Where's a good place to shop for cabinets, tile, and countertop in NYC?

May 26, 2017 1:39 PM

I know about IKEA, Home Depot, and Lowe's. But what are some other options? And regardless of where you shopped, what was your experience like?

I'm looking for pre-assembled (so not IKEA), standard width, Shaker-style cabinets with solid wood fronts. For counters, some kind of natural stone or quartz. For tile, maybe something more artsy and exciting than subway tile (although I like subway tile). Basically your standard urban modern kitchen, in as high a quality as I can manage on a modest budget.

posted by the_blizz to Shopping (7 answers total)

Habitat for Humanity has stores that resell what they don't use. Sometimes pretty good stuff, and purchases go towards building low income housing. In my area they are called ReStores, which is a great punny name too.
posted by BeeDo at 1:49 PM on May 26, 2017

The Habitat ReStore for NYC is in Woodside. Mixed bag because it's donation-based, but you may find exactly what you want.
posted by blnkfrnk at 1:55 PM on May 26, 2017

When I got my kitchen redone, my contractor sent me to Quality Tile in the Bronx to pick tile. Not glossy, but they had a lot of stuff.
posted by LizardBreath at 2:45 PM on May 26, 2017

Costco partners with third-party vendors to sell things like cabinets and countertops. (Having trouble finding a link to the countertops, but they usually have a booth near the exit at my Costco.) Can't personally vouch for the quality or service, just adding another option.

I personally find tile departments/showrooms completely overwhelming... my strategy is to see something I like in a catalog or magazine and then try to figure out who sells it. Most home magazines are glorified catalogs anyway, so they usually don't make it too difficult to find the vendor.
posted by slenderloris at 3:02 PM on May 26, 2017

Even if you don't want Ikea, their kitchen planner tool is useful. Measure your kitchen carefully; it will help a lot. I did get my kitchen from Ikea and had it assembled by someone else. I still like it.
posted by theora55 at 7:19 PM on May 26, 2017 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You may get lucky if a cabinet set to your liking gets donated to Big Reuse - sign up for their mailing list to get updates of new arrivals. Two locations, one in Gowanus and the other Astoria.
posted by stachemaster at 6:58 AM on May 27, 2017

Best answer: Even though it has a reputation as a high-end place, I got my kitchen tile from Ann Sacks. They do have tile so expensive that using it would have cost as much as my entire new kitchen, but I got a really nice backsplash from them for something like $300.

I got my bathroom tile from Dal Tile, but I didn't go in to choose it (just ordered plain white subway tile without seeing it in person), so I can't speak to the shopping experience. I'm happy with tile itself. I remember the pricing being very good, but can't remember the details at this point.

For counters, I picked engineered quartz from Casesarstone. It still looks perfect seven years later, so I'm happy with that choice.
posted by snaw at 12:14 PM on May 28, 2017