The best antique stores in NYC

If you’re in the market for, say, a wrought-iron elevator cab with a scroll motif, this is your spot. The four-floor store is filled with fixtures that make good on the business’ goal of reclaiming building elements to preserve architectural history. The rescued period pieces, including doors, balcony railings and actual friezes from 1905, can have a new life in modern projects.

The crush of Midtown isn’t normally associated with artfully crafted, one-of-a-kind antiques, but this oasis of beautiful things is located right in the thick of it. On the fifth floor of a commercial building, you’ll find Furnish Green, a showroom for restored vintage and antique furniture, lighting and décor. Well-made, long-lasting and reasonably priced pieces are brought in weekly—snap up finds such as a rolling bar cart ($250) or a Dual 1009 turntable ($85). Need decorating ideas? The store’s blog features photos of customers showing off purchases in their homes. 1261 Broadway (917-583-9051, furnishgreen.com)

For more than 20 years, the East Village’s Obscura Antiques & Oddities has been serving up unusual odds and ends—things you didn’t even know you needed or wanted. The pièce de résistance in your studio could be a deck of Krampus playing cards ($10) or Russian flight goggles ($85), and if you’re looking for something a little more dramatic, go for the partial circus-sideshow banner (it’s missing the top half of a tiger) from the mid 1900s, which can be yours for $1,200. 207 Avenue A (212-505-9251, obscuraantiques.com)

This Williamsburg shop is absolutely packed with beautiful and eclectic arts-and-craftsy pieces from all over the world. Items old, new and totally reworked from Mexico, Peru, India, Haiti and more feature heavily in jewelry, paper products and all manner of charms and ornaments. There’s also a Día de Muertos flair, with skulls, bright colors and a dash of Frida Kahlo in the items.

Billing itself as a cross between a Midwestern junk shop and an old-fashioned Parisian boutique, RePop sells all manner of quirky curios, from vintage furniture to decorative taxidermy. The shop has a pretty fast turnover, so if you see something you love, buy it. One thing that’s always in stock? Turn-of-the-century doll heads ($5 to $50). They may look like they’re just the store’s decorations, but they really are for sale, we promise. 

This charming Carroll gardens shop sells an eclectic array of vintage clothing, jewelry and furniture in a homey, slightly cluttered space reminiscent of an old-timey general store. There’s a lot to sift through, so take your time perusing the constantly changing collection that includes postcards, globes, old photos and kitchen tables. 

White Trash features a rotating inventory of midcentury modern furniture, lighting and whimsical gifts. Grab a metal Denoyer Geppert Teaching Globe from 1945 ($1,200) or a pair of 1950s Italian gilt iron nesting tables ($595)—but grab them fast. The turnover here is high, ’cause you know what they say about one man’s trash…. 

This place is stocked with furniture from as far back as the 1800s. New pieces arrive weekly and through consignment, and the shop offers a service to help clean out your entire apartment. Period bedroom sets, vintage Persian and Oriental rugs and cheery Tiffany lamps are some standout finds.