Each year, the Eames Foundation thanks our members for their support by inviting them to experience a very special opportunity: to explore the Eameses’ approach to life and work through a variety of experiences. See the Eames House from the inside out, in guided tours of the ground floor of the Eames House and Studio. Enjoy delicious treats and a wide array of activities with a community of Eames family and fellow aficionados. And stay for our game (every year it is different), a creative capstone, with a highly desirable grand prize awarded at the end of the event!
This year, Members Appreciation Day will be hosted on Saturday, June 24th from 1pm-5pm. If you are interested in becoming a member and attending the event, please fill out the form below or email us directly. Tickets are limited to the first 50 RSVPs, so please let us know your interest in attending before you join as a member to ensure tickets are available for this year’s event! Enjoy a peek at some of our virtual Members Appreciation Day celebrations, by clicking here.
How To RSVP:
Hours: Members are invited for the afternoon, from 1:00 to 5:00.
Booking a Visit: The date and time for each Members Appreciation Day is announced at the beginning of the year. We recommend that you reserve early, as attendance is unusually limited, to the first 50 RSVPs. Only current members may attend.
To request a reservation, please complete the below form. You may call (310) 459-9663 or email us at visitorinfo@eamesfoundation.org, with any questions. Once you have heard back from us, and availability is confirmed, you will be asked to join or renew your membership at www.eamesfoundation.org.
Visitor Guidelines:
You are visiting a National Historical Landmark located on private grounds. Currently special Covid-19 restrictions apply for the safety of staff and visitors. Please help us care for Charles and Ray’s home by respecting the directions of our staff and by following these guidelines during your visit:
- Masks (not bandanas, gaiters, etc.) are required.
- All visitors 12 and older must show proof of vaccination (with booster).
- Reservations are required. NO DROP-INS PERMITTED.
- No interior photographs are permitted. Exterior photos are for personal use only, not for publication of any kind.
- No parking at the House; do not drive down the private drive. The drive is narrow without room for parking or turning around. The nearest public parking is on a nearby street named Corona del Mar. Remember, this is public parking so do not leave any valuables in your car while you are visiting the Eames House. See Directions for parking details.
- The Eames House is ALL the way at the end of the private way. Please respect our neighbors and do not knock or ring doorbells.
- Children must not be left unattended.
- No smoking allowed anywhere on the property. No eating on the grounds.
WARNING: You are visiting the House and grounds at your own risk. This historic site sits on a bluff with steep slopes: stay clear of the edge. It is a natural terrain: pay attention to your footing as there are many level changes.
Past Members Appreciation Days:
2022: We welcomed our Members back to the Eames House in 2022, with games, food and an introduction to our Master Plan of Work – the plan to future proof the Eames House… while making sure that future visitors will be able to have the same authentic experience as we may have today. Enjoy this year’s game! Answers on our Eames House instagram.
2020: The Day went virtual as we faced the world-wide constraint of COVID-19. During the last week in June, we concluded our celebration of the 70th anniversary of the construction of the Eames House by featuring videos of online making activities, conservation interviews, family memories, and docent insights. Check them out on our events page.
2019: Happy 70th Anniversary of the Eames House! We kicked off our year-long celebration of the Eameses’ home with a Chair Camp. Back by popular demand, Carla Hartman, Eames Office Director of Education, inspired guests to think Eames while creating mini chairs honoring the Eames House. Guests entered their chairs in a member-judged competition to win a very exciting prize: a limited edition Eames LTR made from the wood of the site’s Eucalyptus trees.
2018: Take your pleasure seriously! Guests enjoyed an afternoon in the meadow making masks inspired by the Eameses’ belief in the rigorous application of play, one that explores and digs deep. Makers entered their creations into a pool judged by the attending members, competing for this year’s grand prize: The Toy, Founding Sponsor/Eames Office’s reissue of the Eames’ space-exploring toy.
2017: What makes Eames design? Guests took interior tours of the Eames House to find inspiration for the day’s activity – Chair Camp! Carla Hartman, Eames Office Director of Education, guided guests through creating mini chairs through the perspective of the House itself- color, shape, materiality, line, texture, ambiance.
2016: Charles and Ray’s 75th Wedding Anniversary! We celebrated with a day of experiences: guided tours of the ground floor of the Eames House, a Q&A in the Studio exploring the Eameses’ process via their molded plywood and fiberglass experiments, as well as a miniature chair-making exploration a la Eames. From a field of fantastic designs, our member-jurors picked Thomas’ chair to win the Grand Prize: a (full-sized) wire chair. Congratulations to all our makers!
2015: Master of Eamesology! Dan Ostroff, editor of an Eames anthology, shared insights into the Eameses’ writings through the years, and kindly signed books for our members. Treats and interior tours were offered throughout the day. Congratulations to the winner of our hotly-contested trivia contest: Chandler McCoy, our reigning Master of Eamesology.
2014: Rebus Redux: Members toured the ground floor of the Eames House, and enjoyed fabulous deserts while meeting other Eames enthusiasts. Guests were challenged to create rebus postcards in anticipation of the big competition: solving a rebus written by Charles to his (then) three grandchildren. The grand prize: a newly re-issued (and newly recyclable) fiberglass chair!
2013: Phase 1 of 250 Year Project: Interior tours and panels! Two panels discussed the Phase 1 work performed over the past two years. First, the Foundation, Getty Conservation Institute, and architects Escher GuneWardena gave an overview of the approach. Second, GC Tom Montgomery, EGW’s Bojana Banyasz, painter Brian Miller, and RAC metalworker Chris Rackard discussed the ‘doing’, including some of the challenges and learnings.
2012: Eames House Conservation – mid point! Members of the Eames Foundation, Getty Conservation Institute, and architects Frank Escher and Ravi GuneWardena of Escher GuneWardena informally talked about completed work under the conservation project. Celebrating Ray’s upcoming 100th birthday with a Ray-favorite of musical chairs, avid gamers vied for the grand prize: the Ice Cube poster from Pacific Standard Time.
2011: Bubble-blowing Contest! Tours, chats with Eames family members, and a madcap bubble-blowing contest as part of our celebration of Mathematica. Volunteer John Kishell displayed some of his collected catalogues and samples of materials used in the Eames House for visitors to enjoy.
2010: Powers of Ten Bingo! Guests made their own Bingo cards using photos from the Eameses’ classic film Powers of Ten, and then vied for one of the first-hot-off-the-press Eames House Blocks (thanks to the magic of House Industries) in a cutthroat game of Bingo.
2009: Charles’ Rebus! During a surprise timed-competition, attendees solved a rebus sent by Charles to daughter Lucia (then age seven), with one guest ultimately winning a pink molded plastic elephant.
