New York City, and the people who live here, are our inspiration for home design. So we tracked down some true New York originals who recently opened home design stores: a nutritionist who created a cafe to feed her clients and offer tableware; a restaurateur who founded a home collection sourced in Italy; an award-winning event planner who circles the globe finding items; Nordic enthusiasts starting a Scandinavian coffee shop/bar/boutique; and two art and auction experts who founded a new auction house in Long Island City.
Jung Lee NY
Contact: 25 W. 29th St.; 212-257-5655; jungleeny.com
Owners: Jung Lee and Josh Brooks
Twist: Lee and her husband, Brooks, own award-winning event-planning firm Fête New York. Now Lee has a home store including a seasonal flower shop.
Backstory: “As an event planner, I spent the last 12 years seeking the perfect home and entertaining products for my events. My eye has become quite refined and I’ve discovered incredible home products that are not found in the US.”
Design Sensibility: “I lean toward simple and clean design with warmth and detail. I create environments that people never want to leave.”
What you can find: Flowers, jewelry, table settings, sterling silver hand-crafted champagne glasses, and more anchored in a tableaux-style store.
For sale:
1. Cow horn lighter from Morocco, $95
2. Picture frame with silver plated dragon, from the Philippines, $375
3. Bistro glass from Belgium, $25 each
4. Leather apron from New York, $225
Beaux-Arts Auction
Contact: 37-18 Northern Blvd., Suite 301, Long Island City; 718-606-6300; beauxartsauction.com
Owners: Michael Capo and Marc Lester
Twist: Capo, a third-generation antiques dealer, partnered with Lester, an antique seller, to launch this. “The benefit of an auction house is you can buy yourself a bargain, like a Donghia ghost chair for $100 that, brand new, would cost $3,500,” says Capo.
Backstory: Capo and Lester chose to open in Long Island City because of the space — 9,000 square feet with massive windows facing a historic rail yard.
Design Sensibility: Lots of Mid-Century modern. “We are set up like an art gallery in Chelsea,” Capo says. A Basquiat just sold for $62,500 — an untitled crayon drawing that will resell for more.
What you can find: Spoons from the 1939 World’s Fair, art by Alfred Thompson Britcher and Karl Springer furniture.
For sale:
1. A Karl Springer Mid-Century modern lacquered parchment dining table, est. at $3,000 to $4,000
2. A Karl Springer Mid-Century modern coffee table, est. at $2,000 to $3,000
3. A late 18th-century Dutch crib, est. at $900 to $1,200
4. A late 18th-/early 19th-century Tibetan bronze teapot, est. at $1,500 to $2,000
Il Buco Vita
Contact: 51 Bond St., second floor; 212-533-1932; ilbuco.com
Owners: Donna Lennard, with Italian partners Antonello and Lorenzo Radi
Twist:Il Buco Vita launched in the fall of 2013 as a home goods store following the success of restaurants il Buco, which opened in 1994 as an antiques store, which then offered food and wine to shoppers and soon transformed into an enoteca – though it now only operates as an eatery — and Il Buco Alimentara, which opened in 2011 as a market and restaurant.
Backstory: The shop is a combination of lifestyle and art inspired by Lennard’s restaurants, so folks can recreate the look at home.
Design Sensibility: Italian and Mediterranean.
What you can find: Hand-crafted pottery, linens, candles, tableware, handblown glassware, tiles, even cutting boards — key for the tradition of the “norcineria” (salumi shop) — made by an Umbrian carpenter using repurposed wood from local estates.
For sale:
1. Hand-blown recycled glass pitchers, carafes and drink ware, from $32 to $425
2. Tuscan terra cotta dishware, from $28 to $44
3. A set of linen napkins, four for $160
4. Linen-cotton aprons, from $22 to $68
Nourish Kitchen + Table
Contact: 95 Greenwich Ave., 212-242-6115; nourish
kitchentable.com
Owner: Marissa Lippert
Twist:This café and shop has artisanal tableware products, on-site nutrition counseling, cooking classes and catering services.
Backstory: It grew out of Lippert’s nutrition consulting firm. Clients wanted “wholesome, well-sourced meals but lacked accessibility, time and, to be honest, good taste,” says Lippert.
Design Sensibility: “A mix of downtown cool, sleek, warm, deep and dark colors contrasted by whitewashed brick, Scandinavian, British and Moroccan influences.”
What you can find: Pieces from Brooklyn Butcher Blocks, Birdkage and Michiko Shimada.
For sale:
1. The Sylvia Folded and Stacking Bowl, $385
2. The Shibori Apron, $110
3. Coaster by Roost, $15
Búdin
Contact:114 Greenpoint Ave., Brooklyn; 347-844-9639 (on or after Jan. 6); budin-nyc.com
Owners:Crystal Pei, Elliot Rayman and Rut Hermannsdóttir
Twist: Means “The Shop” in Icelandic. “We are a Scandinavian-themed concept store,” says Pei. “It’s a coffee shop in the morning along with beer and spirits in the evening” There’s houseware, kitchenware, lamps, blankets and sweaters.
Backstory: Everything is Scandinavian-sourced. “Greenpoint
has a rather big but
unnoticed Scandinavian population and it was also the chosen port of entry for the first Norwegian
settler,” says Pei.
Design Sensibility: “Minimalism — simplistic and intricate with a comfortable, cozy, multifunctional sensibility,” says Pei.
What you can find: Arctic lamps, Hile kitchenware, Marimekko glassware and lots of coffee-making accessories.
For sale:
1. Vik Prjónsdóttir Seablanket, $445
2. Finnish FatCloth, $35
3. Ceiling pendant lamps, pictured, from Finland, $320