Cubitts Mercer Street in New York is a moody ‘treasure box’ of depth and drama
Cubitts Mercer Street opens in New York to a concept by London-based studio Tutto Bene, offering sleek details and moody design

Moody and theatrical, the new Cubitts Mercer Street in New York offers much more than the usual retail experience. The spectacle maker's first US store has just opened to a design by emerging London practice Tutto Bene – which pulled out all the stops in bringing together a conceptual, evocative and functional interior for what also is its foray into the city.
Inside Cubitts Mercer Street by Tutto Bene
'The mood is stepping from a breakfast-at-Tiffany’s-like NY shopping stroll moment into the layered depths of an Edward Hopper painting,' says Tutto Bene's Felizia Berchtold, who recently co-founded the London design studio together with architect Oskar Kohnen – the hand behind works such as a Barbican apartment interior refresh, and the midcentury modern-inspired offices for Crosstree Real Estate.
Back in New York, the design at Cubitts Mercer Street blends deep red and black surfaces with metallic tones and product displays in curved forms that nod to the 'S' shape of spectacles. Dark hues are contrasted by areas of light and brighter colours, in a composition that crafts drama in this alluring, almost mysterious 'treasure box' of a store.
'The space should evoke a palpable sense of preciousness, in line with our jewel-box-inspired design. Buying spectacles is personal and sensual, so we focused on creating a meaningful experience,' say Kohnen and Berchtold.
'On the one hand this meant meticulous focus on physical details and the quality of material and colour, but equally important were flow and customer journey – curating the encounters that take place in store.'
At the same time, this is all done with a fantastic economy of means, as in effect, this is a very minimalist interior – allowing the theatrical atmosphere to bring the product to the forefront to take centre stage.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Morgan Supersport is a four-wheeled magnum opus for serious enthusiasts – we tried it
Authenticity, engagement and more creature comforts than ever before – meet the new Morgan Supersport, a masterly synthesis of minimalist detail and classic style
-
Comedy, history and traditional portraiture combine in Oliver Osborne's exhibitions in London and New York
What does it mean to freeze time? Oliver Osborne seeks the answer in paintings of his three sons
-
Six irresistible Marrakech hotels for art lovers
Explore landmark Marrakech hotels such as Es Saadi and Riad Madani for museum-quality private art collections
-
PlayLab opens its Los Angeles base, blending workspace, library and shop in a new interior
Creative studio PlayLab opens its Los Angeles workspace and reveals plans to also open its archive to the public for the first time, revealing a dedicated space full of pop treasures
-
Los Angeles businesses regroup after the 2025 fires
In the third instalment of our Rebuilding LA series, we zoom in on Los Angeles businesses and the architecture and social fabric around them within the impacted Los Angeles neighbourhoods
-
‘Fall Guy’ director David Leitch takes us inside his breathtaking Los Angeles home
For movie power couple David Leitch and Kelly McCormick, interior designer Vanessa Alexander crafts a home with the ultimate Hollywood ending
-
The Lighthouse draws on Bauhaus principles to create a new-era workspace campus
The Lighthouse, a Los Angeles office space by Warkentin Associates, brings together Bauhaus, brutalism and contemporary workspace design trends
-
This minimalist Wyoming retreat is the perfect place to unplug
This woodland home that espouses the virtues of simplicity, containing barely any furniture and having used only three materials in its construction
-
Croismare school, Jean Prouvé’s largest demountable structure, could be yours
Jean Prouvé’s 1948 Croismare school, the largest demountable structure ever built by the self-taught architect, is up for sale
-
We explore Franklin Israel’s lesser-known, progressive, deconstructivist architecture
Franklin Israel, a progressive Californian architect whose life was cut short in 1996 at the age of 50, is celebrated in a new book that examines his work and legacy
-
A new hilltop California home is rooted in the landscape and celebrates views of nature
WOJR's California home House of Horns is a meticulously planned modern villa that seeps into its surrounding landscape through a series of sculptural courtyards