A Design-Lover’s Guide to the Cultural Capital of the World
Dreaming of visiting New York City? From under-the-radar stores to free galleries, writer Sangeeta Kocharekar reveals the Big Apple's must-do places for the aesthetically inclined.
When writing a design guide to New York City, how long is a piece of string? Even the most comprehensive list barely scratches the surface. The city is brimming with design museums and galleries; stylish stores and restaurants; and architecture that’ll make you pause in wide-eyed appreciation.
I recently spent nearly two weeks in the city, visiting my brother and friends, soaking it all in. I sought out visually striking spaces and stumbled on others, leaving with tens of thousands of steps in my Health app and a list of the best design-forward places I went. If you’re visiting NYC anytime soon and love design too, here’s where I suggest you go.
Cafes, restaurants and bars
If you're a fan of food with a side of fabulous interior design, bookmark these places for your next NYC visit.
Designers Collab, Williamsburg, Brooklyn
I found Designers Collab accidentally while looking to rest my feet and get an iced matcha before an early dinner at Misi, a 15-minute walk away. It’s light and airy, part café and part design shop. While waiting for coffee, you can admire sustainably-made, small-batch homewares unique enough that house guests would ask about them.
Manuela, SoHo, Lower Manhattan
Manuela (pictured) is an art gallery-meets-restaurant – colorful but tastefully done. An installation of mushroom lights with twisted stems hangs above the bar, anchored by red, green and yellow tables. On the way to the bathroom, you’ll constantly stop to admire original art, including an umbrella-sized spider sculpture.
Selene, SoHo, Lower Manhattan
Another restaurant to mention, though with no fine art, just photo-worthy interiors, is three-floor Greek eatery Selene. Described in a press release as “Aegean minimalism, reframed by New York”, it was all white-washed concrete floors, palm trees, white banquettes and a pink terracotta staircase that wound down to the basement.
Ray-Ban House, SoHo, Lower Manhattan
Another hybrid venue, Ray-Ban House (pictured) is a two-storey townhouse with a store selling Ray-Bans, of course, including some styles exclusive to the location, and a restaurant. It’s sleek with chrome walls and tables, accented by signature Ray-Ban red floors and seats. Even if you aren’t dining at its restaurants, it’s worth popping in. Fun fact: the venue launched at a Met Gala afterparty.
Liz's Book Bar, Caroll Gardens, Brooklyn
Another venue I loved with standout design was Liz’s Book Bar, a bookstore, café and wine bar packed with WFH locals. A true community hotspot, the shop frequently hosts talks with other authors, as well as puzzle socials, writing workshops and wine tastings.
Fast Times, SoHo, Lower Manhattan
Situated in SoHo, Fast Times (pictured) is a café inside store Buck Mason featuring Chesterfield leather couches, hanging rice paper lamps and double-storey shelves housing 1000 vintage books.
Stores
For artful knick-knacks, vintage furniture and cool fusion concept stores, Brooklyn is an undisputed winner. Below, the neighborhoods and stylish stores to stash in your Notes app (plus a bonus one in Manhattan that's not to be missed).
Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
“Creative, independent and local” are the three words the co-founders of homewares store Porta used to describe Brooklyn neighborhood Boerum Hill, where Porta’s located.
Aside from their shop, which sells whimsical, colorful home décor, the area’s also home to vintage furniture stores Humble House and Cabin Modern (this one’s in Cobble Hill), the Ace Hotel, which should give it another stamp of creative approval, and The Invisible Dog Art Center, a three-storey, former factory that hosts exhibitions, performances and workshops.
Living in Australia, a younger country with far less vintage stock, I was taken aback by the sheer density of NYC’s antique shops. Horseman Antiques (pictured) is a prime example: open for 60 years, its buyers source from estate sales and auctions, packing the space so tightly that chairs are stacked on tables near ceiling-hung lamps.
Greenpoint, Brooklyn
If you're after something a bit less crowded than Horseman Antiques and with more modern pieces, head to Glory, which is owned by a mother-daughter team who started with a collection of items brought over from California.
Also in Greenpoint are the side-by-side Dashi Okume and House Brooklyn, a warehouse-style Japanese eatery-meets-grocery-store and home goods shop. Their minimalist, calming interiors lean heavily into raw materials. Down the street is Teak New York (pictured), a Scandi-focused design store selling furniture, lighting, home décor and gifts.
Financial District, Lower Manhattan
On the shop front, one of the most striking buildings I saw in the city unexpectedly turned out to be a shopping centre and transportation hub with stores like Apple and Sephora. Called the Oculus, it was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava to look like a white bird being released from a child’s hands – fitting as it’s part of the World Trade Center site. Inside, it felt like standing in the belly of a massive whale.
Museums and Galleries
They say the city’s home to between 1000 and 1500 art galleries, with nearly 100 in Chelsea alone. Be sure to check opening hours before you head to one, though, as many open late morning and are closed on Sundays and Mondays. Read on for the NYC galleries to add to your itinerary.
American Museum of Natural History
This four-floor wing of the American Museum of Natural History, opened in 2023, is easily one of the coolest interior spaces in NYC. It’s like stepping into a cave with undulating, concrete walls. The centre describes its build as “spectacular architecture designed to spark your curiosity”.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
I also visited The Met – the Fifth Avenue location, where The Met Gala’s held, different to The Met Cloisters – where the architecture is far more impressive on the historical front. Its Fifth Avenue façade, where everyone lines up outside for tickets and all the celebrities pose on Met Gala night, and its Great Hall were built in 1902. You can also see some of its original 1880 red-brick and limestone structure today.
Free-to-enter art galleries
A short stroll from The Met in the Upper East Side, you'll find a cluster of free-to-enter art galleries, including Leila Heller (pictured), Onishi and Skarstedt, which hold original works by Picasso and Miro.
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