Z on 3 at Zimman’s offers the latest styles in home furnishings.
Maybe you’ve got a house full of young kids and need a couch that is stylish yet durable. Maybe you want to outfit your ski condo without breaking the bank. Maybe you just bought your first house and are looking for furniture that is both trendy and affordable.
Z on 3, the new line from fabric and furniture emporium Zimman’s, might be for you. “It’s great styling, but at a very different price point than we have carried in the past,” says the store’s furniture buyer and general manager, Patty Forster. “It’s a totally new business for us.”
The collection, which gets its name from its location on the third floor of the retailer’s Lynn showroom, incorporates high-performance fabrics, playful colors, and contemporary designs. There is a loveseat in an eye-catching lime green, a glass pendant light with Bohemian flair, and nightstands in vibrant orange. “There are a lot of greens and reds and blues and turquoises,” Forster says. “When you walk upstairs, it is really happy.”
Leather armchairs and a chest of drawers with undulating surfaces add organic warmth to the selection.
In addition to the new pieces, the collection includes a carefully curated selection of vintage options. Forster was very fond of a Lucite and metal bar cart that sold quickly, and she points to a one-of-a-kind set of wall sconces that is a particular favorite. “It’s an eclectic mix,” she says. “It’s a little more fun; it’s definitely more casual.”
Z on 3 is designed to be affordable to buyers who want style and performance but are not ready to invest in high-end pieces—couples downsizing into retirement homes, families outfitting a beach cottage, young couples decorating their first condo. Couches are available for under $1,700, armchairs don’t have to top $1,000, and end tables around $400 are plentiful.
The upholstered pieces are all handmade at a family-run business in North Carolina. The other items are chosen with an eye to quality and sourced from within the United States whenever possible. The goal is to offer shoppers quality workmanship and a great value, a concept that has been integral to Zimman’s from the start, Forster says.
Zimman’s was founded in 1909 as a department store selling everything from “pickled herring to lawn furniture,” according to the retailer’s website. Fabric has always been part of the offering—family lore has it that founder Morris Zimman once sold soggy muslin salvaged from a shipwreck.
The business evolved throughout the decades that followed. In the 1970s, Zimman’s began focusing more on fabric; today it boasts more than 50,000 fabrics in stock. In 1997, the store added furniture and home accessories on its second and third floors.
Z on 3 launched in late January of this year, and has been a great success so far, Forster says. The first weekend the collection was available, one woman came in and furnished her entire house in just two hours of shopping.
Because the collection is new, Forster expects to tweak and modify it over the coming months as she sees what customers respond to. The goal, she says, is to create a spectrum of options that will suit customers, no matter their stage of life. Young shoppers may one day consider the second floor’s higher-end, more traditional offerings, and long-time customers may consider the third floor when they need new furniture for their house on the Cape. Says Forster, “We’re trying to close the loop so our customers can shop here forever.”