The NYCxDesign spectacles you’re about to see all over Instagram

Today marks the start of New York City’s annual month of design festivities, collectively called NYCxDesign. As in years past, the city will be abuzz with designers unveiling new furniture and decor collections, showrooms making splashy debuts, and, of course, a whole lot of eye candy popping up all over, from individual shops and hotels to the heart of Times Square. And you betcha all this will be going down feverishly on Instagram.

Whether or not you’ll be in New York this month, here’s a guide to some of the NYCxDesign attractions you’re likely to see on social media over and over in the coming weeks.

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“Inside/Out”: Outdoor furniture, but make it fun

Taking over Vale Park, the elevated green space next to Williamsburg’s The William Vale hotel, this installation curated by Kin & Company and Asa Pingree will showcase vibrant and unexpected takes on outdoor furniture from more than 20 emerging American designers. Rest assured this is an installation you can sit on freely.

Open to the public through May 28.

Courtesy The William Vale

Casa Perfect: The most designy townhouse

Design gallery The Future Perfect opened its second Casa Perfect, a “residential gallery experience”, in a showstopping West Village townhouse this past spring; the first Casa Perfect opened in LA in 2017. This month, Casa Perfect NYC debuts “Romancing the Stone”, an exhibition of new works by Chen Chen & Kai Williams. The combination of modern urban oasis and raw materials galore will be a compelling sight. The gallery is also opening a show, “The Chair”, in its more traditional space in Noho, where the works—a collection of more than 40 one-of-a-kind chairs by international artists and designers—will surely speak for themselves.

Free admission with appointment. “Romancing the Stone” runs through August. “The Chair” runs through May.

Photo: Eric Petschek

Loads of Times Square marvels

The biggest—and tiniest—delights will be at Times Square this month. As part of the annual Design Pavilion in the tourist mecca, visitors will be able to tour a 60-foot Azimut S6 yacht, an “immersive tiny house sculpture” by Fernando Mastrangelo Studio in collaboration with Brook Landscape, transforming sleep pods by Resource Furniture, a solar decathlon-winning prefab home from Virginia Tech and DXA Studio, and last but not least, the internet-viral, egg-shaped, solar- and wind-powered tiny home called Ecocapsule. Wowza!

Free and open to the public through May 22.

Photo: Michal Chudik courtesy Ecocapsule Holding

Sister City: NYC’s new most Instagrammable hotel?

Opening this month on the Lower East Side, Sister City comes from the people behind Ace Hotels. The warm interiors embody the beauty of simplicity, forgoing extravagance for thoughtfully designed details like original Noguchi lanterns, custom terrazzo vanities, and plants throughout. There’s also a bar, Last Light, on the 11th floor, and a ground floor restaurant called Floret opening this summer.

Opens on May 16.

Radio City’s snazzy new companion

Boundary-pushing Spanish shoe brand Camper tapped designer Jonathan Olivares for its new store located next to the Rockefeller Center. Limestone blocks from Indiana provide a sculptural display while a statement neon logo nods to the iconic Radio City Music Hall sign across the street.

Now open to the public.

Courtesy Camper

Infinity room by another name

Snarkitecture is delivering some Yayoi Kusama vibes this NYCxDesign with “Sway,” a site-specific installation at Intersect by Lexus, the carmaker’s “lifestyle hub” in Chelsea. The immersive experience “reimagines the movement of water through rippling light” with a dizzying field of LED orbs and mirrors. Snarkitecture recently opened a permanent exhibition space, Snark Park, in Hudson Yards, with tickets going for $18 a piece; “Sway” is free, but requires a reserved time slot.

Free and open to the public through June 2. Advanced reservation required.

Courtesy Intersect by Lexus

Curbed will be on the ground all month scoping out the best of NYCxDesign. Follow along right here, and on Twitter and Instagram.