NEW YORK—A one-of-a-kind,1930’s Steinway grand piano, with hand carved motifs, tag price $45,000, sits in the window at Chatsworth Auction Rooms and Furniture Studios. The magnificent piano is tightly walled in by an odd assortment of furniture and house wares.
The crowded style, filled with incredible finds that range from the 1980’s to the 1700’s, is a signature of Chatsworth, the largest buyer and seller of estate furniture, antiques, quality used furniture and accessories in Westchester County.
“We throw it all in and it all gets mixed together, but that’s what makes it fun,” says the owner Sam Lightbody III, whose grandfather Sam Lightbody I started a moving and storage business that would later evolve into Chatsworth.
Located in the lovely town of Mamaroneck, the five-level, 20,000 square ft. showroom is a 30-40 minute drive from New York City, or a 35 train ride on the Metro North from Grand Central.
Standing on the street looking in at the two small front windows of Chatsworth, it’s impossible to tell what an astoundingly large and impressive inventory of home furnishings and art is inside.
The crowded style, filled with incredible finds that range from the 1980’s to the 1700’s, is a signature of Chatsworth, the largest buyer and seller of estate furniture, antiques, quality used furniture and accessories in Westchester County.
“We throw it all in and it all gets mixed together, but that’s what makes it fun,” says the owner Sam Lightbody III, whose grandfather Sam Lightbody I started a moving and storage business that would later evolve into Chatsworth.
Located in the lovely town of Mamaroneck, the five-level, 20,000 square ft. showroom is a 30-40 minute drive from New York City, or a 35 train ride on the Metro North from Grand Central.
Standing on the street looking in at the two small front windows of Chatsworth, it’s impossible to tell what an astoundingly large and impressive inventory of home furnishings and art is inside.
Despite the fact that the large inventory and stuffy space leaves you browsing through a warehouse, there is order, with each level dedicated to different merchandise. There’s a nice atmosphere too, and locals regularly come in to play the pianos, of which there is a good selection. Even Lightbody will be found playing a tune when he has a moment.
“It’s good value, lots of inventory and interesting pieces,” says Craig Andrews, a resident of Spain shopping for porch furniture for his summer home in Larchmont, NY.
“We enjoy furnishing our holiday home this way. They have a lot of cool stuff,” says his partner Diana O’Doherty.
A Piece of History
Through the 1960’s Chatsworth evolved into a furniture emporium, buying and selling the contents of homes, used furniture, estate and antique furniture, and new furniture as well. The huge building became a bargain hunter’s dream, as people would spend hours browsing the aisles, jam-packed with merchandise.
To this day, the current owner, Sam III continues to run the store in the same old fashioned and personable manner with a few changes over time. Sam III has moved more towards fine furniture and antiques, what he calls “estate quality furniture” in recent times, with common furniture not selling as well.
“This has evolved because people are less interested in common furniture … with the influx of cheap goods from China, a young couple can go to Target or Ikea and buy a cheap bedroom set,” explains Sam, “In order to maintain business, it naturally moved to higher end stuff.”
The other change for the store is less foot traffic. EBay now counts for 35 percent of Chatsworth’s sales.
“It’s good value, lots of inventory and interesting pieces,” says Craig Andrews, a resident of Spain shopping for porch furniture for his summer home in Larchmont, NY.
“We enjoy furnishing our holiday home this way. They have a lot of cool stuff,” says his partner Diana O’Doherty.
A Piece of History
Through the 1960’s Chatsworth evolved into a furniture emporium, buying and selling the contents of homes, used furniture, estate and antique furniture, and new furniture as well. The huge building became a bargain hunter’s dream, as people would spend hours browsing the aisles, jam-packed with merchandise.
To this day, the current owner, Sam III continues to run the store in the same old fashioned and personable manner with a few changes over time. Sam III has moved more towards fine furniture and antiques, what he calls “estate quality furniture” in recent times, with common furniture not selling as well.
“This has evolved because people are less interested in common furniture … with the influx of cheap goods from China, a young couple can go to Target or Ikea and buy a cheap bedroom set,” explains Sam, “In order to maintain business, it naturally moved to higher end stuff.”
The other change for the store is less foot traffic. EBay now counts for 35 percent of Chatsworth’s sales.
The recession has negatively affected business because without people selling their homes and furniture, and less people buying homes and moving, business has slowed down. As Lightbody puts it: “With less turn over of real-estate, there’s less turn over of merchandise.”
But, he isn’t too worried. He says there are a few features that set Chatsworth apart from other antique and furniture stores. First, they own the whole building. Looking down the stairs over the bedroom furniture at what seemed like a sea of wood, Sam laughs, “Nobody’s crazy enough to carry this much stock, maybe they’ll do candle sticks or little chairs, but we have the space.”
The other reason is they buy directly from estates and previous owners, “Others buy from auctions,” so that means, at the end of the day, Sam can offer better prices.
When asked if he’s willing to bargain over the price tags with customers, he smiles, “Nothing is absolute, that’s just the nature of the business.”
But, he isn’t too worried. He says there are a few features that set Chatsworth apart from other antique and furniture stores. First, they own the whole building. Looking down the stairs over the bedroom furniture at what seemed like a sea of wood, Sam laughs, “Nobody’s crazy enough to carry this much stock, maybe they’ll do candle sticks or little chairs, but we have the space.”
The other reason is they buy directly from estates and previous owners, “Others buy from auctions,” so that means, at the end of the day, Sam can offer better prices.
When asked if he’s willing to bargain over the price tags with customers, he smiles, “Nothing is absolute, that’s just the nature of the business.”
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