apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I was walking down broadway the other day and happened to see this new store so I ran in there. It is awesome - some of the stuff was kind of cheesy, but a lot of it was great. I spoke for a while to the design consultant there - her name is Joanie - and she just moved here from Chicago. She's really nice so say hi to her when you're there - tell her Nicole says hi. I told her about this blog so she might come and check it out.

I really liked their mirrored furniture, even though it would never fit into my space. But it's a good place for affordable accessories. The framed prints were affordable too and they had a pretty good selection (you can see them on the website, of course).

I always thought of Z Gallerie as a little too fussy and "Pier 1 Imports" for my tastes. But one day, I walked through the store on my way to DWR and I fell in love the Mammoth sofa. We'd been searching for something that had clean lines, a neutral color, super comfortable and large enough for both my honey and I too spread out (we're both over 6'). Everything up to that point was a compromise -- too shallow, too low, too long or the color was off. We've had the sofa for two months now and are still in love it. Go figure.

It's funny, I just saw this on consumerist:
http://consumerist.com/consumer/complaints/zgallerie-zsucks-164817.php

But went to their website anyway and am planning to visit their mirrored furniture shortly. If only to stare (at myself).

Z Gallerie is one of those stores that I've long felt is overlooked. They have several locations in the Bay Area, and have consistently been a good source of affordable yet stylish furniture and accessories. I can't vouch for the furniture's durability, but over the years, I've purchased lots of little things at Z Gallerie and have no complaints. (I'm not really sure about the "Anthropologie without an edge" description though -- since I don't really think of Anthro as having an edge.)

of course i flung myself wildly at the lighting section, being swarthy and worldly, if not exactly tribal, but it was blah, and so was the rest of the stuff.

it's funny that pottery barn doesn't get described as tribal or world or swarthy, so much of the linenware and metalware is from india and looks it, much to my swarthy delight.

I am happy to hear you have a Z Gallerie in NY, I only discovered them when I moved to CA. I enjoy the store, they always seem to have the best house warming gift when I need one. But I have found that their customer service is so so and laughed at the link for the complaint.

Z Gallerie used to blatantly steal my designs at the trade shows each season and within 6 weeks I'd see them in their stores. I don't shop there for that reason.

I bought my beautiful bed at Z Gallerie. I can't speak for any other locations other than the COlorado ones, but I'd seen the PERFECT bed in their showroom on Larimer. 3 months later, I still had this bed in my head, and needed to have it. I called about it, and they sent me pictures and dimensions over email, to confirm that it was indeed the bed I wanted. I sent those to my husband, we discussed it all, and then ordered the bed over the phone. It arrived with delivery in just a few days, and was easy enough to assemble. I am so in love with my bed too. I think some of Z Gallerie's stuff is cheesy, but there's stuff there that just hits the right note when you see it!

ALso...my bed was under $800. It's solid wood with a high polished veneer.

Hey that's nearby - I'll have to check it out. It's nice to see a store arrive on that section of Broadway that isn't hawking conterfeit handbags. Kind of sad to see the last few remaining fabric stores fading away though.

I don't know, I used to shop at Z in San Jose on Santana Row back home but to be honest they sat for me somewhere between a Pier 1 and something else. As with any shop, you can pick over it for the pieces that meet your style and needs but it doesn't stand out as anything special. I have heard terrible stories though of two friends of mine who are designers seeing cheap knock offs of their work show up in their shops the following season after being at trade shows. Hmmm... Not bad for gift giving or finding nice Todd White prints.

For years, I've kept my infatuation with Z Gallerie close to the vest as a "dirty little secret." Mostly because in the '80s and '90s, Z Gallerie in L.A. was where you would go to get inexpensive art prints or over-the-top "whimsical" budouir-tinged furniture a la Beetlejuice (or a Prince video, any Prince video). But in the last 5 years or so, they've stepped up their game in the home furnishings department. Yes, some of the stuff still verges on cheesy and cliched, but most of is right in step with current trends in home decor. And you get a lot bang for your buck with the furniture. Much of is made in India or Southeast Asia of solid sheesham (an Indian hardwood, I believe). Ironically, their L.A. flagship store in the Beverly Center just closed 2 weeks ago--with final markdowns going at 70-90% off of retail price.

Oh my gosh, Anne, that's remarkable. I just checked out the mirrored furniture on their website and they've copied a lot of Horchow's mirrored pieces! And as I've been pining for Horchow's "Mirrored Hall Chest" for about a year now, I'm pretty sure ZGallerie is the copycat of the two.

Check out Horchow's site--it's under "Furniture" > "Accent Furniture" > "Chests & Consoles"

Every single mirrored piece at ZGallerie has a matching piece at Horchow's!!! As a designer, I find that disappointing.

Seems they have some of the same furniture as Storehouse. I forget which manufacturer Storehouse uses a lot of... ummm, ____ House Furniture, now it's driving me crazy.

As a thrifty (ok, cheap) consumer, I like having lower-priced options to higher-end looks. I guess it's all part of a free-market economy. PS I've seen some of Modernica's designs knocked off by Crate & Barrel, too. So, it's not like just one retailer is guilty of knocking off or dumbing down designs.

i've been to a couple of Z galleries-- the downtown Palo Alto and Santana Row stores, and you can find some nice things there--throw pillows, plates, accessories. They have an extensive art collection too, and surprisingly, my boss who is an artist was pretty impressed by their collection.
Some of the stuff is a miss, but on the whole, you'll have fun in there.

Im from Ft Lauderdale and needless to say, they only have one store...in Miami...So I always make a special trip every quarter to pick up goods here and there.

I must say, I love this store and have virtually furnished my entire condo from Z-gallerie who are.. very stylish,yet affordable.

Yeah, it's a pretty sleazy way to do business. When I was living in Sausalito I met the head buyer at the 4th St. Berkeley store and showed her my designs. No orders followed but my knock-offs ended up on the shelves in the store. Every trade show she would show up and blatantly makes notes right in front of me without so much as a "hello". I stopped letting her in my booth but there was nothing I could do when she stood right outside the booth and copy everything on a notepad. And sure enough, a few weeks later my designs were on their shelves.

They sale nice stuff, but thier delivery to New York is bad. It cost $95 dollars and the warehouse is in California, so it takes a month for them to deliver even a simple item like end table.

I had never even heard of this store until my husband and I passed it on Broadway in NYC recently.
We LOVED this store; knock-offs or not. We're in the end stages of building our home and Z Gallerie literally had the last few pieces we needed from end tables to art work to dinnerware. Friendly staff too.

Z Gallerie Canyon sectional has been delivered 5 times and every time it has been damaged. I always considered this company to be more top of the line but after this experience it is so disappointing. I have waited a long time to finally get this piece of furniture and have spent 5 days waiting from 1-5 for hopefully, finally a decent couch in good condition. They have offered 20% off but when spending 2,800 $500 off is not acceptable for a damaged piece of furniture.. It's so frustrating because I really want this couch but have no choice but to send it back. If anyone knows of any other furniture stores like that live up to their reputation, quality and customer service I'd appreciate the recommendation.

I've worked at Zgallerie for almost 2 years now and it's very difficult to complain when the particular store that you work at is number one in service in america. much of the problems that would occur with orders cannot be handled at the store because we do not have that much athority and there is only so much we can do (thus "customer service") and compared to the wildy overpriced restoration hardware 4,000 dollar bedframe we seam to be pretty resonably priced. ive always enjoyed working as a team with this company throughout our visual department, etc. but it's just those days in retail (as we all know so well) that when customers dont get what they want all the time or we cant provide it as quickly as they would hope, there seams to be much "bad talk" about a company who's owners take much time out of their busy schedules to come by our store and visit us. We, and all those who where there appreciate the considerate guests that we are commonly approached by. I hope that anyone reading this will take that into consideration....

Do NOT buy anything from this place. Stuff is attractive BUT if anything breaks, you're doomed. It took Z Gal. over 6 months to replace a leg on a sofa that broke. It was 100% under warrranty (1.5 years old) yet it took me over 25 phone calls and 2 seasons to get a response. The WORST customer service I have ever experienced--think airlines and multiply by 10.

I love this store. I am from the Chicago area and I always find cool stuff at Z Gallerie.
I think their prices are extremely affordable and I can get a high end look for less coin. That way in a few years, when styles change, I wont have to feel guilty about getting rid of the stuff because I've spent a fortune.

Have never bought furniture there, so cant speak to the quality or lack of. I have had good luck with the pictures, accessories and tabletop items.

I can understand the frustration of those who have been ripped off on their ideas. That bites the big one, but bottom line, comsumers are looking for the best values and don't care if it's made in the USA or who is getting hosed in the production of the stuff. There's no loyalty when it comes to a good bargain.

Back in August 2006, I ordered a couch from ZGallerie (at the Sherman Oaks store in CA, if that matters). They told me it would take 8 weeks maximum for delivery because it was a special order. It is now January 2007 and I still have not received the couch. They have not contacted me ONCE! I've had to call and find out where my couch is. They blame the manufacturer and keep pushing me off. They offered to ship my other merchandise which included a side chair for with no shipping charges. After missing two hours of work, the chair was damaged and had to be sent back. The reponse, "sorry for you inconvenience." That's it. They are absolutely horrible.

I also had a bad experience with ZGallerie and now refuse to shop there. I ordered a cabinet style bar from ZGallerie in San Francisco and it arrived in shambles! 3 out of the 6 door hinges were broken (completely split in half)and the inside latch was not connected to the bar, it was laying in the inside shelf.

The real hassle came when I tried to get them to return the product. I had to get my boyfriend to yell at one of the customer service representatives to get them to go around the no return policy which should not have been a problem in the first place since they sold me a defective product. Customer service at this store is a JOKE!!

Does anyone know where the ZGallerie outlet is in Long Beach, Ca? and if so, how do you get to it from San Diego? Thanks.

as a designer you would know Z Gallerie and Horchow uses the same manufacturer for the mirrored furniture. Because of their volume they honesly pass the savings on to customers
your ignorance is costing you, educate yourself before you speak

I was thinking of purchasing the Mammoth Sofa they have, but havent been able to do a price comparison cause I cant find it elsewhere. Does anyone know where I might be able to find this or can vouch that I'm gettin a good price with Z. Also has anyone who bought from the Broadway store had huge problems with shipping? Thanks in advance.

ATTN DAWN, don't know if you're still checking or not, but the outlet is on Pine between 2nd and 3rd in Downtown Long Beach. From San Diego, take the 405 N. to the 710 North, exit 6th street and continue on 6th to Pine, make a right and you'll see the store on your left hand side. The outlet is upstairs. Great prices although usually there is minor damage to most of the pieces...I think they are all previous floor models.

Sorry, meant 710 south!

Z Gallerie Website

This started the first week in January 2007.

We ordered the Casablanca bedroom set which was the bed, men’s dresser, nightstand and women’s dresser. Total cost - $5074.00

The women’s dresser was a special order that we were informed would take 4 weeks to come in. Then everything would be shipped by freight and delivered inside within 3 to 4 weeks.

8 weeks went by without a single message from Z Gallerie. I emailed the service rep that I ordered the furniture from and he relayed me to their customer disservice department.

First they acted surprised that I did not have my furniture! They said they would look into it with the shipping company and call me back. I had to call them back the next day as they never called me.

I could not get through to the person assigned to my problem so I called the salesperson I started with. He then got me the name of the shipping company and their number.

I then had to call and find out on my own, that for unknown reasons my shipment was delayed by 1 week and they were now “finding” my furniture.

A day later I call again and they have found it and are shipping it to another shipping company in my state. Once there, I would receive a call for delivery. I was told this would happen in 1 week.

The week came and went with no call. The end of the next week I called their customer disservice center played phone tag for 2 days and then was told that the ladies dresser was damaged.

Of course this is the only piece that was a custom order and took 4 weeks just for them to get…

I have heard nothing but – I’m sorry, yes, you are right sir, I’m sorry sir and so on from this group. Their customer service is nonexistent and their shipping company is incompetent.

We are now 3 months out with no bedroom set and I have cancelled the order. When I asked when I would get my money I was told that accounting would have to take care of that on Monday.

I guess they don’t work on Friday’s.

I can only pray that it won’t take 3 months to get a refund but I have a bad feeling that I’ll be spending many long hours on the phone with their customer disservice department…

It's really funny that people complain about Z-Gallerie copying styles from designers and retailers. Z Gallerie doesn't make any of it, they just sell it. Someone else is copying it and making it at a smaller price based on quality and quantity.

But as someone who has worked for Z Gallerie, I can say that yes, the Customer service department sucks. The delivery system is set up to be automated. So when something goes wrong (i.e. someone grabs the wrong size slats for your bed, or a delivery from a manufacturer doesn't get to the wherehouse on time) it gets pretty hard to sort it out. Because of this I would personaly recommend that you do not order furniture unless you live very near a store.

hmm.. glad i found this site, i used to work for z gallerie for over 7 years until 2007. i remember when i first rediscovered z gallerie back in 2000, at the old beverly center location, i had last seen the store as the old small art gallery at a southern calif mall and had thought it had died as do many establishments these days. i fell in love instantly with the look and its merchandise. the next year i found myself looking for a job and found they were hiring, i thought i had found the last job i would ever have... like one of the lines of a current top 40 song, "becareful what you wish for". i started as an associate manager, then assistant and finally store manager. i'm actually torn as to what to write as it can all be viewed as just my perception of the company but here we go.. yes their customer service dept can seem very incompetent, it just depends on who you talk too. they have a motto of "wow'ing" thier guest but even as a manager i would run into customer service agents who would say they would call you back and then wouldnt. i wont begin to go into how much of my day would be wasted trying to help guest with their complaints, it was beyond frustrating. i would have guest tell me they had called customer service themselves and even ask for the customer service manager but were'nt allowed to speak to him and were given the run around. yes it is seems true he is like the wizard of oz... lol. when in fact from my dealings with him he does seem to care. to wrap this all up in my perception z gallerie is seems to be caught in the a gap. its still a private company with owners who truly do care but in many ways it is run like a small mom and pop store, alot of their systems are out of date, ie.they didnt get their furniture online till just a couple of years ago, yikes, what a headache that used to be when guest would ask about it. thought, like all other companies z gallerie is run by "people", people who tell you to trust them they have your best interest at heart but in the end stab you in the back to further their own intrest... for anyone who has issues with the z gallerie here are a few tips on how to get resolution. 1. always ask to speak to a manager, this used to make me nuts but hey i'm not there anymore.. write the managers name down. they should tell you depending on the issue they will take care of it or will get back to you with in 72 hours. remember if it is a furniture issue they will need to contact customer service. 2. be resonable. yeah yeah like i wrote above its all perception. but if you go at them with an attitude you are less likely to get anywhere. i went way out of my way to those who were calm and could tell me what they needed briefly. if more then 72 hours passes and no one has gotten back to you, call back ask what the status of your issue is, there does seem to be alot of its not my job going on there. if another 72 hours passes and still no resolution is at hand i would suggest two things call and ask for the district managers name and number and also write an email to customer service, include your receipt information. ie. store location. for furniture. sales order number, that is at the upper left hand of your receipt and a brief description of what the issue is. these go straight to the director of stores and it makes her livid to get these. you should'nt have to go further. if you skip the above and go straight to the dm and director you will still have to wait...