Tribeca’s shops offer a wide-ranging assortment of home furnishings. While modern and contemporary items that complement that works found in the neighborhood’s art galleries are abundant, there is plenty more to suit just about any taste. Whether you are in the market for an antique opium bed, a handwoven kilim, throws made of Mongolian cashmere, or salvaged stained glass, you are likely to find it at one of these emporiums.
145 Hudson Street (between Beach and Hubert Streets)
Set of three Shona Sculputures. Image: Abhaya
Abhaya prides itself on offering one of the city’s largest assortments of Asian antiques and vintage pieces, the fruits of regular sourcing trips to China, Laos, Thailand, and other points East. At any given time its showroom might have Burmese sculptures of praying monks, a leather trunk from Shanghai, or posters from the Cultural Revolution among its time-honored elm stools, red-lacquer cabinets, and blue-and-white porcelain jars.
324 Canal Street, Second Floor (between Broadway and Church Street)
When you want an item you are unlikely to see anywhere else, head to this showcase of independent American designers. Tables by Vonnegut/Kraft pair aluminum bases with gridded tops made of richly grained hardwood; pendant lighting by Farrah Sit hangs from a ceiling like oversize earrings; Flat Vernacular’s customized wallpapers negate the need for anything else on the walls; Fort Standard’s geometric planters and vases are made of laminated marble rings and terrazzo. A visit to the showroom is akin to a stroll through a museum of contemporary design.
38 Walker Street (between Broadway and Church Street)
Seating and lighting from David Weeks Studio. Image: David Weeks Studio
Having started more than 20 years ago as a designer of metal lighting, David Weeks and his team have expanded their range to include furniture and accents. Sleek and sculptural is the aesthetic: glossy steel occasional tables inspired by origami, multitier ceiling fixtures that look—and move—like mobiles, subtly asymmetrical sofas without nary a right angle in sight.
17 White Street (between Church Street and West Broadway)
A Deco wood-and glass bookcase by Paul Frankl, steel-frame Florence Knoll lounge chairs, a wood desk by Gio Ponti with a red linoleum top and brass leg caps, a four-panel room divider by Fornasetti: These are the sort of 20th-century design treasures one might find on a visit to Donzella. In addition to such rare pieces, the gallery sells a small selection of made-to-order furniture, such as a low-slung, gently curved sofa that wears its Mid-Century Modern influences proudly.
13 White Street (between Church Street and West Broadway)
Double Knot specializes in rugs, blankets, and other vintage and antique textiles from the Caucasus, Central Asia, Iran, Morocco, and Turkey. A plush Beni Ourain rug with a spare geometric motif might hang next to an Oushak kilim rich with classic medallions on one side and a striped jajim with wool and angora tufts on the other. Many of the pieces are surprisingly contemporary in style, despite having been crafted with techniques and patterns that date back centuries. If you have dismissed Eastern rugs as old-fashioned, a visit to this gallery might persuade you otherwise.
38 North Moore Street (between Varick and Hudson Streets)
The Corallo armchair by Fernando and Humberto Campana can be found in museums—and at Espasso. Image: Sailko/Wikipedia
Espasso’s showroom is white, industrial, and spare, all the better to show off its Brazilian furnishings, both contemporary and vintage. Lustrous, lavishly figured woods and geometric silhouettes dominate, but amongst the sleek tables by Sergio Rodrigues and blocky sideboards by Jorge Zalszupin you might spy a Corallo armchair by Fernando and Humberto Campana, handcrafted of bent stainless steel and available in three epoxy finishes, or limited-edition aerial photography by Leonardo Finotti.
335 Greenwich Street #A (at Jay Street)
Though the rugs designed by Joseph Carini generally have a fresh, contemporary sensibility, they are hand-knotted in Nepal using centuries-old techniques and hand-processed materials including silk, cashmere, mohair, and even nettles, making each one of a kind. The collection includes large-scale botanical designs influenced by Chinese Deco rugs, unexpected animal prints (magenta zebra stripes, a python-skin pattern in shimmery aqua and gold silk), and geometrics both subtle and bold.
42 Lispenard Street (between Broadway and Church Street)
Despite its name, Montauk Sofa was founded not on Long Island but in Montreal, in 1997, and all its upholstery is still handcrafted there. Styles range from classic diamond-tufted roll-arm sofas to laid-back slip-covered settees to minimalist interpretations of traditional wing-back chairs. Comfort and durability are given as much attention as style: Springs are tied in place with eight-strand flax rope before being covered with memory foam, and cushions are filled with long-lasting feathers and down.
408 Greenwich Street (at Hubert Street)
A hand-carved Oly bed upholstered in leather and trimmed with nail heads. Image: Oly
The brainchild of designers Kate McIntyre and Brad Huntzinger, Oly produces furniture, lighting, mirrors, and accents that bring glamour to the quotidian. Faux-bois resin, antiqued mirror, mother-of-pearl, and mohair are among the materials used. Tables and ottomans have legs cast to resemble those of a goat; chandeliers drip in silver resin bubbles; mirrors are framed in antiqued bronze twigs.
57 Walker Street (between Broadway and Church Street)
The Property showroom is a trove of Mid-Century Modern, Pop, and contemporary design. Professional decorators and set dressers as well as individual consumers shop its new and vintage furniture, rugs, lighting, tableware, and accessories by Alvar Aalto, Tom Dixon. Finn Juhl, Steve Jones, Space Copenhagen, Philippe Starck, and scores of other star and up-and-coming designers. From gummy bear nightlights to extendable dining tables, Property has just about anything an au courant home might need.
25 North Moore Street #2 (between Varick and Hudson Streets)
Room sells contemporary furnishings from a variety of designers in addition to its own range of custom-made, and for the most part customizable, furniture designed by founder Amy Crain. Intriguing details distinguish many of the pieces. The exposed walnut back slats of the Archie Chair, for instance, are tapered rather than straight; the Wilde Dining Table is available with a live-edge top; honed alabaster shades add a sense of luxury to the brasserie-inspired Lucid Pendant.
27 Vestry Street (between Hudson and Greenwich Streets)
Peering through the windows at Schoolhouse. Image: Schoolhouse
Formerly known as Schoolhouse Electric, this retailer changed its name to reflect the addition of furniture and accessories to its line of lighting. Its original range of lamps was made from vintage cast-iron molds, and its furnishings maintain a vintage sensibility. Chambray linen sheets in a softly weathered gray might dress a bed set in a spare iron bedframe given a bold yellow finish, while cream stoneware dishes with a hand-painted black rim might sit atop a simple wood table with a black-painted apron and slender tapered legs. Drawer pulls shaped like hex bolts, round wall clocks akin to those that adorned classrooms, industrial welded-steel stools in vivid persimmon or traditional gray, and of course plenty of classic lighting are also among the selection.
184 Duane Street (between Hudson and Greenwich Streets)
Stella’s handcrafted bedding, throws, and decorative pillows feel as sumptuous as they look. Those who already find it difficult to get out of bed might want to steer clear of the 500-thread-count Egyptian cotton percale sheets, available in snow white with the quietest of embellishments. Hand-stitched quilts of silk velvet on one side and cotton voile on the other will have you eager to snuggle up at night, while throws hand-loomed in Nepal of Mongolian cashmere will spoil you for just about anything else.
40 Walker Street (between Broadway and Church Street)
What Espasso is to Brazilian design, Stillfried Wien is to Austrian, German, and Swiss. Many, if not most, of these designers are unknown to Americans, but perhaps not for much longer. “Floating” oak-and steel bookcases designed by Jens Baumann for Das kleine b are an ingenious solution for those short on space; chairs made by Magnus Mewes from vintners’ oak barrels give a rustic feel to a streamlined silhouette; floor lamps from Werkstätte Carl Auböck tilt at an angle that puts the Leaning Tower of Pisa to shame.
158 Franklin Street (between Varick and Hudson Streets)
Various furnishings. Image: Urban Archaeology
The bathroom tends to get short shrift when it comes to design—but not at Urban Archaeology. This shop is a cornucopia of basins and bathtubs, towel racks and tiles, showerheads and soap dishes, in styles ranging from Victorian to industrial chic (mosaic bath tiles in a tiger-stripe pattern, anyone?). It sells plenty of lighting too, not just bathroom sconces but table and floor lamps and outdoor fixtures as well. Other wares in its eclectic assortment include pot racks, ornate garden furniture, and an ever-changing collection of architectural salvage as diverse as Arts and Crafts stained-glass windows, mahogany fireplace mantels, and brass pocket doors.