Max and Esther De Pree House
Max De Pree, the son of Herman Miller’s founder D.J. De Pree, commissioned the Eameses to design a home for himself, his wife Esther, and their two young children in Zeeland, Michigan. Charles and Ray, in an effort to begin the design process, informally asked the De Pree family questions about their daily way of living at home. Two constraints became known during the planning stages: the climate of Zeeland was considerably colder than always-pleasant Southern California, and Mr. De Pree asked that the structure be constructed by local craftsmen—most of which were immigrants from Holland. These artisans gave special and skillful attention to the wood-constructed details of the home.
1954
The Eames Office designed this house in Zeeland, Michigan for Max De Pree, his wife Esther, and their two children.
Max was the son of D. J. De Pree. He and his brother Hugh succeeded their father as CEO of Herman Miller, Inc., the modern furniture company that Charles and Ray worked with and that the Eames Office still trusts and collaborates with today.
A Michigan Modern article describes Max’s recollection of working with the husband-and-wife team. He explained that their conversation about the design started with Charles and Ray asking about how the family lived. “‘We never discussed a fee,’ Max remembers, ‘and Charles, on his few visits to the site, spent most of his time playing Jacks with our daughter Jody.’”
The Eameses designed the house entirely of timber. The front façade is a modular grid while the back has a long, second-story balcony that looks onto a garden and wooded area leading to a stream.
The office designed the house in the same spirit of economical construction as the Kwikset House; however, one of its design constraints was that Max wanted it built entirely by local craftsmen, many of whom had emigrated from Holland. These artisans gave special and skillful attention to the wood-constructed details of the structure. Herman Miller associates and Michigan locals, George Nelson and Alexander Girard, designed cabinetry, lighting, textiles, and other small oddities for the home.
The De Prees owned and occupied the house until 1975 when it was sold to Bob Rynbrandt, a Herman Miller employee. Rynbrandt and his family lived there until 2010, at which point Herman Miller, Inc. bought the house in order to restore and preserve it.
