At 568 Hayes Street in the trendy Hayes Valley neighborhood of San Francisco sits a local icon – Zonal Home Interiors. 

For 19 years, Russell Pritchard has been filling his store with a mix of contemporary custom furniture and items depicting primitive American country style.  The eclectic shop is known for discovering and promoting local artists and Depression Era farm furniture.  For example, an early 1900’s Queen sized iron bed frame ($1400.00) graced his basement showroom and sat next to a luxe modern micro fiber sofa showing just how easy it is to blend the old with the new. 

During this visit, Zonal featured paintings from self taught local artist Carol Aust, whose art is breath taking.  She employs rich colors, layering them perfectly to show the complexities of her subjects.  I was struck by her simple, yet profound images.

I am in love with a line of lamps made by a Central California coastal family, who made these beauties with 80% recycled materials.  One lamp in particular was made of a laminated arch beam and a handmade paper shade.  It is sure to be a conversation starter.  A set of reclaimed library book covers turned into journals caught my eye ($15.00 each) too!  I could imagine myself jotting down secret notes between the covers of an old “Boy Scout” manual.  What fun!

What is worthy of the special trip to Zonal?  In Pritchard’s opinion, one should not miss his favorite, a Depression-era Spool Chair from Kentucky.  The quality of this restoration is such, that he plans to donate it to a local museum for posterity’s sake.  He also pointed out a sculpture made of bed springs that he pulled out of Nothern California’s Clear Lake.  He saw it across a cow pasture and knew that it was perfect for his collection.

On a street, where design shops turn over quickly, I asked him what was his secret to surviving the ups and downs of retail.  “Simple – I only carry things that I would want in my home” said Russell.  If what he carries at his shop is an indication of what adorns his home with, then I am sure it is stunning.

Zonal Home Interiors
568 Hayes Street
San Francisco, CA  94102
415-255-9307
www.zonalhome.com

Here’s the complete slideshow:

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 14th, 2009 at 12:20 am and is filed under Eco Friendly, Furniture, Looki What I Found, Sheila, Shopping. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.