The thing that makes visiting (or living in) New York worth every penny is that you don’t have to go out of your way looking for inspiration. You might be struck by a vintage sign advertising color TVs in the East Village; a grandpa on the Upper East Side pairing bright red socks with his loafers; or that never-gets-old view of the Brooklyn Bridge from an elevated subway track. Design is, indeed, everywhere in NYC, but sometimes you need a bit of a roadmap to plot your next moment of awe.
Like many New Yorkers, I derive a lot of joy from looking at pretty things and existing in cool spaces. When I feel like I’m staring at a blank page—or I just want to spend a weekend more intentionally—the places below are the ones I turn to for a creative spark. These spots span boroughs and cover art, architecture, and fashion—from former artist residences and Japanese-inspired stationery stores to restaurants and spas with covetable interiors.
For the aesthetes who have already seen the latest exhibition at MoMA, this weekend guide for design lovers is intended to point you in a few other directions (and no, this does not include that viral room full of dirt in SoHo).
Jump to:
Uptown
For many New Yorkers, to go uptown is to go to the museum. And while the Metropolitan Museum of Art holds down the fort, there are a few other players along Museum Mile that always seem to take me by surprise whenever I visit. The Cooper Hewitt, for instance, showcases “design objects” in the broadest sense that span across centuries—you might find an Egyptian ceramic from 1100 BCE in one room, and a Swedish midcentury-modern lamp in another. It’s also a lovely hangout spot; earlier this year, the museum hosted a Hi-Fi listening room, and when the weather’s nice, visitors can take advantage of the garden (tickets are not required and Wi-Fi is free), admiring the gorgeous architecture of Andrew Carnegie’s former mansion.
A short walk away, the Neue Galerie, which specializes in early 20th-century German and Austrian art, is where I go to gush over furniture designed by the likes of Josef Hoffmann and Adolf Loos. The museum is set to reopen on November 12 for its 20th anniversary, but in the meantime, you can visit the stunning Café Sabarsky—the Viennese restaurant located within the museum—and pretend you’re at the helm of the next great intellectual movement with your friends over fancy whipped-cream-topped coffees.
Further downtown, in Midtown East, the Paul Rudolph Institute is a must for anyone who enjoyed The Brutalist. Join the monthly open house at the Rudolph-designed duplex within the iconic Modulightor building, once the headquarters of the lighting company the architect co-founded with his life partner, Ernst Wagner. Docents are on-site to answer any questions as you wind your way through the all-white apartment, with its disjointed staircases and built-in shelving units, though private tours are also available.
