Dutch Garden Café at the Museum of Modern Art

Dutch Garden Café MoMA is an interior design project developed for the Garden Café of the Museum of Modern Art in New York. Conceived in 1995, the project transformed the café into a living showcase of contemporary Dutch design within one of the world’s leading museums.

The redesign was realised by the Dutch design studio Opera, which curated a spatial concept that brought together furniture, lighting, and objects by designers associated with Droog Design. Rather than functioning as a conventional exhibition, the café integrated design seamlessly into everyday use, allowing visitors to experience Dutch design in a relaxed, informal setting.

The interior featured a selection of iconic pieces, including lighting by Tejo Remy and Rody Graumans, alongside furniture and objects by other Dutch designers. Together, these elements created an eclectic yet coherent environment that reflected the experimental, conceptual, and accessible spirit of Dutch design.

Located adjacent to the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, the café offered a visual and spatial dialogue between art, design, and architecture. Dutch Garden Café MoMA stands as an early example of Droog’s ambition to blur the boundaries between museum display and daily life, presenting design not as something to observe from a distance, but as something to be used, inhabited, and experienced.