This storage unit is based on a system of standard, interchangeable parts held within a steel frame. Customers chose the overall size and then decided on the panels, drawers, and other elements and how they were to be arranged. Parts were available in a choice of colours, materials and finishes, and the panels could be dimpled or flat. This early version of the unit was shipped flat-packed for home assembly. The system is modular and so could be altered for different spaces. Charles and Ray Eames realised that as living areas were changing, furniture for storage would also have to adapt.

The idea of creating something individual out of a kit of standard parts was central to the Eames’s approach to architecture. One of their most admired buildings is their own house and studio in California, USA, which is based on similar principles to the storage unit: it has a steel frame with colourful wall panels of different materials and finishes. Much of their house was made from readily available industrial parts, assembled using modern construction technology. The Eames also designed chairs for mass-manufacture as well as tables, screens, toys, magazine covers, film sets and exhibitions.