Eames Lounge Chair Side Table: Height, Size, and Swivel Clearance Guide

A Side Table Built for the Eames Lounge Chair

Most people who own an Eames Lounge Chair hit the same problem eventually: you set it up, sit down, lean back, and realize there’s nowhere to put your coffee. The right side table comes down to three things most people don’t think to check: height, footprint, and swivel clearance.

The usual fix is grabbing whatever end table is already in the house, or ordering something online that looked mid-century enough in the thumbnail. It rarely works. The table’s too tall, so you’re reaching over the armrest like you’re serving yourself at a buffet. Or it’s one of the genuine Eames-era companion pieces — beautiful, but low enough that you’re basically bending down to floor level for your coffee mug.

The 670 wasn’t designed to sit near other furniture. It was designed to be the furniture. The recline, the swivel, the low armrest all assume nothing else in the room is competing for space or height. Most side tables are sized for a standard upright sofa, not a chair that leans back 15 degrees and turns in a full circle.

Why the Usual Options Miss

The height problem is straightforward ergonomics. The armrest sits around 19 inches off the floor. Most retail side tables are built to match a standard sofa — 22 to 24 inches — so you end up reaching up and over just to grab a drink or your phone.

Go the other direction, toward the official companion pieces, and you hit the opposite problem. The Eames Wire Base Low Table stands 10 inches tall. A genuinely nice piece, but at that height you’re all but kneeling to reach your coffee, not resting your arm the way you would on an armrest.

Then there’s the swivel to account for. The chair turns a full 360 degrees, and the ottoman needs its own room. A boxy, wide-footed table creates an immediate conflict — turn too far and you either clip it or have to push it so far away it stops being useful.

And there’s the material mismatch. A lot of mass-produced “mid-century modern” furniture is particleboard under a stain meant to pass for walnut. Set next to a genuine molded plywood icon, that gap shows up right away — the grain, the warmth, the proportions aren’t there.

Building From the Chair

Years ago, when I set out to build something to go next to it, I didn’t start with what a side table usually looks like. I started with the chair — where the armrest sits, how far it swings when someone gets up, what needs to happen in that stretch of space between the chair and wherever the coffee ends up.

That’s the design brief behind the Kidney Bean side table. I build it at 18 inches, sized to work with the armrest rather than towering over it or forcing you to reach down. The curve isn’t only there to echo the chair’s rounded shell — the curve keeps the table’s footprint out of the swing radius, so a full turn doesn’t mean clipping the leg or shoving the table three feet away where it’s useless.

I build it in two sizes:

• The Small — for someone who wants a coaster and a phone charger within reach.
• The Large — holds a small lamp, a stack of books, and a coffee mug in the same spot.

Both come in two mirrored orientations — Skinny Side Left and Skinny Side Right — so the table fits whichever side of the chair you’re using. If you’re not sure which one your layout calls for, just ask; it’s a quick thing to sort out together.

What to Check, However You Buy

Whether you buy from my shop or somewhere else, a few things are worth looking for:

• Height in the 17.5–19 inch range — close enough to work with the armrest naturally, not just a “low profile” claim on a listing.
• A footprint that respects the swivel. Measure the chair’s actual swing radius before committing to a shape.
• Solid hardwood or true multi-ply hardwood veneer. Printed laminate and edge-banded particleboard peel and chip within a few years.
• A hand-rubbed oil finish over a sprayed lacquer. Lacquer scratches easily and is hard to touch up at home; oil penetrates the grain and only gets better with age, and it’s easy to freshen up with a bit more oil years down the road.

It’s walnut, cut to a unique curve, oil-finished instead of getting sealed under plastic. That’s really the whole idea — a table that was designed around the chair instead of picked to go near it, built to last as long as the chair does, and easy enough to live with that you stop thinking about it and just set your coffee down.