Decorative Hardware Studio Opens Showroom

Thirty five years ago, Ronald and Marie Prezner, the co-owners of Decorative Hardware Studio, fell in love with Chappaqua and decided to set up shop selling hardware. Now, after spreading to a second building across town and becoming Chappaqua's only manufacturer, the lifelong New Yorkers are using their original location as a showroom for their own products.

Decorative Hardware Studio's popularity and reputation is based on word of mouth. "We sell by association," Ronald Prezner explained. 

Association is how he first started making the product that he is now best known for: stair rods. "We had a lady who lives off of Manursing who had a dog and the dog kept tripping on the stairs. We made some special rods to hold the runner in place. We didn't have a factory at the time, so I made them in my basement. She was so happy, that she told her friend, and her friend happened to be the owner of the largest carpet showroom in the United States." 

In 1993, Ronald Prezner received the patent for a bracket for a stair carpet rotating rod. 

The Prezners believe that the award winning quality of their work will keep clients, both residential and commercial, coming back.  Ronald Prezner, who is a mechanical engineer, has an intense passion for top-of-the-line materials. The base material of everything that he produces is brass, and he uses Austrian-leaded Crystal – like fine stemware – instead of optical glass with film. He guarantees that his products will last a lifetime.    

The Prezners quality of business is another attribute noted. "I find that being honest with the customer is the most important thing because it builds trust," Ronald Prezner reflected.  The new showroom is to make people, especially local designers, fell comfortable in dealing with Decorative Hardware Studio products.      

One such designer, Joshua Katz of Fabu Fabrics in Bedford Hills, said that he will use the showroom as "an opportunity…to bring a client as opposed to just show a brochure or sample."

Decorative Hardware Studio products can be seen in places like Carnegie Hall, the home of the late King Hussein of Jordan and Steve Wynn's summer house. Barbra Streisand, Denzel Washington and Sir James Goldsmith are among the company's celebrity clients. By displaying their custom curtain rods, door knobs, faucet handles, and endless other designs in their 19 finishes and countless dimensions, the Prezners hope to bring their business, which they do basically everywhere except in Westchester, home.