Max De Pree is a son of D. J. De Pree, founder of Herman Miller office furniture company. The company had close ties with Charles and Ray Eames, beginning in 1946. In 1953, Max De Pree saw a model house design in the Eames Office in Los Angeles, and asked Eames if he could build it in Michigan. Charles suggested instead he design another house for Max. He designed this house for the De Prees, sited on a small lot next to the house they were living in at the time.