Moss By Design
Comforting, secluded spaces are hard to come by in Manhattan, where crowds rule and quiet time is virtually unheard of.
Vicky Charles of Charles & Co actualized this elusive New York City hideaway throughout Moss’s five floors (including the beautiful private club lobby), following her signature design ethos. A home from home: cozy yet theatrical spaces that capture New York City’s energy and excitement while also offering sanctuary from them. Charles’s style is world-renowned for its eclecticism and historical gravitas, while still maintaining an undeniable air of comfort.
Moss’s interiors came together as a seamless blend of worlds. Reeded walnut paneling and Venetian plaster are set against custom mosaic floors composed of Dark Emperador, Elazig Cherry, and Calacatta Golden tiles. Plush details, like velvet mohair upholstery and vintage rugs, sit in supple contrast to the strong stone finishes. Each floor is illuminated with custom wall sconces and pendants, while a hand-blown glass chandelier warmly welcomes guests in the lobby.
Our club’s bars, restaurants, and alcoves each have distinct features to set specific moods. Our main restaurant, Babette’s corner bar, Bar Babette, boasts 22-foot ceilings, with the building’s monumental arches framing patrons’ views of Fifth Avenue. And to add a touch of drama—and capitalize on the double-height ceilings—a custom 14-foot-tall, three-tier chandelier of hand-blown crystal globes and antique brass armature serves as a to-scale centerpiece for the space.
In our piano lounge, Lil’s, activity centers around the Steinway & Sons Baby Grand Piano, flanked by vintage area rugs, walnut lounge chairs, and oak banquette seating, with glowy brass accents—a cozy foil to Bar Babette’s grandeur.
Our music listening room, Off The Record, is paradise found for audiophiles and analog DJs. The intimate space is outfitted with a McIntosh MT10 record player and custom-color Meridian DSP3200 speakers. Millwork with storage and shelving for the audio system, along with wide-plank oak flooring, envelops the space in an acoustic hug.
Our library bar, Inklings, has many leather-bound books and smells of rich mahogany—no, really. Custom shelving with antique mirror backings showcases our collection of books and art objects. The space also serves as a pre- and post-function gathering place for The Symposium, Moss’s Intelligent Leisure hub-meets-lecture hall.
Perhaps after drinks at Inklings and a lecture on Shakespeare’s sonnets in The Symposium, you would follow the narrative through to the wall covering in one of Moss’s private dining rooms. The hanging is a reproduction from a suite of 17th-century tapestries at Wolterton Hall, a country house in Norfolk, England, dating from 1742. It illustrates the mythological woodland setting of Shakespeare’s Venus and Adonis—lush, romantic, and full of quiet tension. A great conversation starter for a dinner party, if we do say so ourselves!
At Moss, old meets new—with all the pomp of a private club in London and all the energy of a night out in NYC.