Last week, the Daily News' Jason Sheftell checked in with our muse, Truffles Tribeca. He reports that 90 of the 291 apartments in the new two-building luxury fortress on Desbrosses Street have been rented, but that's not the main point of this story.
Nay, Sheftell is swept up in the madness of Trufflesprivé the sprawling residents-only lounge/bar/library/game room that is the centerpiece of the Big Truff's pitch. We've spent some time exploring the busy space, and though Sheftell's description of Trufflesprivé reads like an insane game of interior design Mad Libs, it's completely accurate. Which makes it even more hilarious:
Filled with an opium bed, horse-riding ribbons and silver trophies, first-edition books from the shelves of American essayist Gore Vidal, running lights from 1950s yachts, Jack Kennedy campaign posters, fishing traps, custom-made industrial chairs from a Buenos Aires discotheque, Nintendo Wii
red dice, a teal backgammon set, a blue billiards table, 1940s fencing masks, animal-skin rugs used as tablecloths, wooden skis, an art gallery and a bar with individual lockers for tenants to store alcohol, the Trufflesprivé club, with a wall of windows on the street, manages to make high design inviting and comfortable.
Adds the project's interior architect Jefferey Povero: "We were obsessed with authenticity. We didn't want some slick scene. Not to dig on the Soho House, but their library has pictures of books on wallpaper. Ours are real."
Authenticity, eh? Looks like we should've checked behind the cushions of the opium bed!
