Big news! Following on from the debut of its minimal loft apartment in London, Danish design brand Menu has expanded across the pond and opened a brand-new showroom in New York. Designed to complement the company’s industrial-style HQ in Nordhavn, Copenhagen – opened in 2017 and created in collaboration with Norm Architects – Menu Space New York will serve as the brand’s new US outpost, from which it can launch new products and collaborations, and host events.
Housed in an old, historic loft building in the hip, arty neighbourhood of SoHo, the new showroom has been conceived as a little slice of Copenhagen in the Big Apple. The team has brought a sense of warmth and cosiness to loft living, with rich, velvety curtains and soft, natural textures. And just like in London, the brand’s area sales manager gets to call this space home. Jealous? Me too! I wish I lived here.
The feel of the space is cool artist’s loft, with paint splattered canvases leaning against the walls and neat piles of arty tomes on every surface. It’s part showroom, part gallery, part home, with plinths displaying sculptural details and designs that blur the boundaries between furniture and art. Menu’s minimal designs are arranged throughout the open-plan space, creating cosy nooks for eating, relaxing and entertaining.
‘The idea is to keep Menu Space moving and ever changing. To have friends of the house and people we admire stop by on a regular basis and help shape the interior layout – ensuring that we always have a vibrant, creative, lively space that continues to inspire our neighbours, visitors, friends, clients, and designers,’ says design director Joachim Kornbæk Engell-Hansen.
The huge space has been zoned with soft, velvety rugs and heavy curtains that soften the monumental architectural details, like the pillar above, that pierce through the space. Inspired by functionalism and the Bauhaus school of art, Menu’s Afteroom dining chairs have a beautiful minimal expression, deconstructed and stripped of unnecessary components. The versions you see above are the Dining Chair Plus, with a wider backrest and upholstering to both the seat and the backrest. The neutral tones of the chairs, accessories and even the walls creates a calm, peaceful setting – no object is fighting over another for attention.
The living area is darker and cosier, with various different surfaces to display lamps, objects and magazines. I like how the tall window, simple picture frame, curtain and coffee tables frame the clean lines of the Offset sofa by Norm Architects. It’s been accessorised to perfection, everything positioned at just the right height.
Menu isn’t just known for its furniture but beautiful accessories too. They have some lovely vases at the moment, from the elegant glass Échasse above to the simple, raw, unglazed Cyclades below – both create a simple, sculptural display, whether filled with fresh flowers or displayed empty.
The bedroom is kept simple with white walls and white furniture, what more do you need in a room for relaxing and sleeping.
Every home needs a peaceful corner to work. Sustainably-produced in porcelain and now available in a light grey hue, the Douwes lamp and socket is a clever addition – designed by Lotte Douwe, you can use it as a task light as well as to charge your phone.
I think the Menu Space might just have everything you need, what do you think, could you live here?
Menu currently has spaces in Copenhagen, London, Hong Kong and New York.
All images: Nicole Franzen, courtesy Menu
