Get the Look of NYC's Prettiest New Restaurants
A couple months ago, my phone kept blowing up with texts from my friends in the restaurant world: “Hey, girl! Want to get breakfast this week?” “It’s been so long! Should we meet for lunch?” The drinks invitations had suddenly vanished. And then I realize what all these people really had on the brain. The subtext was: “Want to check out De Maria?”
The buzzy NYC cafe has become an instant all-day destination thanks to Chef Camille Becerra’s vibrant fare—think cucumber jasmine lime tonics and grain bowls adorned with turmeric poached eggs—and because it’s just so damn good-looking.
That clean, neutral, just-sleek-enough vibe is the work of Amy Morris and Anna Polonsky, co-founders of the design and branding studio The MP Shift. In what seems like no time at all, they've gotten their hands into some of the most charming spaces in NYC and beyond, adding a distinctive feminine vibe that's both retro and new.
We asked Morris and Polonsky for their tips on how to get some of this urban chic into our homes, so we don’t have to camp out at De Maria for the rest of our lives. (Not that we’d mind… Can we get a bone broth refill, please?)
Courtesy of Heidi's Bridge1/6Keep the Barn Wood on the Farm
“For a long time, dark wood was everywhere. But people are naturally drawn to light,” says Morris. “We’re more interested in clean lines and light materials, like you see with the furniture line Stellar Works ,” Polonsky adds. At De Maria, they swapped dark wood tables for other worn-in materials, like alternating copper and warm-toned leather tabletops. Also check out Stellar Works's outdoor furniture, which offers a refreshing alternative to barn-wood beer tables.
2/6Color Is Calming
In all of The MP Shift’s recent designs, white, clean spaces are married with pops of color. De Maria gets the dusty rose and soft teal treatment, while Otway, in Brooklyn, sticks to white with ochre and other earth-tone accents. “People don’t always understand that you can add elements of color that are beautiful but still have a calming effect,” says Morris. Select one or two colors that speak to you and use them sparingly.
Photo by Camila Cossio3/6Copper is Queen
At Verde, the new salad-focused all-day spot in the Flatiron, Morris and Polonsky relied heavily on copper as an accent. The sconces were made by Cedar & Moss, and the pendants came from Souda. Copper also shows up on all the tables, and copper piping and clips from Urban Outfitters adorn the menu boards. To kick off your copper game, start small. Polonsky encourages starting with kitchen utensils. “People always think of chrome or brass but copper is actually historically traditional for kitchens,” she says. They love these utensil sets from Urban Outfitters, this coffee set from West Elm, or this cocktail shaker from W&P.
Photo by Heidi's Bridge4/6Put Down Some Roots
Fig trees are everyone’s hip green friend, but, these days, Polonsky and Morris opt for huge agave plants instead. “The best source [in NYC] is the Flower District,” says Polonsky. “We like the staff and supply at Foliage Paradise, and Jamali is best for pots.” If your local plant store doesn't have what you're after, they can likely order it for you.
Photo by Josh Dickinson5/6Style Your Tile
At all-day cafes, white subway tiles are like gluten-free pastries—you gotta have at least some. When they were designing Tilda All Day, now Otway, the original tiles were a mess of colors. The MP Shift didn’t have time or the budget to remove them, so instead they got crafty, using white acrylic latex paint to cover the existing tiles. With a bit of cleaning and priming, you can give old tile an updated look. Talk to someone at your hardware store about the best types of primer and paint.
Photo by Heidi's Bridge6/6If It's Broke, Don't Fix It
Before it was De Maria, the space on Kenmare Street was a dark restaurant with tiled walls and built-in wooden shelves. Polonsky and Morris wanted to get rid of the shelving but didn’t want to retile the entire wall, so they filled in the cracks with smaller, mismatched pieces of tile and copper. The outcome is a subtle imperfection, a detail that gives the space character. “Let go of the preconceived notion that everything has its place,” says Morris. “Just put things in a place that feels good to you.”
