Q. My boyfriend and I often take day trips to get out of the city, and want to do some thrifting to decorate our Brooklyn apartment. I thought I would ask for some outside-the-city thrift store recommendations, as you seem to have such amazing luck when it comes to well-priced finds!
Andrea
A. Before we even talk getting out of the city: you have to stop into the Salvation Army on 46th between 10th and 11th (where Kendrick and I picked up our first joint purchase ever). It’s the rare city thrift store that charges for-real thrift-store prices – sure, the pieces will be more expensive than at, say, a rural tag sale, but they’ll still be within the realm of reason. Another plus: the Salvation Army charges a flat delivery fee (last time I checked it was $50), so make sure to pick up as many items as you can in a single trip.
Now, for outside the city I have two main recommendations:
1) Tarrytown (my town): The main street has a bunch of gorgeous (and expensive) antique stores that are fun for window-shopping, but for actual shopping I’d go to Hank’s Alley. It’s walkable from the train station, and is a maze of rooms filled with furniture and tchotchkes for every size budget. It’s pretty awesome…and you can walk down to Sunset Cove for a waterside cocktail afterwards.
2) Nyack: Just across the Tappan Zee bridge from Tarrytown is another one of my favorite small towns, which so happens to be home to a trio of VERY reasonable (and phenomenal) thrift stores (we found our leather chair and ottoman, pictured above, at the National Council Of Jewish Women Thrift Shop for $75).
One last suggestion: you’ll need a car for this one, but it’s definitely worth a look: Best Used Furniture is a little place (I’d call it more of a “junk shop” than a “thrift store”) in Hastings-On-Hudson, off of the Saw Mill. My friend Katie found it and dragged me there, and it took us forever to find because it doesn’t really have a sign (I think there’s just a little posterboard that says “SALE” outside or something, so you’ll have to GPS it)…but once there, I was floored: the place is a sort of overflowing mess of cool-verging-on-totally-bizarre old stuff, including stuffed white tigers, broken instruments and art deco coffee tables (it’s also where I found my crazy-awesome lamp).
One final thing: Tarrytown is having a village-wide Yard Sale on Sept 21st, and there are lots of houses (mine included – I am SO EXCITED) participating. You can find a map of houses to visit online closer to the date, but really, you can probably just take the MetroNorth to Tarrytown on the morning of the 21st and figure it out from there; most places will be within walking distance of the station.
