NYC spots for maximalists
The art of way too much (as it manifests in my favorite restaurants, cafes, and decor shops)
I just hung the most recent painting I got from Mother of Junk on my so-called ‘gallery wall’ that I’ve been trying to build in my studio apartment for the past two years. The painting isn’t one that I’m head over heels for, but it was $65 and fit the chaos and mismatched hues of its soon-to-be wallmates. The pieces of art in my apartment are mutts- no specific breed is detectable, and I knew this piece would be right at home on its rusty nail, slightly crooked.
I’m 26 years old and have zero credentials toward anything interior design related, buuuut, when writing this piece, I was thinking about how a special exercise to do in your 20s is to look back on the way you decorated old spaces and the way you’re starting to decorate them now. The rooms you decorated with college roommates, the way you decorated your first New York apartment, the first sort of “big-kid” apartment you get in your late 20s…
Also, you know when you realize you’re becoming your parents? My dad and grandmother have always been the biggest collectors and have embraced shelves and shelves of trinkets from all walks of life, mismatched shapes, colors, patterns- most being secondhand scores from small antique sales or flea markets. Now, lots of new spaces are shifting to design with the same principals- try a bunch of random stuff out and see if it works. Maybe there is an art to this curation that I’ve totally missed, but the art of doing way too much has never appealed to me more.
The cool thing about spaces in New York right now is that the obsession with “clean/minimalist/barebones” that had every new 2023/2024 restaurant in a chokehold seems to slowly be phasing out, so I thought I’d put together a list of spaces that are embracing colorful chaos- from restaurants to cafes to home decor.
I also wrote about a lot of other ‘maximalist’ spots in one of my older newsletters, 10 NYC interiors that stop time, so I won’t bore you with a lot of repeats, but some of my favorite maximalist mentions there are:
Maximalist Dining
1. Turks Inn
Bushwick
The original location of the Turks Inn was actually not in Bushwick, but rather in Wisconsin, and many folks who study interiors for a living know about and have analyzed the wacky design of their original supper club from the 70’s that was shut down and (now plopped right into Brooklyn.)
The exterior looks like something you’d find in a strip mall in a small town- it’s theatrical and ironic backdrop for the cool kids of the neighborhood to be photographed. The flavor on the inside is cherry red with different colored glasses on every table, a massive painting of a prissy cat, and figurines lined up on shelves that I tried to investigate up close, but ended up getting too many confused looks from everyone eating there to continue doing so. The table under the cat painting is tailor made for a large group celebratory dinner (it did used to be a supper club, after all) with many many date martinis and surprisingly good food.
2. Cafe Carlyle
Upper East Side
You’ve probably gone to or have heard of Bemelman’s bar, which is also a maximalist dream, but if you can convince yourself to not wait an hour in line for a martini, and instead the path less traveled at the slight right entrance of the bar, you’ll walk down velvet stairs to find the stunning Cafe Carlyle [where you can get the same martini, btw].
I actually think the cafe, which was made for “power lunches” and fine-ish dining in the evening, might be more beautiful than the bar. This is where I actually got my inspiration to mix different color dining chairs (I also straight up copied their red-ish-orange + dark green combo), as they’re the perfect mismatch to the leopard print wallpaper.
3. Kalei cafe + gallery
Lower East Side
When I heard about Kalei opening, I expected it to be very similar to its neighbors in the LES— coffee shops with a few paintings from local artists that you can purchase for a few thousand dollars with your cold brew, but ended up being a delight of a third space.
They DO serve coffee and a few pastries, but the main offerings are a mix of vintage Ikea furniture that I could (maybe) afford, cool and colorful art I cannot for the life of me afford, a patio that looks like a chess board, and a huge roof you can relax on (I don’t think you even have to buy anything to hang here). It’s also one of those funhouse spaces that has many rooms and floors you can explore, all with different slices of the color wheel.
4. Pitt’s
Redhook
I heard someone call Pitt’s ““farmhouse chic”” on Instagram and it upset me. Yes, there is an above average amount of farm-animal-related decor, but farmhouse chic is a description for that style of southern wedding where you add a chandelier to a barn and put alfalfa in large vases on tables that are purposefully chipping in paint. Maybe because I’m from Virginia this is overly specific, but Pitt’s slogan is “A Joyful Mess”, and I’ve never agreed with a description more.
The wallpaper has carrots, there are duck lamps that illuminate bottles of wine beneath their nest, and I can guarantee that you will be watched by the pig in the chef hat on the bar as you devour your pancake soufflé. Pitt’s has exceptional food and exceptional design, something that isn’t always paired together- and you’ll leave with a good taste in your mouth and probably a gum ball from one of the many machines throughout the spot.
5. Portrait Bar
Flatiron
Portrait bar has the potential to be gimmicky, and truthfully, I was skeptical. It’s in a hotel, there are so many viral videos about it, and it’s not in a part of the city I’d go out of my way for. My mom and I ended up going because we needed a last minute reservation, they supposedly had a good burger, and I wanted a hotel-bar dirty martini (does anyone else understand what I mean by this? lol).
Both the food and the interior ended up exceeding our expectations. Every single inch of the wall is covered with a different portrait. If I had a few more martinis, I’d probably be convinced that some of these faces were starting to wink at me, but the fullness from the french onion dip and burger (that were truly stellar), took precedent over any sort of impairment as the burger certainly goes in my top 10, if not top 5.
6. Ella Funt
East Village
When Ella Funt opened a few years ago, I remember going on opening week and saying to my boyfriend over a mezcal espresso martini- this is exactly how I want my apartment to look one day. I remember seeing a headline talking about Ella Funt being the Maximalist Revival of the dining scene, specifically for the Queer community as the location was previously Club 82, one of the most historic drag clubs in the books.
The mural in the main room, painted by Marcus Jahmal, reflects in the mirrored wall on the opposite side of the room, creating a prism of reds, blues, and greens that make everyone in the restaurant (who is already sexy), even sexier. It’s romantic, it’s daring, the food is good, the drinks are better, and you should find an excuse to go to the bathroom a few times to admire the art on the wall of the first room while you wait in line.
Maximalist furniture + home
1. Showplace
Chelsea
I wandered into showplace after an hour or so at the Chelsea Flea. It was a hot day, the Flea didn’t have any hits, and I saw a few cool vases in the window of this store and figured I’d enjoy the air conditioning, if anything. The few vases in the window were an optical illusion for the massive room just up the stairs that unveiled hundreds and hundreds of pieces of furniture from estate sales.
The owner told me they try to source art-deco and postmodern maximalist pieces- pieces with some damn personality they called it, alluding to the white marble granite furniture stores that clutter Chelsea’s streets. It was the type of place that had so many things I almost had tears in my eyes, I didn’t know where to start. It’s also the type of place you should come to with a friend or a parent, someone who will stop you from stress spending on a new petit chandelier or sconce.
2. Dream Fishing Tackle
Greenpoint
Dream Fishing Tackle is so packed to the brim with items to look at, and if you take too big of a breath you might literally knock something over. It’s incredibly narrow, shelves are piled high with cherry sculptures, jaguars, swivel chairs, and the store is harshly lit with Guizini lamps. It is a true emporium of both art deco and postmodern pieces in what feels like one big yard sale, and the funny this is- they do actually sell fishing equipment.
If you have a question about the price on one of the pieces, you might have to wait a few minutes for their elderly owner to finish his cigarette or his lunch- they certainly aren’t rushing around here and have retained the feel of Polish Greenpoint before it was gentrified to the trendy epicenter it is now. The prices are high, some maybe not worth the high ticket, but they know cool Brooklyn kids™ now are willing to pay for what feels like the “gem” they just thrifted, and the prices reflect such.
He will haggle with you a bit, though, if you wanted to try and make a lower offer. If you like Picasso as much as I do, but don’t want to drop 1k on a Picasso print, they have many paintings from Peter Keil that are a similar vibe.
3. Dobbin Street
Greenpoint
Don’t get mad at me. I know everyone knows about Dobbin, but their Norman Avenue location always has the most kitschy stuff to look at. Last time I was there, they had a huge vintage ice cream cone that used to be an old piggy bank of sorts, and larger than life McDonalds fries figurine. Once you wipe away the cobwebs of the theatrical novelty pieces, they actually have some really great practical furniture that has a lot of shelving (think cool vintage backlit shelves), inexpensive art, and funky glassware FOR those shelves. I got my console table from here for $310, and it’s a postmodern dream with lots of storage and a faded pink-ish marble exterior.
4. Elpida Vintage
South Slope
Nothing about Elpida is typically affordable, but damn their seating selection is a sight to see. The reason I’m even including Elpida in this list is because it’s somewhere to go for inspo, and hell, if you have 8k to drop on a couch, then I guess you came to the right place- we’re talking red leather ribbon chairs, cobalt togo couches, and zebra boucles. It’s near prospect park, so go get a coffee, take a stroll, stop by the showroom, take photos of all of the things you’re obsessed with, and find similar items for lower prices if you can.
5. Mociun
Williamsburg
Eeeeeeverything at Mociun is maximalist heaven. This is undoubtably the spot for funky glassware, dinnerware, placemats, and candles for those that like to put together a tablescape, or like to use glassware as decor like I do. They also have giraffes, pancakes, and cats (oh my!) ceramics that are crying out to be homed on one of your shelves. No, the price for that glass is not for the set of glasses, it’s for that one glass, so don’t expect any mercy from an employee here when you ask that same question I did, but the items in here would definitely be something I’d ask for as a gift for a special occasion or as a little splurge.
6. Mother of Junk
Williamsburg
I opened my newsletter with Mother of Junk, so I felt the need to close it with Mother of Junk, as well. Every time I go here I get yelled at. The first time I went, I took a photo of the paintings that I was considering and got yelled at for that. The second time when I went back and bought a painting and asked for them to keep it there for a half of a day so I could sort out transportation, I got yelled at. But look- I SWEAR it’s very worth a paruse on a day where you aren’t hungover or exhausted and have the stamina to pick through thousands of secondhand items to find your treasure. There are few things in the store over $100, so this is a really good place to go if you’re decorating an apartment with a low budget and need to temporarily (or permanently if you find a gem) fill whitespace with some potentially ok art.
Mother of Junk sounds amazing (yelling aside haha). You always have the best lists!
AHHH from one collector/trinket/ antique lover to another you know I'm living for this