P.S. Scroll to the bottom for an interactive map with all the spots pinned.

Kalei
Kalei is where I go to find slightly odd pieces from mostly Italian designers. Think Gufram, Memphis, Gaetano Pesce — alongside emerging contemporary makers pushing in the same spirit. And the checkered-floor rooftop and patio are basically built for sitting with a drink and unpacking what you just saw.

📍 159 Bowery

Galerie Timonier
I first stumbled on Galerie Timonier while catching Brooklyn-based designer Bennet Schlesinger's show — tucked away in Tribeca, easy to walk past if you're not aware. The program moves between contemporary design and art and it always feels like there's something worth discovering. You’re welcome.

📍 246 W Broadway, 2nd Floor

Galerie Was

An interior designer, a chef and a tech founder walk into a bar… No, but seriously, this is basically how Galerie Was was founded. Lauren Piscione, Allie Fitzpatrick and Andy McCune are the trio behind Galerie Was — your go-to destination for vintage design. Here they present an effortlessly cool mix of antiques sourced from European flea markets and new works from young contemporary artists and designers.

📍 301 Broome Street
📧 By Appointment only

Jacqueline Sullivan Gallery
One of my all-time favorites has to be Jacqueline Sullivan Gallery. Think long dramatic curtains, vintage furniture, a stainless steel kitchenette, and collectible design pieces, all set on the lofty fourth floor of a former textile factory in Tribeca.
Photo credit: Brian Ferry

📍 52 Walker Street, 4th floor

Quarters
Even though it’s not a gallery in the traditional sense — more a concept store built around lighting brand In Common With — I simply had to include Quarters. Tucked into a 19th-century loft in Tribeca, the whole space feels like an apartment you wish was yours. It’s so beautifully composed and styled that it leaves me inspired every single time I visit. Oh, and did I mention the lamps? STUNNING!

📍 383 Broadway, 2nd Floor

Galerie Laura Gonzalez
Galerie Laura Gonzalez is basically a window into the French designer’s colorful design universe. Gonzalez mixes patterns, textures, and references that have no business working together — and somehow do. Maximalist, in the best way (coming from a former minimalist).

📍 102 Franklin Street

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The Future Perfect
No NYC Design Guide is complete without The Future Perfect. Founded by David Alhadeff in 2003, it’s basically become the gallery for collectible design. Their West Village townhouse, Casa Perfect, is staged like an actual home of a VERY chic (and, ahem, rich) person.

📍 8 St Lukes Place
📧 By Appointment only

Studio Twenty Seven
Miami-born Studio Twenty Seven landed in Tribeca in 2024 with a 700 sq m space inside a historic Beaux-Arts building — and styled it like someone’s actual home. Wandering through feels like snooping around someone’s very tasteful apartment. Which is what I love to do.
Photocredit: William Jess Laird

📍 241 Church Street
📧 By Appointment only

One of One
One of One is a newer space showcasing a rotating set of NYC artists — fittingly, set inside a one-of-a-kind artist loft. The gallery has a knack for finding objects with real personality, like this XXL hand pillow by John Sohn. Definitely one to add to your next stroll through the West Village.

📍 289 Bleecker Street
📧 By Appointment only

Demisch Danant
Demisch Danant is a dream stop for anyone into French design — an incredible run of French pieces from the 1950s through the 80s, alongside contemporary work. Also a great spot for a day date. Speaking from experience.

📍 30 W 12th Street

K’ab Juun
If contemporary Mexican craft and design isn’t already on your radar, let K’ab Juun change that. Think sculptural furniture, textural objects, one-of-a-kind pieces — nothing mass-produced. The name comes from Mayan for “hand” and “unique,” which says it all.

📍 38 Little W 12th Street

Tuleste Factory

If you’re looking for something more whimsical, go check out Tuleste Factory. Founded by sisters Satu and Celeste Greenberg, this gallery feels like stepping into the wonderful mind of a creative — rotating through furniture, photography, design objects, fine art — whatever the sisters feel like showing, basically.

📍 342 West 14th Street
📧 By Appointment only

Find the full interactive map with all the Downtown galleries right here.

There's something about fringe and tassels that has stopped me in my tracks recently. Bear with me on this one.

Few decorative details have had as many lives as fringe. First used on garments and textiles in ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt to prevent fabric edges from unraveling, fringe quickly became a symbol of status and craftsmanship. By the 18th and 19th centuries it had taken over European interiors, layered onto everything from curtains to furniture, returning in the 1970s as a relaxed boho detail — before minimalism swept in and declared it too much. But fringe is back baby!

Latest example: the Garden Folly Room designed by Studio Enass, shown at this year’s WOW!house 2026. An emerald green fringed cocktail table at its center, fringe-trimmed cushions — and tassels hanging, unexpectedly, from the wall sconces.

The beauty of it all is the range — you can go as subtle or as extravagant as you like. A lounge chair with a tassel trim reads fun and flirty, fringe on top of a curtain adds a playful detail and tassels on lampshades are having a serious moment right now.

Tactile Tassels and Playful Fringe

1) Pele Table in Moiré Tissé by Claude Home 2) Francis No. 1 Parchment Sconce by Henrii 3) Bar with fringe detail at Gigi Val d’Isère by Hugo Toro

4) Cognac and Beige Bicolour Lilli Lounge 70 by Lorenza Bozzoli 5) Lantern Sconce by Workstead 6) Burwood Libertine Parfumerie by Tamsin Johnson

See…

In case you crave some calm before the Knicks game, tomorrow’s your last chance to see Jess Allen’s exhibition at Nino Mier Gallery in SoHo. Suspending Time explores people and shadow — her painted figures caught in quiet, fleeting moments. Simply beautiful.

Want…

The hand-blown Eldorado Pendant from Freaks NY's Full Dress lighting collection. The form looks like a flowy skirt caught mid-movement. And then there's the silk organza covered cord — someone get me this lamp asap!

Try…

Love Thy Neighbor is bringing a cavelike room to 55 Christopher Street, serving Japanese-inspired tapas and cocktails. The basement-level bar designed by Wild Form Design Studio follows one rule: no straight lines. The result is all soft tan curves and tucked alcoves. My favorite is the bathroom mirror that looks like it was carved from a geode (plus look at that sink!).

Super shiny furniture is having a moment — and the latest proof is Athena Calderone’s glossy debut furniture collection Assembler I. It’s all I’ve been thinking about. And while she certainly isn’t the first to re-introduce it (I’m thinking of Gucci’s Salone exhibit in 2024 or the glossy designs that define WSA) her recent collection is proof that lacquer is here to stay.

The Japanese-originated, Art Deco-associated material has been around for hundreds of years, yet still feels incredibly fresh. Its sexy shine looks brilliant on furniture, yes — but we're also talking ceilings, built-ins, and entire walls covered in high gloss. Elegant and oh-so-dramatic!

How to actually use it at home:

My instinct is always to pair it with warm wood and lots of textile to keep things layered — the contrast between gloss and something uneven or matte is where things get interesting.

If you’re new to lacquer, start with small decor accents like a lacquer mirror frame. And think of it as a way to enhance details: headboards, doorways, dressers. It’s also a fail-safe method of elevating an old piece of furniture that needs a new lick of paint. (If you do pick up a paintbrush, please send pics!)

Dark colors add a luxurious touch, while brighter colors add another layer of playfulness through that light-bouncing element.

An Eye for Shiny Things:

1) Kick.Office’s redesigned Milanese apartment features red lacquered walls
2) Le Miroir Nautilus by Astrid Houssin 3) The Punch Tables by Peter Mikic for The Lacquer Company

4) Emma Chamberlain’s Tiered Lacquer Table Lamp for West Elm 5) Biseau Armchair by Studio Athena Calderone at The Future Perfect New York 6) Ame III Lacquer Coffee Table by Zoé Wolker Studio

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See…

Prada Mode is taking over New York City this week with a five-day experience running until Sunday, June 7th. Satellites II is an extending collaboration between Danish filmmaker Nicolas Winding Refn and Japanese game designer Hideo Kojima. Centered around the legendary Hotel Chelsea, it features installations, screenings, and performances.

Want…

Menswear designer Todd Snyder just launched a home collection with CB2 — the Townhouse Collection — and this pillow is the first thing I'm getting. The floral velvet is incredibly tactile. (His mom was an interior designer, which honestly tracks.)

Visit…

Louis Vuitton just signed a three-year sponsorship with the Frick Collection. This includes Louis Vuitton First Fridays, bringing after-hours access to the galleries, live music, drinks, and more. Every first Friday of the month, through May 2027.

I took a little breather after Design Week (month, let’s be honest) and while on said break, I found myself falling hard for moiré silk.

If the name doesn’t ring a bell, the fabric definitely will. Moiré — also called “watered silk” — is that textile with the shimmering, rippled surface that looks like light moving through shallow water. That elusive shiny-meets-matte, tone-on-tone fabric has been around since the 1600s but became especially popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries for drapery and formalwear. In the 50s it got democratized a bit when Dior and Givenchy started putting it in daywear instead of ballgowns.

The look comes from a process called calendering. The fabric gets dampened, then pressed through high-heat, high-pressure rollers that create the signature wave pattern. The result is stiff, thick, and unusually strong for a silk, which is part of why it’s so well-suited for interiors. Latest proof: the moiré-draped Camera Fissa by studioutte and De Troupe (with textiles by Dedar), presented during Milan Design Week 2026.

It’s time to blow off the dust, because moiré is very much back. And honestly it never should have left.

How to actually use it at home

The most traditional move is curtains, and honestly? Still works. But the more interesting plays are elsewhere. Because it’s so sturdy post-calendering, it holds up beautifully as upholstery, like for example a headboard. Upholstered walls in moiré are a full commitment, but if you’ve got the right room, it’s jaw-dropping.

If you want the hit without the full-on project, a folding screen, an upholstered stool, or even used as a backdrop in a photo frame doses do a lot too.

1) Moiré used as wall covering in this bedroom project by Namu Bureau 2) Amoir Fou by Dedar 3) Aria Moiré in the color Cashmere by Schumacher, used as a photo frame background

Where to shop

Schumacher is the obvious starting point. Their Incomparable Moiré line is approachable and comes in genuinely great colors — from dusty sky blue to deep mineral green. If you want the real silk thing, their Aria Moiré (54% silk) is the move. Pricier, but worth it for the muted, luminous colorways.

Dedar Milano (find their showroom in the D&D Building) is worth a visit for their two moiré collections: Amoir Libre and its matte, fire-retardant sister, Amoir Fou — beautiful across upholstery, drapery, and walls. Mood Fabrics on 37th Street carries moiré at accessible price points.

Moiré is one of those fabrics that photographs beautifully but looks even better in person. Go see it, then tell me you’re not obsessed.

1) Moiré in the color Bright Gold by Arte 2) Folding Screen Mise En Scène by Tanja von Stein 3) Interior by Giuliano Andrea dell’Uva with Moiré Wallpaper by Dedar

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See…

Speaking of silky textiles, go see Ana Kraš‘ latest pieces at Emma Scully Gallery. Svila — meaning ‘silk’ in her native Serbian — is her new body of work exploring the material across lamps and tables. Surprising and absolutely worth the trip to the Upper East Side. On view through June 13.

Want…

The last few weeks have been a full-blown celebration of design in all its forms, and I’m keeping the energy going with this Margarita Glass by Milan-based designer Natalia Criado, created in collaboration with fashion brand Taller Marmo. Made in brass, silver-plated, and adorned with silver chains and lapis lazuli beads, it’s a playful nod to Taller Marmo’s signature long fringe-trimmed dresses. Cheers!

Try…

There’s a new wine bar on the block — on 663 Vanderbilt Avenue, to be precise — and from peeking through the charming ruffled curtains, Wallace might just be your next go-to spot for a glass of orange. Robert Spence and Brian Guay (the duo behind Black Mountain Wine House) have created a warm, welcoming space with walnut paneling, a long red marble bar, and the intimate feel of a small European wine bar — which is honestly exactly the vibe I’m after this summer. The backyard with its yellow and white striped umbrellas seals the deal.

It’s rare that designers collab with designers. But looking at Astraeus Clarke and Devin Wilde’s latest series ‘Staccato’, I think we can all agree that this should happen more often. Devin created handmade conical ceramic diffusers, each ringed with his signature rounded finials. Chelsie and Jacob of Astraeus Clarke responded with metal chandelier, pendant, and sconce frameworks punctuated by their star-like forms, which hold the ceramic elements in place.
It gives very “hot summer night in Italy” energy. Ironically, the day I saw the collection, the AC broke, which only made the fantasy more convincing.

At Afternoon Light — set inside the WSA, which I’m going to say it: is a way better experience than ICFF — I found myself drawn to the work of New York–based, Mexican-German studio Ollin. Their stools, made from wood and fur, were intriguing not only for the materials but for their height. Hovering just a few inches above the ground, they were a welcome invitation to sit down and ground myself during the hecticness that is, as we established, a month-long design affair. More on Ollin soon.

Also at Afternoon Light, I fell into the world of tiles — specifically Parma Tile, a Queens-bred, second-generation family business that is devoted to the idea that tiles can be the most expressive thing in a room. Case in point: their ‘Manganese Delft’ collection. It reminds me of something that could be in my grandmother’s house — and yet, applied right, it’s thoroughly modern in a way that’s hard to put into words. I’m already mentally placing them in every future project I have.

Peeking into how other people live is my favorite sport. Last week I got to do exactly that. The home of artist and collector Claudia Doring Baez inside the American Thread Building was the backdrop for the group show ‘In My Dreams All the Furniture is Dancing,’ curated by Crina Arghirescu Rogard and Aurore Vullierme — though at some point I stopped being sure whether the show was inside the apartment or the apartment was the show.
Paintings and objects were all set inside what felt less like a home and more like an upper-class French arrondissement movie set.

Over at Apparatus, artistic director and co-founder Gabriel Hendifar brought back ‘Episode’, his sculptural chair. Inside their showroom’s red room — moody, atmospheric, very Apparatus — the chair became part of ‘Peepshow’, an installation with French heritage silversmith Puiforcat. As the name suggests, you sat down on a chair, pressed a small button, and peered through a peephole. On the other side: highly detailed silver objects, revealed like a private scene. It’s playful, a bit theatrical, and I left thinking more objects should reveal themselves on command.

That’s it for now. I’ll be back to a once-a-week schedule starting next Friday. Until then, I’ll be on my couch sorting through more snapshots and giving my feet a well-deserved break.

I know we’re all deep in Design Week right now, but one new opening deserves a moment of your attention.

Having covered Scandinavian brands in a previous role, I got to know Audo Copenhagen well – the lifestyle brand born from the merger of Danish design houses Menu and By Lassen, now part of the Flos B&B Italia Group. Their headquarters in Copenhagen’s Nordhavn district is a full expression of pure minimalist luxury: oak floors, lime-washed walls, earth-toned furnishings. (You can also stay there, which feels very on-brand.)

No need to fly to Denmark though. Audo reopened their New York location last week, relocating from their former showroom on N. Moore Street to a new 3,500-square-foot space at 62 Laight Street designed by Jonas Bjerre-Poulsen of Norm Architects. The new location is styled by Colin King – no surprise there, given that King is a longtime Audo collaborator and the designer behind «Interconnect», Audo’s monumental candle holder.

Beyond the furniture and objects, Audo House New York is set up as an actual place to be: talks, exhibitions, a WatchHouse coffee pop-up running through today if you're moving fast. A pretty showroom stopped being enough a while ago. Audo has understood that longer than most – and 62 Laight Street is proof.

Audo House New York, 62 Laight Street

Aimee Sy makes sconces the way some people write in journals – as a way of processing what happened. “At the core of it, my desire to capture memory always inspires my work,” she tells me. “Lighting allows me to make those memories feel alive.”

«The Envelope» is a good example. The shade was made from fabric she found on a trip to Soller, Mallorca – knowing before she even left that she wanted to source something to remember it by. She ended up finding a small shop on the last day; coincidentally, it was also the shop’s last day open. The embroidery on one of the folds suggested the shape of an envelope, so she made it into one.

The result is a representation of a letter from her father, who passed away when Aimee was seventeen. “It’s both preserving and letting go,” she says, “but also a way to reclaim my memories.”

These aren't decorative pieces that happen to have a backstory The story is the whole point.

«The Envelope» is part of the group-show «Pit Room», currently on view at Zarolat.

Do you know the pink building on Vanderbilt Avenue? It's home to a couple of shows this Design Week, including «Nothing Comes from Nothing». Brought together by Office of Tangible Space in collaboration with Verso Works, the show pairs contemporary designers with historic pieces, such as an Alvar Aalto chair. The studio also curates an apartment inside the building, filled with pieces by Brazilian furniture gallery Espasso. By appointment only.

Location: 144 Vanderbilt Ave
Dates: May 13 – 27

Furniture brand Sixpenny opens its recently redesigned Dumbo loft for Design Week — spotlighting new pieces like the «Florette» bed and «Yogi» sofa, plus their first rug collection. Drop by the showroom on weekdays, or book a studio visit via loft@sixpenny.com. Also open for DUMBO x Design Day on May 20.

Location: 45 Main Street, Suite 1020
Dates: May 13 – 19

A party* you don’t want to miss! Hello Human, Public Records, and Wallpaper are hosting a night of music and design, featuring an immersive installation with works by Ah Um Design Studio, Lichen, Vy Voi and more. Find me on the dance floor.
RSVP Required.

Location: 233 Butler St
Date: May 15

TIWA Select is super high up on my favorite galleries in the city, so I know this one will be a special one. Co-curated by Alex Tieghi-Walker and Felix Burrichter of PIN–UP Magazine, «Souvenir» brings together artists and designers like Dana Arbib, Rich Aybar or Minjae Kim, who each find new meaning in the everyday vessel. Also on view: Bernard Dubois' new vase collection for Pin–Up Home x Bitossi.

Location: 86 Walker Street, 5th floor
Dates: May 15 – 23

Another personal favorite: Afternoon Light* hosts the second edition of its design fair during Design Week. The four-day event takes place across three gallery floors at the WSA building, presenting a sharp mix of international brands, galleries, and designers — established and emerging.

Buy your ticket here

Location: 161 Water St
Dates: May 16 – 19

You might know Ana Kraš from her sculptural, material-driven work. At Emma Scully Gallery, she presents «Svila» — meaning ‘silk’ in her native Serbian — a new body of work exploring the material across lamps and tables, combined with glass and timber. Surprising and worth the trip to the Upper East Side.

Location: 16 East 79th, Suite 21
Dates: May 8 - June 13

Lawson-Fenning celebrates the one-year anniversary of their New York showroom with their new «Bosque» Collection. Also on view: Ceramicah‘s «Cuadra» Collection — the LA-based studio’s first foray into solid wood lighting. Go see!

Location: 417 Lafayette St, Floor 5
Dates: May 15 - 20

If you’ve ever wanted to sneak inside an artist and collector’s home, this is your chance. «In My Dreams All the Furniture Is Dancing» is an art and design exhibition set within the home of Claudia Doring Baez inside the historic American Thread Building.

Location: 260 W Broadway, 11B
Dates: May 15 – 20

Danish furniture brand House of Finn Juhl and fashion label Sea New York pop up together for Design Week, unveiling a special edition of the iconic «Japan Series» — sculptural mid-century furniture upholstered in Sea’s richly embroidered fabrics. A first-time collaboration worth seeing.

Location: 324 Canal Street
Dates: May 14 – 25

Design studio Wretched Flowers are opening their first NYC studio in SoHo — a fourth-floor loft shared with Petra Hardware. Go see new works alongside the studio’s core «Artifact» collection, including two large beaded chainmail tapestries inspired by Raphael’s works currently on view at The Met.

Location: 481 Broadway, 4th Floor
Dates: May 13 & 18

If you need a break from all the shows and fairs, head over to 43 Clarkson St, where Swedish-Mexican design studio ATRA recently opened their gallery (read all about it here). Here, the studio presents «Cosmo Nova», an immersive installation created in dialogue with French textile weaver and editor Métaphores, inviting you to slow down.

Location: 43 Clarkson St
Date: May 14

The new Manhattan gallery House of Santal opens its doors for NYCxDesign week. Devoted exclusively to South Asian design, it brings something genuinely new to the city’s gallery landscape.

Location: 135 West 50th St, 10th Floor
Dates: May 14 – 15

Independent hotel collective Design Hotels is back with «The New York Edit»* at 11 Howard Hotel — an exhibition of collectible works by New York-based designers spanning lighting, furniture, and objects. Curated by Milan-based studio Simple Flair and developed in partnership with Lumens.

Location: 11 Howard St
Dates: May 15 – 20

Getting a head start on the week with the Head Hi Lamp Show*, which takes place at the «Boom Boom Room» at The Standard High Line. Come for the vibes and see unique lamps, curated in collaboration with New York gallery Superhouse‘s founder Stephen Markos.

Location: 848 Washington St
Dates: May 8 – 9

Remember the sculptural long-haired sconces at Lyle Gallery last year? Soft-geometry* is back for Design Week – this time at Kartik Research’s Lower East Side flagship. «Long-Haired Sconces, Volume 2» expands the series alongside a new body of work, «Flower Sconces», pulling from memory, ritual, and a '90s Indian childhood.

Location: 61 Orchard St
Dates: May 13 - 19

Of Enso — the New York-based studio, who I interviewed recently — returns to Design Week in partnership with creative space and fashion hot spot Colbo, for whom they designed the wine bar Colbo Next Door. «Selvedge»* is a limited edition lighting collection crafted from deadstock fabrics sourced from Colbo’s archive, continuing the studio’s commitment to material honesty.

Location: 51 Orchard St
Dates: May 14 – 24

You might see Vy Voi at the Hello Human x Public Records x Wallpaper party earlier in the week. The New York- and Sài Gòn-based studio is also showing at Host on Howard, at a group show bringing together North American designers, working with stone, wood, paper, ceramic, and glass in unexpected ways.

Location: 21 Howard St
Dates: May 16 - 19

If you’re in the mood for even more lighting, check out Shine at The Seaport — one of the central showcases of this year’s Design Week. Discover light objects by 70 rising designers, including John Junior Kim and Elise McMahon.

Location: 20 Fulton St
Dates: May 14 – 20

Find sounds and slow moments at Slash Objects. The New York design studio presents an immersive installation exploring the intersection of music and materiality at their SoHo showroom — centered around «X Deck», a beautifully designed DJ console with record storage.

Location: 224 Centre St, 4th Floor
Dates: May 14 – 21

Another take on music and furniture can be found at Symbol Loft, where Symbol’s speaker modules are integrated directly into USM Haller configurations, transforming the furniture into audio systems.

Location: 262 Bowery, Floor 3
Dates: May 11 – 20

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Hudson Wilder transforms their space on 142 Plymouth Street into a bookstore with Phaidon – featuring rare and out-of-print titles, foundational texts, and contemporary releases alongside a curated mix of lifestyle goods and Hudson Wilder objects.
On May 14, designer Todd Bracher and writer Spencer Bailey sit down for a talk exploring the thinking and process behind furniture and product design, followed by a book signing.

Location: 142 Plymouth St
Dates: May 14 - 20

Around the corner from Hudson Wilder, Dumbo-based gallery Zarolat presents «Pit Room» — collectible furniture, lighting, sculpture, objects, and artwork by known and new artists.
On May 20th, the gallery also hosts its 5th edition of «Dumbo Dialogues» as part of DUMBO x Design Day.

Location: 140 Plymouth St
Dates: May 14 – July 11

Interior and product designer Sarah Sherman Samuel presents her latest furniture collection alongside the release of her first monograph – a book tracing the intersections of her practice across interiors, furniture, and art – at Colony.

Location: 196 West Broadway
Dates: May 14 – 19

Growing up, I was surrounded by fabric. My grandmother was a couturière, my mother sewed her whole life — the smell of cut cloth and the sound of a sewing machine running are some of my earliest memories. I never picked up the craft myself, though lately I’ve been thinking about it more and more. Not so much for clothing — but because there’s always a home project where I wish I could just pull out a sewing machine and hem my living room curtains, or sew a skirt for my bathroom sink.

Maegan June Collins’ «Quilted Vessels» look like they’re made out of a plush fabric, soft like a puffer jacket. And actually, fabric is the first material the Toronto-based ceramic artist reaches for. She hand-sews an object first, uses it as a positive to make a plaster mold, then slip casts each piece from it. What comes out the other side is ceramic that looks like it should be soft. The plush folds, the stitched ridges, all of it preserved in clay. You reach for it expecting one thing and get another entirely.

If I were to style this vase, I wouldn't put anything in it — just set it on an open shelf and let it be the centerpiece.

Do you know that feeling; you find something that pulls at you — something with an edge, a bold color, or an unconventional form — and instead of following that instinct, you start negotiating with it? Will I still love this in ten years? Does it go with everything else? Is this too much?

Last weekend, a zebra-patterned lounge chair stopped me cold. Strong pattern, perfect scale, the kind of piece that knows exactly what it is. And believe me, if someone else hadn't been faster than me, this piece would be in my living room right now. But what struck me wasn’t missing the chair — it was the realization of how much my perception of design has changed since moving to New York.

Growing up in Switzerland, where design is built around offending no one and being as neutral as the country itself, did not exactly accelerate my risk-taking development. There is a genuine beauty in that philosophy — a commitment to longevity, to sustainability, to craft and things that will still make sense in thirty years. I carried it with me for a long time, and I still believe in parts of it.

What it does to styling interiors and homes in general, though, is something else. Rooms that are careful and considered — and utterly lacking in personality. Spaces that, in trying to stay relevant forever, end up saying nothing at all.

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New York has a way of recalibrating your eye. A city of contradictions teaches you, slowly, that almost anything can belong. More than that, it shifted something in me about what a home is actually for. Not a long-term investment in taste, not a room designed for the version of yourself you might become, but a space that is unmistakably yours — right now.

The pivot came with a large industrial art piece I decided to put in my kitchen. Something with presence — raw material, cool tones, a scale that made no apologies for itself. Every conventional instinct said the kitchen wasn’t the place for it. The kitchen is functional, neutral, forgiving. You don’t take risks in the kitchen.

I took the risk. And it was the decision that made the whole apartment feel like mine.

The Committed Choice

What I’ve come to think of as the committed choice is exactly what it sounds like: one decision in a space made with full conviction rather than consensus. Not a safe anchor piece, not something chosen because it works with everything — but something chosen because it works on you. Because it stopped you. A conversation starter if you will. And don’t we all need that?

The committed choice is also, counterintuitively, the most timeless one. A room full of careful, neutral, broadly agreeable pieces has no point of view — and nothing ages faster than a space with no point of view. The bold piece you were afraid of, the one that felt like a risk, is almost always the one that gives a room its staying power. It is the thing people remember. And it is most likely the thing you keep.

The Stylist’s Edit

• Start with the piece that scares you a little. Not the one that goes with everything — the one you keep returning to. That pull is information. Follow it before you talk yourself out of it.

• No room is off limits. We have been taught to keep art, personality, and risk out of functional spaces. But take the kitchen for example. This is where you spend more time than almost anywhere else. It deserves the committed choice as much as any room.

• Cool tones read as confident, not cold. The fear around cooler palettes is that they will make a space feel unwelcoming. In practice, the opposite tends to be true. A room with something sharp and cool in it feels finished.

• One committed piece changes everything around it. You don’t need to redesign the room. The right piece recalibrates everything already there — and often makes the things you were unsure about suddenly make sense.

The instinct to decorate for longevity is understandable. And growing up where I did, it was more than an instinct — it was a value system. But longevity doesn’t come from choosing what everyone could love. It comes from choosing what you actually do. The risk is rarely the piece itself. The risk is the room that never quite becomes yours.

After years producing events for Prada, Gucci, Hermès, Netflix, and more, Kelsie Hayes – founder of Popup Florist – has opened her first permanent space: House of Three. With it she extends her practice beyond florals into something more fluid, somewhere between studio and event venue. A place for brands, artists, and creatives to gather, test ideas, and build things. Set in a former lighting showroom, it also answers a question she’s been asked for years: where should we host this?

First up when you walk in is the Collected Pantry: a glass-walled blue painted room lined with dozens of vases. Thrifted, vintage, a few newer pieces mixed in.

From there, the space opens into a living room. Pieces from Los Angeles, Long Island, and Italy sit together without trying to resolve into a single style, anchored by a floral loveseat by Vico Magistretti for Cassina. On the coffee table, objects from travels are placed loosely, clearly meant to be used as conversation starters rather than display.

At the back, the space becomes more functional. The Florist’s Kitchen is built for production as much as for gathering, centered around a large table by Arhaus that moves easily between prep, process, and dinner. Next to it, the Makers Studio opens up with natural light and direct views of the Empire State Building, set up for workshops that range from florals to ceramics to collage.

This weekend, House of Three hosts «Le Pop-Up» by Merci, c’est vintage. Founded by Mariana Vergara, the market is known in both Paris and New York for its tightly edited mix of antiques, vintage, and emerging designers. It’s tightly curated without feeling precious, and in a space like this, that balance lands exactly right.

House of Three, 15 W 28th Street, 4th Floor, New York

If you’ve known me for a while, you might know I used to run a cooking blog. Besides creating new dishes, the part I loved most was styling the table on set — handmade ceramic plates, flowy textiles, cutlery in all shapes and forms. I don’t run that project anymore, but this cutlery set would have had me completely.

The «Seven Ball Cutlery Set» by New York-based Jessi Burch takes its name and inspiration from Josef Hoffmann’s iconic «Seven Ball» chair — a nice piece of design history to carry into something you pick up every day. Burch started her career as a metalsmith, and this marked her entrance into home goods. It shows in the best way.

If I were to style the set now, I’d keep the plate simple and let the cutlery do the work. A dark wood table or a deep linen tablecloth underneath brings out the metal beautifully.

I have always gravitated toward warm interiors — walnut, oak, velvet, the soft diffused glow of a paper lamp. But working across many different spaces has made one thing very clear to me: a room that commits entirely to warmth risks becoming stuffy. I’m talking about the kind of space that has no air in it, nowhere for the eye to rest and reset.

The solution isn’t to abandon the warmth. It’s to interrupt it.

The Cold Break

What I refer to as a “cold break” is a principle I apply consistently in my work: introducing at least one element with a cooler, harder material quality into an otherwise earthy interior. Contrast is what makes any composition legible. A room styled without it, however carefully considered the individual pieces, will always read as lacking tension — and in a warm interior specifically, that absence tends to register as stuffiness.

From left to right: Metal Base Table Lamp, Set of Four Ice Coupes, Piero Polished Stainless Steel Serving Bowl

Where to Introduce It

In practice, the cold break rarely needs to be a dominant feature. Brushed aluminum is the quietest option — matte and technical, it brings a sharpness to a room that wood simply cannot. Stainless steel is the bolder choice: sharp, reflective, industrial, and best used when you want the contrast to actually land. A steel side table next to a wooden bookcase creates exactly the kind of tension a warm room needs. For a softer approach, glass and acrylic work just as well — transparent materials that introduce a cold break without adding visual weight, letting the warmth of the room breathe around them rather than pushing back against it.

The scale of the object matters less than the intentionality behind it. A brushed metal candleholder on a wooden shelf, a slim steel side table beside a velvet sofa — small interventions, but ones with an outsized effect on how a room reads as a whole.

From left to right: Brushed Steel Egg Sculpture, Motion Wall Cabinets, Elysia Candelabra

The Stylist’s Edit

• Don’t overthink the first step: Start with a single silver object – a candleholder, a tray, a frame – and see how it shifts the room before committing to anything larger. The effect is often immediate and telling.

• Change hardware: Metallic hardware is one of the most overlooked cold breaks. Switching out cabinet handles or drawer pulls to a brushed silver or steel finish can do the work of an entirely new accessory - without adding a single object to the room.

• Let furniture do the work: A console table or sofa with a silver or steel base introduces a cold break in a more understated way. Pay attention to these details when investing in a new piece.

• Think functional: A silver pitcher, metal coupe glasses on a shelf, a stainless steel bowl – utilitarian objects are an easy way to introduce a colder material without adding something purely decorative.

It all comes down to this: visual temperature needs variation. A room where every element belongs to the same thermal register, however beautiful, will always lack the contrast that makes a space feel fully resolved. The cold break is what closes that gap – and in my experience, it’s one of the most effective tools in interior styling.

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