English-accented antiques in Tribeca

London and Paris will always be major sources for high-end antiques, but Burden & Izett might just keep some devoted shoppers from making the trip across the pond. Last spring, partners Jonathan Burden and Benjamin Izett gutted a former dairy-storage warehouse in Tribeca and started stocking the vast space with English, German, French, Italian, and Chinese furniture. The cross pollinated inventory is casually displayed on the main level against rough-hewn floorboards and towering slate-gray walls, while a full-service, to-the-trade-only workshop (naturally lit from above and employing seven restorers) hums in the basement. The interplay between spectacular scale and sculptural form is reminiscent of the best shops along Pimlico Road, although Izett is quick to note that "polite English antiques shops are a dyeing breed for us. We like to think we have more adventuresome taste."

With honest English accents (both are native Brits) and well-worn jeans, the owners are disarmingly relaxed by New York standards. Burden began studying furniture conservation at age 15 in Yorkshire and is a qualified restorer, whereas Izett's eye was honed at Cheltenham School of Art in Cotswolds. They met in Manhattan, and began working together five years ago while maintaining separate businesses. After continually coming across pieces they wanted to steal from each other, they joined forces, effectively eliminating mutual competition. As Burden says, "The mesh works because we are both interested in all aspects of furniture, from construction to provenance. It really is in our blood."