If you’re in the midst of wondering how to restore old furniture, or you don’t know who to turn to for help with that gorgeous dress that’s eight inches too long, you “need a guy.” New York is filled with people who know a guy (or gal) who can do anything from cleaning impossible-to-clean rental apartment windows to restoring your granddad’s old phonograph. There are people who can help us New Yorkers deal with, fix, and clean just about anything. Here’s a small sampling.

Your Favorite Chandelier is in Pieces

You’ve moved into your new apartment, and you’ve decided to self-install that gorgeous Murano glass chandelier that you picked up in Venice on your honeymoon a few years back. Two hours later, you’re rocking back and forth in a corner as you stare at a bowl of shards, the chandelier tubing hanging from your hands. Never despair; New York Crystal Repair will come to the rescue. The company’s Augustine Jochec and Gyondyi Marton have been putting crystal balls and glass slippers back together for nearly 50 years. They can not only put your Murano back together, but they can even make brand new pieces and replicate old ones if you wish.

Your Craigslist Score May Be a Dud

You’ve scored a Restoration Hardware sofa off of Craigslist. Everything about it, from the $200 price tag to the gorgeous blue color is awesome, save for the 10-inch hole overflowing with stuffing stretched across the top. If Ray Marrero, upholsterer to the stars, is not available, we know two guys! Reach out to Hector and Claudio from Estilo Upholstery. Located on the Lower East Side, these furniture fairy godfathers turn Craigslist pumpkins into whatever you’d call the restored furniture equivalent of a golden chariot. On top of being super talented and know how to restore old furniture, they’re fast, they’re good, and their prices are excellent when you consider the level of detail and talent that goes into each piece they work on.

Speaking of Furniture …

You may love Ikea, but you don’t want your house to look like it’s part of the catalog. You’re looking for something really, really unique and special. You’ve combed through sites like AptDeco.com and Craigslist, and you’ve visited furniture stores all over the city, but you still haven’t found what you’re looking for, or everything you do like is way out of your budget. You have an image in your mind of a gorgeous dining table made of reclaimed barnwood, but it needs to be 10-feet by 2-inches long to fit into the large nook in your loft. You can’t remember where you saw something like this, but you do remember that it cost roughly two or three mortgage payments — money that you don’t have right now because, well, mortgage. Enter Recycled Brooklyn. Matt and Steve (Loftice) are the woodworking wizards behind this custom furniture shop. Think of it as furniture “abracadabrology” — they wave a few tools around, throw in a few ingredients like steel and salvaged lumber and, voila! You’ll be the owner of a gorgeous, new, made-to-order dining table unlike anything your friends have. The prices for the finished pieces are remarkably and relatively affordable, so check the place out.

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