E.J. Victor Expands Its Successful Julia Gray Collection.

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One of E.J. Victor's best selling items is its stunning Julia Gray black chinoiserie, hand-painted, 105" tall four poster bed with a sweeping canopy trimmed with gathered upholstery. It premiered in April 2002.

In response to customers' requests to broaden the appeal of this magnificent Sheraton bed, the Morganton, North Carolina based manufacturer of premier furniture is expanding the line in October by offering the bed "in a classic Sheraton finish enhanced with antique white-on-blue," said Julia Gray, designer of the collection. "It will have a vine motif on the posts and ribbon and vine motif on the headboard. The arched canopy is hand painted with a blue background and a vine motif."

To E.J. Victor's customers, this expansion should not come as a surprise. "Frankly, we all were very pleased with the successful and sustained sales of Julia's bed," said company president and co-founder John Jokinen. "It quickly emerged onto our best-seller lists. By retaining the overall silhouette and applying a significantly different finish we undoubtedly will broaden the appeal."

Julia Gray's furniture is noted for its ingenuity in design, bold mixing of old-world elements with today's functionality and fresh inspirations of positioning. Her new Sheraton Wall Unit is no exception: It's designed for the bedroom, not a typical destination for wall units

Styled to match her Sheraton bed, this large, decorative three-piece unit provides exceptional and flexible storage opportunities inside and uniquely decorative exteriors. "It is designed to be a bedroom piece," Julia said, "which is a little unusual because historically companies have not addressed the need for wall units in the bedroom.

"I feel that they were pointed to the living room or the family room. This one is geared for the bedroom," she said. "It features grill work on the doors with drapery behind the grillwork which makes it soft and romantic."

The wall unit is finished in an antique white with blue trim and hand painted doors. "It goes with the new bed and a new nightstand," she said, "So we have an ensemble."

The wall unit is comprised of three pieces – two pier cabinets and a center armoire, which can be used as a stand-alone item, she said.

Capitalizing on the continued demand for unique bedroom furniture, E.J. Victor is expanding Julia Gray's assortment with a classic, Louis XVI-styled, four-poster bed in a distressed, wood finish. It features optional leather panels in the footboard and headboard.

A new armoire will match the bed's classic style.

Rounding out October's Julia Gray introductions are two new painted occasional tables. "One is a quatrefoil leg with a stretcher bottom," Julia said, "and is painted black and gold with faux satinwood top and a hand painted floral apron. The other features a barley-twist leg, is black and gold with a floral hand-painted top with a scalloped apron.

Edward W. Phifer, III, Joseph B. Manderson and John Victor Jokinen founded E.J. Victor in 1990 in Morganton, NC. Together, the founders created a corporate culture that maintains an unwavering commitment to preserving time-honored, local construction methods used to create exquisite furniture for the home.