Nickey Kehoe New York Opens Its Doors in Greenwich Village
Author:Jessica RitzLeaving the Nickey Kehoe showroom and shop on Beverly Boulevard in L.A. can require discipline and effort. The duo’s brand of richly layered spaces are ideal for lingering and discovery; there’s always another patterned sofa to sit upon, lushly textured towel to feel, or vintage ceramic jug to admire. And as of last month, founders Todd Nickey and Amy Kehoe have a similarly immersive yet distinct New York outpost where customers and clients can experience their signature style.
“We have so much trade business on the East Coast and in the Tri-state area specifically,” Nickey says while merchandise is being put into place in what’s dubbed the Household retail shop that’s tucked into the lower level of the Greenwich Village storefront on East 10th Street in preparation for the opening party that coincided with New York Design Week. Upstairs inside the historic row house, team members are adding another polish to the vignettes within the Salon, which has been soft open since April.
When Nickey and Kehoe, who began their design partnership in 2004 after they worked and met in New York City, started to talk in earnest about having a Manhattan presence, the pieces fell into place. “Went to see Imogen at Plain English just to say hi,” Nickey says, referencing Imogen Pritchard, design director of the beloved bespoke British kitchen design company. Two floors with a total of 4,000 square feet happened to be available in the building next door. “It was more serendipitous than strategic,” he reflects. The proximity to other design industry draws such as Maison Gerard, Bernd Goeckler, Hostler Burrows, and Eerdmans is a bonus, too. “We’ve always loved these streets like Tenth, Eleventh and Twelfth. It was just too good of a thing to pass up,” Nickey adds.
A glance around the comfortably appointed rooms instantly explains the designers’ response to this gem. While the below-grade level needed heavier intervention to become transformed into an enticing small goods and household items boutique (complete with an outdoor space), the upstairs rooms radiate genteel elegance, with a dramatic multicolored Murano glass chandelier, high ceilings, original moldings, and ample natural light. “It feels like such a residential space, whereas L.A. is a huge bow trusts building,” Nickey observes. “Things just show completely differently,” whether it’s furniture and lighting from the NK Collection, the brand’s wallpapers that include new additions, or rare vintage finds. Plus this real estate comes with major Manhattan art legacy bona fides, having been Jackson Pollock’s one-time home during his early peripatetic days downtown during the 1930s. “It’s very welcoming,” Nickey says about the mix of simpatico neighboring businesses. On this special block, adjacencies are complementary without being competitive. “Community begets community.”
Shop the Salon that is located at: 49 East 10th Street, New York, 10003; (646) 970-0020
