The Places That Shape Great Design

In Tivoli, New York, craftsmanship, hospitality and creative community come together to remind us that great design doesn’t happen in isolation—it grows from a sense of place

Some of my earliest memories were shaped in the kinds of places we too often drive past today—small towns where local craft, family businesses and distinctive architecture shaped everyday life. Those road trips taught me that the places worth remembering are rarely the loudest.

That idea became the inspiration for Scene and Seen—a series exploring communities where creativity isn’t manufactured for tourists but woven into daily life. The first stop is Tivoli, New York.

I found Tivoli through one of those serendipitous industry connections that ends up changing your itinerary—and your perspective. Desperate for both an experience and a place to stay while covering Brad Ford’s summer edition of Field and Supply I was connected to Kristin Coleman and Chad Phillips, owners of Tivoli’s design store and gallery, Available Items. Kristin was instrumental in arranging a stay at the boutique and enchanting Hotel Tivoli. A place electric with design and art, an element that I came to find was definitive of the tiny town.

Just 15 minutes north of Rhinebeck and with fewer than 2,000 residents, Tivoli isn’t trying to become the next “destination” in the Hudson Valley. It has quietly evolved into something distinctly its own: a close-knit creative community where artists of all kinds, architects, chefs and designers aren’t just opening businesses—they’re neighbors and friends.

My husband and I spent our first evening on the porch of the hotel’s restaurant, The Corner, and watched as evening conversations spilled onto Broadway. Locals greeted one another by name, families stepped into Fortunes Ice Cream (all local, seasonal, and fresh ice cream), walked dogs, rode bikes, coming and going through village establishments. It was the most enchanting and regionally distinctive village I’ve visited—a place whose human scale reflects the Hudson Valley’s history, craftsmanship and creative spirit at every turn.

For Coleman and Phillips that sense of place ultimately reshaped their careers.

Like many creative professionals, the couple first came to the Hudson Valley looking for a weekend retreat after years in New York City. And they arrived at precisely the right time, purchasing a nearby home in Germantown 6 months before the pandemic. Their careers at the time in museum retail, design marketing, and communications allowed them to work remotely. Kate shared with a smile, “we just saw that there was so much culture up here. Well, and really, our dog was loving it.” Eventually their paths led them to purchasing a building and opening Available Items, a gallery-like shop where vintage pieces, contemporary makers and artists exist in thoughtful conversation.

Rather than filling rooms with matching collections, the store celebrates juxtaposition: handcrafted ceramics are merchandised beside locally crafted furniture, sculptural lighting alongside contemporary artwork, and one-of-a-kind objects that bring personality into a room. That philosophy increasingly mirrors where interior design itself is headed.

Designers today are searching for pieces with provenance—objects connected to the people who made them and the communities that support them. Available Items has become a destination for exactly those discoveries.

That connection extends throughout Tivoli. Mornings begin at Tivoli Bread & Baking, whose naturally leavened loaves, pastries, and sausage rolls, warm from the oven, are a regional draw. Lunch or dinner might be at GioBatta Alimentari, where authentic, homemade Italian fare attracts visitors from across the Hudson Valley. Guests settle into the historic Hotel Tivoli, a living museum of sorts presented as a hotel and created by celebrated artists Helen Marden and her late husband Brice.

Bright, bold and eclectic design and art meet you at every moment in the historic hotel. From the Gaetano Pesce sideboard anchoring a private dining room to the saturated cobalt stairway, surprise and delight abounds in every corner of this distinct space. Touches such as locally handmade mugs – available to purchase at The Corner Shop-, one of a kind rugs, and Le Labo amenities show an attention to detail while the staff add to the ambiance with their familiar warmth, getting to know each guest and sharing the small village and its history.

Together these experiences create something exceptional: a walkable design community where hospitality, food, art and retail reinforce one another rather than compete.

The broader Hudson Valley has long been rich with makers, but Tivoli distills that creative energy into roughly one block. Available Items and the Hotel Tivoli’s local shop, The Corner Store, serve as ambassadors for the community, introducing visitors to artists and craftspeople they might otherwise never encounter.

As interiors continue their shift away from perfection toward personality, handmade work has become more than decoration—it has become differentiation. Designers are embracing tactility, color, craftsmanship, and nuanced interiors that reflect individual lives rather than prescribed aesthetics.

Perhaps that’s what makes Tivoli feel different.

Unlike destinations built around tourism, Tivoli’s appeal begins with the people who live there. The restaurants exist because chefs want to cook the food they grow. The shops exist because local makers needed places to share their work. The hotel reflects the village rather than defining it.

For designers, that’s the real discovery. Inspiration isn’t always found on a showroom floor or inside a museum. Sometimes it’s waiting in a village where artists, makers, chefs and shopkeepers have quietly built an ecosystem around creativity. In Tivoli, design isn’t something you come to see. It’s how people live.

Note: Header images L to R – Tabletop items at The Corner Store, The Gaetano Pesce sideboard at The Hotel Tivoli, inside Available Items