Suzanne Lipschutz in Secondhand Rose, her wallpaper shop.   (Photo: Kristine Larsen)

• Secondhand Rose

  138 Duane St.; 212-393-9002

  Want the latest Timorous Beasties or Wook Kim? Try Brooklyn design stores The Future Perfect and Matter, respectively. But for those who want a century’s worth of astonishingly beautiful wall-couture, Secondhand Rose is the source. “The collection that cannot be rivaled by anybody,” says Oscar-nominated set decorator Leslie Rollins, an opinion echoed by interior designers, stylists, and window dressers. Since 1963, Suzanne Lipschutz, proprietor of the Tribeca antique shop, has obsessively sought out vintage papers: Her library of over 2,500 patterns includes products of French, South American, and Chinese descent; with Victorian, Art Deco, and mod motifs; and flocked, hand-printed, and wood-veneered finishes. Double rolls (50 square feet after matching) are priced from $100 to $1,200, all for cash-and-carry purchase.

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