Modern Icons: Eames Hang-It-All

Sometimes people get so caught up in trying to make a museum-quality midcentury modern aesthetic in the home they forget the look can be a lot of fun. If you are carrying your icons too seriously, look at how much fun Charles and Ray Eames had with their layouts. They never lost their sense of playfulness, and you shouldn’t either. One way they did so was by introducing vivid colors. Get your feet wet with all the wall hook method. Its hued balls make it look more like a toy compared to an efficient organizing instrument. Here’s a glance at how it’s hanging in a variety of spaces.

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Eames Hang-It-All – $199

Produced in 1953 as children’s furniture for a playhouse lineup, the Hang-It-All consists of a welded steel wire frame with hooks that end in colorfully painted maple balls, resembling a makeup of flexed exclamation points.

Ninainvorm

The Hang-It-All is very good for clothing, jackets and accessories. I adore the way Ninainvorm has employed hangers so all the colorful balls are not covered. Hat and the scarf are a great match.

Lisa Hallett Taylor

The hooks include a feeling of drama to the place in which this household shops all of its big toys.

This film makes me think of a midcentury businessman opening front door and flinging his hat like a Frisbee, and it lands directly on the Hang-It-All.

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YLiving.com

The stand is right in the home along with other popular midcentury pieces, like this Nelson Marshmallow Sofa and Eames Eiffel Base Shell Chairs.

Carl Wooley

Another Nelson design, the Nelson Bench, functions with the Hang-It-All. Bertoia wire counter stools also bring about the midcentury modern set.

Why do all of these pieces work so well together? Perhaps it is because of the designers’ background together. George Nelson supervised the Eameses when he had been the manager of design at Herman Miller, while Harry Bertoia formerly worked for the Eameses.

Cosmetic Outburst

This inventive family home had a hanger to corral outerwear.

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This adds a burst of vivid colors to a playroom.

Design Within Reach

Eames Hang-It-All Limited Edition – $249

Herman Miller introduced this limited version in black steel with walnut balls in 2010. It’s sold out, but if you are persistent you can locate it on resale websites.

Emily McCall

The walnut version is ideal for a place that needs something a bit more subdued, like this guest area, which adheres to a neutral palette in many different textures.

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More:
Shop Coatracks
Organizing Tricks: Hooks for Hanging Clothes
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