Charles and Ray Eames, Eames Storage Unit (ESU), 400 series, about 1949. Enameled steel, birch plywood, lacquered plywood, enameled Masonite, fiberglass, and rubber; 59 × 27 × 17 in. Manufactured by Herman Miller, Zeeland. Michigan. Funds, by exchange, from Mr. and Mrs. John C. Mitchell II, Calvina Morse Vaupel in memory of Calvin Henry Morse, Mrs. George Cranmer, Charles E. Stanton, Charles Bayly Jr. Collection, Mrs. Claude Boettcher, Dr. Charles F. Shollenberger, Mr. Ronald S. Kane, Frances Charsky, Dorothy Retallack, Mrs. Alfred B. Bell, Charles William Brand, Doris W. Pritchard, Mrs. F. H. Douglas, Mrs. Calista Struby Rees, and Jane Garnsey O'Donnell, 2017.208. © Charles and Ray Eames. 

The Eames Storage Unit (ESU) is a lightweight system of freestanding modular cabinets that was initially promoted as an economical solution to the changing storage needs of American families after World War II. Although modular furniture was not new in 1950, the ESU was an example of husband-and-wife team Charles and Ray Eames’s continual efforts to design and manufacture reasonably priced household furniture using industrial production techniques.

Constructed of plywood, enameled Masonite, and steel framing, the ESUs were available in single and double widths. The 100 series was one unit high, the 200 series two units high, and the 400 series, seen here, was four units high. The series also included desks. The standardized components were entirely interchangeable and could be easily combined into numerous configurations by the consumer, whether in living rooms, dining rooms, bedrooms, or anywhere else. Expressing the couple’s playful approach, the ESU turned furniture into a creative plaything—a kind of Tinkertoy for adults. 

• "Serious Play: Design in Midcentury America," Milwaukee Art Museum, 9/28/2018-1/6/2019
• “Serious Play: Design in Midcentury America” — Denver Art Museum, 9/28/2018 – 8/25/2019