect, the design exemplifies the Eameses’ ability to make engineering decisions culturally memorable.
Sources and Further Reading
- Victoria and Albert Museum. (2026). Model DKR 2 chair, accession CIRC.71&A-1969.
- Eames Office. (n.d.). Wire Chairs.
- Eames Office. (n.d.). Eames Wire Chair.
- Herman Miller. (n.d.). Eames Wire Chairs.
