I just got my replica of the Eileen table from Amazon last night. It definitely looks sexy, and now I’m even more tempted to pick up a pair of Barcelona chairs to match it.
Eileen Gray was born in Ireland in 1878, studied at the Slade School of Art in London and then moved to Paris. After her work was exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Décorateurs in 1913, she started earning commissions for her interior design work, and in 1922, she opened her own shop, called Jean Désert. In mid-career, Gray became an architect and designed a home in Roquebrune, France with fellow-architect and partner Jean Badovici. Gray also designed the furniture for this house, which they named E.1027 to reflect the collaborative nature of the project. E.1027 is a cipher for the architects’ intertwined initials: The E is for Eileen and the numbers 10, 2 and 7 represent the alphabetical order of the letters J, B and G, respectively. In photographs of the house, the Adjustable Table E1027 (1927) is shown being used next to a bed, but it is also wonderfully suited for use next to a sofa or chair. This table is included in the permanent collection of MoMA in New York. The production of this table is authorized by the World License Holder, Aram Designs Ltd. Made in Italy.
Here’s what the old table looked like. Now I just need to sell my couch and replace it with a corbu.