New York City is a city where space is in short supply, especially in the borough of Manhattan whose landscape is dominated by high rises. The majority of the residents who live in this borough tend to live in apartments unless they are affluent enough to afford a townhouse. These townhouses are priced in the millions and are usually the abodes of the rich and famous of New York City.
The rest of the people live in apartments which tend to be quite small and range from one bedroom to two and three bedroom dwellings. In the outer boroughs of Queens, Brooklyn, the Bronx and Staten Island, where more space is available, the real estate landscape changes to include small wooden framed homes and old world town houses. This real estate configuration affects the choices that New Yorkers make with regard to the interior décor of their homes.
In a city where anything goes, all styles of décor are adopted by residents and range from spare, minimalist styles which are a favorite with single people who tend to use their apartments only as places to sleep in, to overstuffed, cluttered abodes where old timers dwell.
The size of a dwelling generally dictates the kind of furniture choice that a person makes in New York City especially in Manhattan where space is precious and every square foot has to be used. As a result, cupboard organization systems like those which are custom built by companies such as California Closets (http://www.californiaclosests.com) and stores like the Container Store (http://www.containerstore.com) are extremely popular. Furniture solutions like Murphy beds (http://www.murphybedsystems.com/), sofa beds and air beds, which are largely used to accommodate guests, are also very popular with people who live in New York City. Another popular practice among New York City dwellers is the soundproofing of windows to keep the noise of city traffic and dirt out. This consists of installing a second set of windows and is provided by services like (http://www.cityproof.com).
People tend to splurge on furniture and furnishings according to the budget they have and they furnish their homes with furniture that is either bought from retail, charity and second hand stores. Some people even use items that are dumped on the street by their fellow New Yorkers.
These stores have outlets located around the city and as is customary nowadays, they all offer online shopping options.
- ABC Carpet and Home, ABC carpet and home offers a wide variety of carpets, soft furnishings, furniture and lighting products which it sources from all over the world.
888 & 881 Broadway, New York, NY 10003
Phone:+1 212 473 3000
http://www.abchome.com/ - The Pottery Barn, Pottery Barn offers soft furnisings, tableware and linen, indoor and outdoor furniture, decorative items, lighting and much more.
100-104 Seventh Avenue, NEW YORK, NY 10011
Phone: +1646 336 7160
http://www.potterybarn.com/ - Jennifer Convertibles, Jennifer Convertibles specializes in contemporary leather furniture and sofa beds.
121 Montague Street, Brooklyn, NY 11201
+1 718 852 3400
http://www.jenniferfurniture.com/finder.php3?state=NY - Raymour and Flannigan, Raymour and Flanigan offers furniture for every room of a dwelling and it even offers accents like TV consoles and cabinets.
133 East 14th Street, New York, NY 10003
+1 646 652 0372
http://www.raymourflanigan.com/ - Ethan Allen, Ethan Allen offers a wide of range of furniture designs and even custom made upholstery services.
1010 3rd Avenue, New York NY 10065
+1 212 888 2384
http://www.ethanallen.com/ - IKEA – The Swedish chain IKEA which is renowned for its reasonably priced furniture has one outlet in New York City in the borough of Brooklyn.
One Beard Street, Brooklyn, New York, NY 11231
Phone: +1 718.246.IKEA (4532)
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/store/brooklyn
Aside from these stores, New Yorkers also extensively use the furniture department of stores like Macy’s and Bloomingdales to meet their home furnishing requirements. Moreover the area around Union Square and the Flatiron District (23rd street and Broadway) in Manhattan is generally considered to be New York City’s main furniture district where many interior stores abound. A second, smaller interior design district can also be found on 58th street between Second and Third Avenues.
If you rather not buy furniture during your stint in New York City you can even rent complete furniture packages from a company like Cort furniture rentals (http://www.cort.com) which specializes in furniture rentals for homes and offices in New York City as well as other parts of the USA.
