Vote here.
We've done our best to collect up your suggestions and ruled out those that are only online or not local for the time being (focus, focus, focus). If we could do a hundred categories we would, but you would all be exhausted. That said, we are preserving all the great suggestions in the comments below for posterity, so if you are reading this and want to see all the suggestions, just scroll down.
The Conran shop.
Conran!
ABC Home & Carpet. They have drool-worthy modern furniture, but also lush accessories to warm it up. Plus those high-end mattresses and baby stuff, etc etc. DWR would probably be my back up choice.
ABC Carpet and Home. I know it's not a secret store, but every time I go in, I find at least 50 things I love but can't afford. So all the money in the world would be kind of key.
eBay
Definitely ROOM & BOARD!
There is probably a more high-end store that would be great, but I just find that I consistently like their styles and fabrics. More importantly, the fact you don't have to go for just one color/style, you can really make it your own.
The quality is good and I have had really good experience with the service in the store.
Moss!
Murray Moss is a genius. I have never been in store where I have felt more lust....
Holly Hunt
Donghia
Todd Haase
Repertoire
Terence Conran Shop
Aero
Troy
One shop? WOW - hmm.. I'd have to say right on to DAVE - ebay would certainly be a great fix... and fun too!
some local fav's would be sweet charity for all the stuff, Brocade online for the furniture or DWR....
oh the choices!
Pompanoosuc Mills is my #1 choice! Beautiful tables, beds & dressers!
BDDW. They don't have upholstered pieces but their beds, tables, mirrors, rugs and case goods are simply gorgeous.
stylegarage
koolhaus
(these are canadian and i've never actually visited the stores because they aren't near me)
Thx Kerry - I've gotten most of my Mid-C furniture via eBay - and most are period originals, not the modern repros or overpriced Knoll "authorized" models you'd get at a retail outlet.
Plus, I can shop in my underwear, pay no sales tax and get it delivered to my door!
I think I would add Ralph Lauren, Baker (Barbara Barry, Thomas Pheasant, and the uber-cutie Bill Soffeld) and Williams Sonoma Home for the more traditional end.
Dave--
I'd be happy to go shopping with you in your underwear ANYtime. ;)
ABC.
cupcake, i love pompy mills too. such great vermont hand-crafted quality.
i'm going with abc though due to their massive selection and the lines they carry are some of my favorites.
holly
More votes for ABC and Conran!
ABC. The selection is so diverse, that you could create something that is totally yours (as opposed to someone else's already edited vision). Ditto on needing all the money in the world though.
Since $$$ is no object, I'd just have Patricia Urquiola/Marcel Wanders/Philippe Starck design a line exclusive for me!
Does Troy even exist anymore? I haven't seem them in a couple years.
I would buy out this new store called Natrona on West 20th Street between sixth and seventh. Everything there is SO HOT!
It's a tie for me...
ABC
or
thrift shops in Palm Springs
I meant Palm BEACH nor Springs. Dang, I must be thirsty.
LOL Dave! Can't beat that especially if the delivery person is easy on the eyes - now that would be a bonus!
It seems ABC wins for most popular pic here!
kerry
Beyond the Intertubes Flea Market to end All Fleamarkets, I'd recommend these independent brick-and-mortars:
X-21 Modern: Valencia at 20th
Big Pagoda: 310 Sutter
Inside: 149 Gough
Propeller: 555 Hayes
Retro at Home in Emeryville
Chain brick and mortar: Room and Board
SeaSide Home in La Jolla.
(since money is no object.)
ABC rawks!!
ABC Carpet & Home first. Simply unleash me.
After that I might go nuts at Scheherazade or Hip & Humble Home.
ABC.
no question, no thought needed.
The Shop (Mariette Himes Gomez)
Moss
I can't bear to even look
it's that good
If I must limit it to one, then it will have to be eBay -- definitely holds the promise of the greatest variety. Besides, half the things I own were purchased on eBay!!!
ABC for sure.
Brocade Home, Anthropologie and ABC Carpet and Home
The Eastern Market Flea Market
One store and all the money in the world? I'd live like a rock star with purchases from Cappellini. (Or at least aspire to that.)
[I should probably add that Diva in L.A. has a separate stand-alone Cappellini showroom on Melrose Ave.]
There are so many great stores, but my vote goes to Mod Livin' (http://www.modlivin.com/) because they carry, amongst others, the TECTA line. I'm a big fan of early Bauhaus.
i can think of many stores in new york with things i would love to have if i had the dough, i just saw a cozy sofa at nicole farhi the other day that i fell in love with. but that's not enough. abc carpet and home has enough to decorate a home from top to bottom, with a mix of styles i would love to live with.
ABC
VW Home
Baker
Kings Road Home
Room and Board
Absolutely Urban Outfitters for me! Their location at Mall of America in Bloomington, MN has all the dream items I want to create my ultimate living space.
Takashimaya--who wouldn't want to live in those flowers every day?
For beautiful and unique but more traditional/old fashioned...Moon River Chattel in Williamsburg. I love everything in there!
um, ABC.
That was easy.
just for the hell of it - the Swedish Place, aka IKEA - redo your entire home every few months in a different style (then donate the pieces)
ABC. This is a sweepstakes, right? :D
ABC - no ifs ands or buts - they have it all!
The MoMA store!!
Ikea! I'm already living the dream! (Grad school place, and not actually true. But the living room is a little carby)
If I had to furnish a place from only one source, I'd vote for Gus Modern, available through several retailers like South Beach Style.
The New Morning Gallery in Asheville, North Carolina.There signature is Art for Living.They
have the most unique and original furniture pieces and accessories. The gallery is a must see. Their web site represents just a small portion of what is available.(www.newmorningnc.com)
If money was no object I would be there with a moving van.
Christie's auctioneers darling! Who needs towels and salt shakers when you can have ... diamond wainscoting!
I agree with Lydia...TAKASHIMAYA.
The most beautiful Japanese department store on Fifth Avenue. Check out the floor with all the tabletop items. About a year or 2 ago, they had the most AMAZING wine glasses...the thinnest glass with the thinnest stem & foot. The stem actually looked like a thin stream of water ending in a small rippled pool. It was scary to pick it up...so light and delicate. I think it was $100+ per glass. Something I only dream of with the piddly check I receive at work.
Moss--not positve you could assemble an entire home there though.
Poliform--all furnishings plus the kitchen.
And ABC is good, though some floors there feel like they've lost their sense of direction.
There are great stores out there, but for the unusual and different - Carole Stupell in nYC - stuff they have there for sale in their store has been auctioned off at Christie's...
Housing Works
It's obvious that the next time I go to NY, I must visit ABC and Conran, places that I've only dreamed of here in DC. I don't have a sole dream place to add to this list, so I will bow to your experiences.
I'm on a Jonathan Adler kick lately.
Roy McMakin's Domestic Furniture Co.
Takashimaya sells furniture?
Whoever sells B&B Italia furniture.
1.Poliform
(and then travel the world for accents!)
Why do so many people like ABC? Isn't shabby chic over? Maybe they've been reinventing themselves, I don't know. Where are the interesting stores here people?
How about fun ecletic stores that sell one-offs and custom furniture? DOes anyone erally want to furnish their house in all ONE style? mid-c mod? really?
I am going to contradict myself and say i DO like what brocade sells, but its a little low end and restrictive for "if i had all the money in the world." Conran does have good stuff. I really really like Natrona too.
Bryan--
You need to scout out the upper floors of ABC, not just the first floor. Everything from MCM to Mitchell Gold to Ralph Lauren Home to Thomas O'Brien to Monkey Hill (Country stuff). Not to mention Harvey electronics, and some seriously gorgeous bedding.
I'd also add Eboniste to the list, if going online, especially since they just picked up the Barclay Butera stuff. Nice score, Scott!
And online, too, I'd add the great DesignPublic.
Patrick is still my hero.
And, we're cooking up great stuff for next year. Stay tuned.
S
Ralph Pucci - amazing furniture (esp. Risom, Kagan and Lehreche)and rugs (kate blee)
or BDDW - the most amazing detailing
AIX & Henro (are they still around?)
Entree Libre(?)
Uproar
desiron
Well, there is no single store that will outfit an entire home (even ABC is missing things), so here is my list:
-ABC (lust after the Hastens mattresses and some of the plasmascreens and...)
-MOSS
-Christian Liagre (in Paris)
-Axel Vervoordt (in Belgium) (I know Holly Hunt carries them both, but her prices are too high)
-Armani Casa (love his glass vases and things, even though I usually hate knick-knacks)
Oh! And BDDW! Seriously love their stuff
Speaking of Paris (by way of SoHo), Catherine Memmi.
So, Monika, are the Axel and Christian items cheaper in Belgium and Paris than via Holly Hunt even IF you factor in the airfare?!
Illums Bolighus (www.royalshopping.com) in Copenhagen and Christie's Twentieth Century sales.
Yes, Takashimaya has furniture. I always covet the French antique chairs they have on the 'home' floor. They have some dining tables too with the most beautiful veneer.
P2 -
Last I looked (literally 2 or 3 years ago) Takashimaya's 5th Avenue store had about half a floor of furniture. Gorgeous, if I recall correctly.
Wow. Other than Terence Conran and "ABC Home", I have never heard of any of these.
::doesn't vote::
You prefaced your question on unlimited money. However a nice shop for those of us on modest budgets is ZGallerie. The company just opened up a store on Broadway near Houston St and there are several more around the country. Great store, innovative merchandise, reasonable prices.
John
P2,
Having just returned from Paris 2 weeks ago, I can assure you that *nothing* is cheaper over there! The weakness of the dollar plus the VAT of almost 20% made me stop and think twice before buying anything!
bddw - amazing furniture. they used recovered wood in a lot of their pieces and the details are amazing. they are on crosby street = if you haven't seen them before, def. check them out for inspiration. pricey as hell though (media console was @ 7,000!!!)
ABC, hands down.
Oh, I'd totally add VW Home, Vicente Wolf's shop. DREA. MEEE.
The store ain't bad, either. :)
Thos Moser and a Maine home to put it in.
al - is that Maine home off the rocky coast, shrouded in fog and you can only reach it by ferry? cause that's my fantasy!
Neal,
That's the one. Especially in September after all the tourists are gone. And as for henro (gone) and aix-moved, maybe to an uptown location.
Ter, do you live in NYC? Just wondering since you've never heard of any of the stores (except ABC & Conran's).
Rare Device is absolutely the best!
It's small but filled to the brim with wonderful objects from small designers around the world.
Rare items.
bravo Rena!
oops! Rare Device was meant to be posted on Top Modern Shop for 2006.
Pottery Barn, Room & Board, West Elm
maurice villency
b&b italia
BoConcept, no doubt.
have always LOVED abc carpet, but also LOVE brocade home...wish they had stores in addition to the catalog--if you are an abc fan, you will love this line....www.brocadehome.com...