Shopping for Furniture in New York City-Cheap and Cheerful!!
 

My daughter is moving to New York City (the Gramercy area). Would love suggestions for cheap and cheerful bedroom furniture for her new apartment!! She needs a wardrobe (for hanging clothes), drawers, desk & deskchair, night tables,area rug and lighting. Nearby 23rd and 2nd would be helpful. We have 2 days to pull it altogether.

Ikea and they run a free bus from Manhattan to their store.

They run a free bus for shoppers - but what do you do if you buy big stuff (do they deliver at all?).

You might want to check out 23rd Street between 2nd Avenue all the way to Park - there are several vintage/thrift stores - Housing WorK, Salvation Army, and NY City Opera all along that stretch. There's a good chance she can find some of what she needs there.

I would also walk over to The Container Store and Bed Bath And Beyond, which are across from each other on 6th Avenue between 17th and 18th Streets.

Ikea does do delivery but I think the fee is $75.

Ikea will deliver and they will also assemble - both for a price

Last time my daughter moved to a new apartment in NYC, we found plenty just walking the neighborhood the first day, made a list and the next drove to Ikea and finished it off, - she assembled small items, paid for delivery and assembly of the wardrobe and one bureau -

the rest - coffeetable, computer stand, she did -

the kitchen table/chairs, small nightstand, we found local

have fun !

The Door Store is an old standby for everything you mention except maybe a rug. They have a showroom at 1 Park Ave. (33 st.)
http://www.doorstorefurniture.com/index.html
Crate & Barrel is another option and you can check the catalog
crateandbarrel.com to see about prices/choices before going.
West Elm (the cheap end of Pottery Barn) has a location in Chelsea.
westelm.com

Property in Soho is having a sale.
http://propertyfurniture.com/index_content.html

Lots of stores around ABC Carpet (Broadway & 19th st.) I would advise against trying to put this together in 2 days. That's the way expensive mistakes are made.

Conran shop near 59th st. bridge sometimes has cool lamps, chairs.
http://www.conranusa.com/CategoryLis...language=en-US

Bed, Bath & Beyond has really inexpensive storage stuff. They have a location on 6th ave & ~18 st.
http://www.conranusa.com/CategoryLis...language=en-US

I used to live in the area so know it well.

There are several stores on 23rd between 3rd and Lex to check, including 3 or 4 thrift stores, and a hardware store.

There's a great store on 3rd just south of 14th that would be perfect, and have everything you need, but can't remember the name, and even went by it recently, so know it is there, 12th and 3rd I think.

It's frequented by college students, since there are several dorms in the area.

Also there's Filene's Basement on 14th and Union Square and KMart on 8th and 4th Ave (Astor Place), all within walking distance.

Hope this helps and welcome to NYC.

Let me know if I can be of anymore help.

Travelbuff's store on Third bet 12th and 13th is called Surprise. Kmart may have more furniture choices than Surprise. There's also CB2 in Soho, a modern offshoot of Crate and Barrel.

http://www.cb2.com/

I think Ikea is the best idea.

Also if she needs a bed, call 1-800-mattress. They have good prices, will deliver and set up the frame for you.

Thanks so much for your post, yes it's SURPRISE, and will have everything you need right there, from furniture to rugs at very reasonable prices. Anything else you can probably walk over to KMart and fill in any gaps.

Straight from the Crate also has furniture similar to Ikea, and there are two convenient stores to you (1 on Park near 32nd, another on 14th between 3rd and Irving Place, next to Trader Joe's).

Bed Bath & Beyond also has some put-together furniture, and they promise same-day delivery in Manhattan. There are stores at 61st/1st Ave. and 19th/6th Avenue.

Manhattan is awash in casual furniture stores, but I think Ikea is still the best choice. I believe that delivery is $89, but they may not always be able to deliver the next day. The most convenient location is the new store in Brooklyn, which has both bus connections from the subway and a free ferry (but this may only work on weekends). The free bus nytraveler may be referring to is for the store in New Jersey, which is not convenient at all, and that bus only runs on weekends.

I was also going to suggest the Housing Works store, and the Salvation Army Store. You could just go online & search through Ikea, West Elm, and all the stores mentioned. If you like something, arrange the delivery to line up when you are there. If you still need some more items, then scour the other stores mentioned (non-chains, etc) for bargains.

yeah, I was at Trader Joe's on 14th Street this morning, watching all the NYU kids going into straight from the crate - that, and Surprise! really specialize in "first apartment furniture" . . Same stuff as Ikea, without the schlep.

I want to thank everyone for taking the time to give us so much great information!! Fodorites are amazing and never let me down!

Ikea.