When I got up Thursday morning big wet flakes were raining down.  Undaunted, I made my way, leopard print umbrella in hand, down to TriBeCa to check out the OLY ATELIER flagship store at 408 Greenwich Street.  The store inhabits a space that is simple and classic. Its natural hardwood floors, big arched windows, and a sensual circular staircase serve as a perfect canvas for Oly’s organic, chic, and elegant designs.

I perused the store for well over two hours, enjoying the displays of furniture, accessories, and jewelry as I would an art gallery but only better–I caressed, sat on, and tried on, as well as ogled.  You can check out the Oly line at olystudio.com but until then…

A beautiful and bold bracelet

A mirror bed with a leather headboard–why get up?

Classically cool!

Elegant, sophisticated, sensual…

Oly’s wild side–a python mirror and a zebra chair.

Like a great story, a good wine, and designers, Kate McIntyre and Brad Huntzinger, Oly is complex but never complicated.  The designs present themselves as a study in contradictions–earthy and natural yet sophisticated and elegant–making them eternally pleasing and sometimes surprising!

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Just down the street from Oly you will find Robert DeNiro’s GREENWICH HOTEL.  The lobby boasts some original DeNiro artwork–the actor’s father was an artist and it’s clear that talent runs in the family.  I didn’t have time to see a guest room but I have it on the best authority that they are each unique and roomy, have great beds/bedding, and are beautifully appointed.  The hotel restaurant, LOCANDA VERDE, like the hotel lobby, is rustically hip, comfortable and cozy.  The front section of the restaurant is a cafe from morning until four p.m. in the afternoon, serving delicious baked goods–pistachio huckleberry cake any one?–and pick-me-up espresso drinks.  I stopped in for an afternoon latte and a nero cookie (chocolate, mint, and almond)–yum-yum!  I’m giving this hotel my “take someone special, some good books and don’t leave the property” rating so check it out.  Greenwich Hotel

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And what’s a trip to a new neighborhood without stopping by a cool shoe store?  Between Oly and the Greenwich Hotel sits a jewel of a shoe shop–EDON MANOR.  If you like shoes, and who doesn’t, these are the latest styles displayed in a unique setting.  The website is worth a visit…

edon manor

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Back up town, I walked for miles through the snow in Central Park, had dinner at a favorite Mexican restaurant on the upper west side, and ended up at MAGNOLIA BAKERY on Columbus–big mistake for my waistline!