Wish They Were Here

I watch a lot of home decorating shows, and one brand name I have seen over and over again is Z Gallerie. The national chain has some of the most beautiful merchandise, and I've always liked the furniture and accessories I have seen from their store on shows like Clean House on Style Network. I decided to take a peek at some of their newest items on their website.

Of course, as a graphic designer, I headed straight for the art category first. Thanks to a couple of typography classes, I've developed a new appreciation for type, and the art made by Zoey Riley is a good example of how typography is an art in itself. Riley has a series of 20" x 40" canvas prints that has the name of a city and some of the well-known streets in that city. The crackled finish gives the prints an aged look, and I like that she decided to stick to the same two fonts when she mixed serif and sans serif fonts together. I find it interesting that all of the prints are on a black background except for the Miami print, which is on a turquoise background. I think the color choice was inspired by Miami's more tropical environment, and I think she made a good decision on this one. I was also drawn to the work of Kate Birch, whose two prints bear the name of "Chocolate Covered Cherry." The combination of flowers, vines, stripes and striations makes her pieces fun to study. it looks like she painted an outline of each part and went back in with a wet brush to pull some of the color into the middle. I have got to try that! After oohing and ahhing the artwork, I went to the furniture category and saw a subcategory called Affordable Chic. Of course, I had to go there - it had the word "affordable" in it. The page has some nice-looking contemporary couches, and the one that caught my eye was the Benny sofa. I have a thing for mid-century modern furniture, and this sleek tufted couch hits all the right notes with me. I can see myself putting a couple of brightly colored pillows on it and making it my own. I also went to the accessories page, and Z Gallerie definitely has the Christmas spirit. I love how elegant (and grown-up) their ornaments are. They mainly stick to red, silver and blue, and they don't look cheesy. My favorites are the starburst ornaments since they look like little sunburst mirrors (I've always wanted one of those mirrors). Of course, if you have a think for kitsch at Christmas, they have these cute little glass dog ornaments, and the dogs have one these cute little outfits. I think the Boston Terrier wearing the feather boa is hilarious!

I wanted to see if they have a store in my area, so I went to their store locations page. Oh, bummer - they're not in my state yet. If you happen to be one of the lucky ones that lives near a Z Gallerie store, I suggest that you check them out. For the rest of us, we can still shop online, and they'll even ship items in a gift box for you if you want surprise that special someone. Sounds good to me!