The Garden Room

The Design

Tucked behind a hidden bookshelf, Maxwell's Garden Room is feminine, bright and romantic. Guests have described it as a Cotswolds country kitchen meets French Versailles. The inspiration was the private members clubs of the English countryside where rooms were built for comfort and long evenings.

The kitchen anchors the space with deep green cabinetry, a maroon tile backsplash and a custom Winkelmans tile floor. There's a tufted nook upholstered in Pierre Frey fabric in one corner. Four Vaughan Designs chandeliers run the length of the room and a Cox London floral chandelier hangs alongside them. A Gracie Chinoiserie frieze runs along the top of the walls with hand-painted birds and botanicals the whole way around.

The Layout

The room seats 45 for dinner and holds 100 for a cocktail party. We've hosted a 50-person Champions League watch party in here with Bayern Munich here. A Kentucky Derby afternoon with Gigi Burriss and mint juleps. A chef prepared a multi-course dinner here in the Garden Room kitchen for a Samsung dinner series. Elopement ceremonies with a fancy dinner and 100-person afterparty. Draper James shot content here with Reese Witherspoon. We’ve hosted Blake Lively here for her Betty Booze event and Julia Fox’s stoop sale with e-bay and run-a-muck.

The room gets strong natural light throughout the day, which is why it books regularly for content shoots, brand campaigns, company offsites, and daytime symposiums. It tends to attract brands and hosts with a feminine, design-forward sensibility.

It works well for surprise birthday parties, baby showers, rehearsal dinners, product launches, private chef dinners, and dinner parties in New York City. It's on the smaller side for a full wedding but we've done elopement ceremonies and wedding after-parties here regularly.

There are three separate bar areas in the Garden Room. For a full private event the medium garden kitchen converts into a service bar with staff behind the counter and a full cocktail program. On lighter nights the small kitchen nook runs bar service on its own. When the room is at capacity the glass bar opens as a beer and wine station. Most events run one or two of the three depending on the size and format of the night.

The Patio

The Garden Room opens onto a private terrace out back — a former Tribeca loading dock that holds 30 people and sits completely off the street. There are umbrellas overhead and enough space for a pre-dinner reception or a separate standing area when the room inside is full. Golden Hour here is particularly beautiful.

Florals

The Garden Room was made for flowers: Cowtan & Tout embroidered café curtains with hand-stitched floral patterns, natural textures throughout, floral wallpaper, a palette that makes botanicals feel completely at home.

Our partnership with Venus et Fleur means there's a floral installation in the space most of the time, ranging from preserved roses to dried sculptural arrangements. For fresh florals we work with dedicated arranging partners who design specifically for the room. The room handles every variation from big dramatic arrangements to simple greenery and fresh seasonal flowers.

It's become a preferred space for brands and hosts who want flowers to be part of the story.

The Tabletop

The tablescaping in the Garden Room runs toward the lighter end with wicker, rattan, natural linen and handmade ceramics. We work with Noon and Moon on plates and tableware that fit the room's country-house sensibility and sit naturally against the green cabinetry and tile.

For brunch the table has fresh juice in Viski glassware, linen napkins, rattan placemats, bud vases scattered across the table. The natural light in the room handles the rest.

Dinner is the fullest version of the table. Charger plates under the Noon and Moon ceramics, tapered candles the length of it, Viski coupes and wine glasses at every setting, linen napkins folded at each place, a printed menu and place cards at each seat. The Vaughan chandeliers turned down low. Food comes out plated or family style depending on the event. The table is set the same way whether it's 12 people or 45.