Collecting design
Three west-side design showrooms
GOODS & SERVICES • FOUND Shops
Three west-side design showrooms set in brownstones that offer a lived-in way to shop for home decor.
HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT: To the untrained eye, The Future Perfect looks like a normal, residential West Village brownstone. Once inside, it’s a different story. Every room in the four-floor townhouse is staged to look like a space someone (with very chic, expensive taste) actually lives in (above). Displaying the homewares and art in situ is meant to encourage visitors envisioning these items in their homes, as all pieces are available for purchase. Shelves are lined with small, special items, too — like a silver martini coup encrusted with garnets and abalone shells — making it easy to picture how they would look on your kitchen shelf. Other placements are… less traditional. Witness a 6-foot tall, $10K copper sculptural floor lamp casually plugged in next to a functional bathtub, or a large-scale In Common With blown-glass table lamp set up inside the basement wine fridge. It’s attention-grabbing, even if that’s not exactly how you’d style them yourself.
→ Shop: The Future Perfect (West Village) • 8 St Luke’s Pl • By appointment only.
EAST COAST HOMECOMING: Celebrity-favorite, LA-based interior designers Todd Nickey and Amy Kehoe opened their first Nickey Kehoe store in a historic Greenwich Village brownstone last spring. This was a homecoming of sorts, as the pair originally met in NYC. The building itself has historical significance, too — it was once home to Jackson Pollock during his early career. The basement floor holds a curation of practical-but-beautiful household items, like hand towels by Spanish brand Autumn Sonata or bars of soap by Wonder Valley. The main floor is more expansive, dedicated to custom-made couches, lighting, textiles, and wallpapers, as well as vintage one-of-a-kind ceramics and fine art. The soaring ceilings with preserved period details serve as a fitting backdrop. All these large-scale pieces are arranged as they would be in a customer’s home, if that home was designed by Todd and Amy. Everything fits within their point of view.
→ Shop: Nickey Kehoe (Greenwich Village) • 49 E 10th St • Mon-Sat, 10a-6p.
SEEING GREEN: Just off Fifth Ave., Eerdmans is a hidden haven for art and antiques. Interior designer Emily Evans Eerdmans lives in the upper floors of the brownstone and operates her studio and showroom out of the garden-level and parlor-level floors. The warm space exists in direct opposition to other (borderline-sterile) design stores on East 10th. It’s immediately apparent that you’re inside someone’s actual home — Emily’s specifically. Guests are greeted by either her cat (Babs) or pug (Pompey), who often tries to escape out the front door. The gallery itself is painted in Eerdmans’s signature lime green, and houses rare vintage furniture and lighting for sale as well as a series of rotating art exhibits. The adjoining private courtyard is used for events or rotating exhibits’ opening parties, furnished with a patio set that’s a similar bright, neon green. Eerdmans’ accompanying website sells books she’s authored on interior design, and additional home decor items not available to shop in person. (Eerdmans is also popping up at Bergdorfs as part of their new Charish partnership, in a booth built to feel like the downtown domain.) Eerdmans believes objects should be lived with as well as appreciated — shoppers in her special showroom will leave feeling the same. –Caitlin Pangares
→ Shop: Eerdmans (Greenwich Village) • 14 E 10th St • Tue-Fri 10a-6p, Sat 11a-5p, or by appointment.