Galvanized goodies given place in homes

Advertiser Staff and News Services

It's pretty. It's practical. It's a visual cue that reminds us of old-fashioned hardware stores, gleaming garden tools and salt-of-the-earth steelworkers. As America makes its way through a recession, unemployment and a war on terrorism, home interiors are reflecting a growing desire for comfort textures and retro looks that celebrate our roots.

This daisy-designed party tub, pitcher and flower pot can be found at Pier 1 Imports, which usually offers galvanized decorator items in the spring-to-summer period. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

The trend toward bringing this traditional outdoor look inside began years ago with simple items — tubs filled with ice for parties, vintage-inspired French flower buckets holding umbrellas, gladioluses and hydrangeas.

Once admitted to the interior, the zinc-coated metal began to flourish with newer, fancier designs and uses, and the items available began to proliferate in mail-order and online catalogs.

Galvanized metal is just that — familiar and understated — but the newest galvanized goodies can be upscale at the same time. Galvanized baskets in different shapes and sizes and serving trays (all at varying prices) are among the fare at Sur La Table (surlatable.com), the chic store for kitchen enthusiasts.

Tall, rectangular galvanized vases ($15) are cool complements to the many furniture styles at Storehouse (storehousefurniture.com). At Smith & Hawken (smith-hawken.com), high-quality galvanized steel products such as an English watering can and an organizer/bulletin board are priced at $42 and $55, respectively.

And the doyenne of decor, Martha Stewart, also sees galvanized as a good thing.

On marthastewart.com, shoppers find everything from scalloped buckets ($39) to boot trays ($25) and learn that Martha likes to cover table tops and line craft armoire drawers with sheets of steel and even decorate church pews with flower-filled steel buckets for weddings.

Of course, one needn't look far for the most basic, most functional galvanized goodies. In Hawai'i, City Mill has ample stock of 9-quart sprinkler cans ($26.99), 18-gallon tubs ($23.99) and 8-quart pails ($7.99). For a truly versatile, large-volume container, one might also consider an eye-catching 30-gallon galvanized trash can ($19.99).

In fact, depending on who you talk to, Hawai'i appears to be either ahead or behind of the galvanized trend.

"I think metals are kind of a classic for decorating, but galvanized steel in particular has sort of run its course," said Floradec shopper Leslie Ambrose. "It comes and goes. It wasn't that long ago that you used to see boutiques done up in galvanized steel, but I don't see that anymore. I think there are so many other interesting textures and looks now."

Still Ambrose admits to using the material for a home accent. "I bought a galvanized switch box for two dollars at a hardware store," Ambrose said. "It's on my wall at home. I use it for my keys."

Pier 1 Imports traditionally offers a variety of galvanized items in the spring-to-summer period. Right now, the Ward store is offering the basics: a party tub ($30), pitcher ($15) and flower pot ($20) — each imprinted with daisies. The objects are best suited for use on the lanai or patio.

"I suppose you could use them indoors," said associate manager Jeffrey Trinh. "But I wouldn't."

Galvanized items for the home and garden harken back to simpler times.

But the newest versions fall squarely and brilliantly into what the Los Angeles Times recently called the nation's new Age of Conspicuous Austerity.

"Indulgence," argued writers Shawn Hubler and Mimi Avins, "hasn't entirely gone away" in the midst of the recession: "The haves are still splurging — they've just downshifted to the familiar, the understated and the safe."

The folks at The Container Store (containerstore.com) introduced Italian-made cubes a couple of years ago as their first dip into the galvanized world, and found that people saw metal as an attractive addition to a variety of decors — loft, country, modern or even collegiate.

Since then, company spokeswoman Audrey Robertson says, "we've drastically increased our selection of metals," including Swedish-made drawers of recycled corrugated cardboard or polypropylene supported by galvanized frames and stainless-steel bulletin boards that weather to give a galvanized appearance.

Indeed, today's galvanized objects look at home in every room in the house — from the kitchen and bathroom to the living room and home office.

All signs indicate that the galvanized direction will continue through the new year.

The Italian cubes at the Container Store are still going strong at $39.99 a pop — or more, if outfitted with glass or solid or perforated metal doors.

Robertson predicts that metal storage solutions and products will continue to be popular as they provide attractive visual enhancements to home decor — and she predicts that galvanized metals will become even more important as homeowners conquer what she calls "the final frontier": their garages.

Robertson sees lots of opportunities for galvanized home and garden wares to return to their original places in the garage, but this time with style.

The commercial-quality galvanized steel stacking bins the company began offering last year, ranging in price from $9.99 to $49.99 each, are already strong sellers.

And so galvanized metal continues to make its pretty and practical mark in homes across America — although today's aesthetic options are rarely a real steal.