Vintage, mid-century, and new pieces from Two Jakes.   (Photo: Kristine Larsen)

• Two Jakes

  320 Wythe Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-782-7780

  After opening so many glitzy high-rent showrooms, Design Within Reach may be losing its edge, but Two Jakes—a shop with a gritty warehouse vibe—is picking up the slack. Packed with new and vintage office furniture, the store includes fresh designs like a powder-coated aluminum seat from venerable Pennsylvania manufacturer Emeco and a desk in plywood and chrome by Minnesotan newbie Blu Dot. As for vintage pieces, a Herman Miller Aeron chair with a gently scuffed base goes for half the price of an original; a General Fireproof desk from the fifties, stripped and sealed with a clear coat, is $750; and a Saarinen executive chair on wheels, suddenly fashionable in plum, is in pristine condition and costs $225 (at press time, there were fifteen in stock). Try finding that on Craigslist.

From the 2007 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine