Celebrate New York Design Center’s Centennial Year at WNWN

LIKE

0

LEAVE COMMENT 0

5 min read

200 Lex turns 100 this year. The building opened in 1926 as the New York Furniture Exchange, more than 50 years before it was called the New York Design Center. Today, NYDC describes the 16-story, 500,000-square-foot building as the country’s oldest furniture and design building. Nearly 100 showrooms represent more than 500 lines across residential and contract furniture, textiles, lighting, wallcoverings, flooring, kitchen and bath, and decorative accessories.

Furniture and department-store buyers were the original target audience, but by the late 1970s, the building had started focusing more heavily on interior designers and architects, and the New York Design Center name came in 1981. The 2026 centennial year has included celebrations in Paris and New York, a large group of showroom openings, and the 100th-anniversary edition of What’s New, What’s Next scheduled for September.

The New York Furniture Exchange Opened in 1926

Architect Ely Jacques Kahn designed the New York Furniture Exchange at 200 Lexington Avenue. Kahn studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and worked on dozens of New York buildings during his career, including the landmarked 2 Park Avenue, which is known for its glazed terra-cotta exterior. 200 Lex gave the furniture industry 500,000 square feet across 16 floors.

The original business model was tightly connected to wholesale furniture. The building was available to furniture and department-store buyers rather than the much broader group of designers, architects, collectors, and clients who use 200 Lex now. NYDC dates its transition toward interior design and architecture to the late 1970s, followed by the 1981 rebranding.

There’s Still a Furniture Repair Shop in the Basement

One of the stranger details from the building’s history is still downstairs. NYDC says a furniture repair and finishing shop has operated in the basement for more than 40 years, beneath all of those polished showrooms.

It’s a pretty direct connection to the New York Furniture Exchange days. Furniture brought buyers to the building in 1926, and a century later there are still people repairing and finishing it below Lexington Avenue.

Fuel your creative fire & be a part of a supportive community that values how you love to live.

subscribe to our newsletter

_{*please check your Spam folder for the latest DesignDash Magazine issue immediately after subscription}

Subscribe

Nearly 100 Showrooms Fill 200 Lex Today

The current showroom directory covers residential and contract furniture, textiles, lighting, architectural materials, wallcoverings, kitchen and bath, outdoor products, technology, and decorative accessories. The Gallery at 200 Lex occupies the 10th floor with around 50 antique, vintage, and 21st-century dealers. Its inventory includes furniture, lighting, art, sculpture, jewelry, and decorative objects.

The Gallery also broadened access to a building that had historically catered to the trade. Designers can source newly manufactured furniture on one floor and then go upstairs for a vintage Italian light fixture, an antique table, jewelry, or 20th-century seating. That combination is now a regular part of 200 Lex rather than a temporary market-week installation.

Ten New or Expanded Showrooms Were Announced This Spring

NYDC grouped 10 new or expanded showrooms into its spring 2026 update: Arteriors, Bobrick | Koala Kare | Thrislington, Maya Romanoff, Mottahedeh, Natural Curiosities, Sage AV & Tech, Savoir, The Lacquer Company, Threads Soft Goods, and Vica by Annabelle Selldorf.

Savoir opened a 2,000-square-foot showroom in Suite 611 in March, with space for as many as eight beds plus furnishings and design collaborations. Arteriors expanded into Suite 201 after more than a decade in the building. Vica by Annabelle Selldorf opened in Suite 420 with Selldorf furniture alongside textiles, lighting, glass, and work by other designers and makers.

A century-old design building adding wallcovering, audiovisual technology, luxury beds, contemporary furniture, and new artisan resources in the same year is a pretty good snapshot of how much the industry inside 200 Lex has changed since the furniture-exchange days.

The Centennial Celebration Started in Paris

200 Lex began its year-long anniversary celebration on January 14th in Paris, during Déco Off and Maison&Objet. NYDC and Business of Home co-hosted the event at Riviè Restaurant inside The Hoxton, with more than 450 designers, manufacturers, and editors from the U.S. and Europe in attendance.

Baker|McGuire, Benjamin Moore, Corston Architectural Detail, Element7, John Pomp Studios, Kravet, David Sutherland, Thibaut, and Visual Comfort sponsored the evening. Starting the centennial during the Paris design calendar also put many of the American and European companies connected to 200 Lex in the same room before the celebrations continued back in New York.

More Than 800 People Attended Women in Design

The 100th Anniversary Edition of Women in Design took place March 11th at 200 Lex, with more than 800 guests attending four keynote panels, workshops, discussions, and showroom open houses. The program focused on female-owned, designed, and influenced businesses throughout the building.

One morning keynote brought Business of Home’s Dennis Scully together with Emma Finch of Hector Finch, Sheila Bridges, Annabelle Selldorf, and New York Magazine design editor Wendy Goodman. The day ended with a Female Design Council reception at Baker, where the program also marked the building’s centennial.

Kips Bay Honored Jim Druckman and 200 Lex in April

The Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club President’s Dinner on April 9th also recognized the anniversary. Jim Druckman, NYDC president and CEO and president of the Kips Bay board, was honored alongside the New York Design Center at Cipriani 42nd Street. Jamie Drake and Corey Damen Jenkins chaired the dinner, and Bunny Williams served as honorary chair.

NYDC reported that the event raised $1.65 million for after-school programs serving more than 14,000 young people at nine Bronx locations. The Studio by SANDOW also created a 100-year tribute video about 200 Lex for the evening.

What’s New, What’s Next Returns September 17th

The biggest upcoming date on the centennial calendar is September 17th, when What’s New, What’s Next returns for its 18th edition. NYDC is billing WNWN 2026 as the 100th Anniversary Edition, and registration is open now. The detailed program and registration for individual events haven’t opened yet.

The annual event is built around showroom programming, product introductions, panels, conversations, and presentations throughout 200 Lex. NYDC’s current registration site describes the event as a showcase of new ideas, design, materials, and products. Speakers and individual 2026 sessions are still pending, so any old WNWN program floating around online should not be mistaken for this year’s schedule.

Last Year Had More Than 65 Programs and 180 Presenters

The 2025 event gives us a better idea of the scale. More than 3,000 guests attended, with over 65 programs, 105 participating showrooms, more than 180 presenters, and 150 ambassadors from around the country.

Last year’s schedule included product debuts, showroom celebrations, and conversations that covered design, business, technology, hospitality, materials, art, and other parts of the industry. WNWN also introduced a long list of new showrooms before 200 Lex entered its centennial year.

The 2026 version will happen inside the same 500,000-square-foot building that furniture buyers first entered in 1926, which gives this particular WNWN a little more history than usual.

Registration for WNWN 2026 Is Open Now

Designers can register for the main What’s New, What’s Next 2026 event now. NYDC says individual event registration will open later, and registered attendees will receive an update when the 2026 programming is released.

Until then, September 17th is the date to know. The anniversary year has already included Paris, Women in Design, Kips Bay, and a new group of showrooms, while WNWN will bring thousands of people back through the building for its biggest annual design event. Last year alone drew more than 3,000 guests.

A hundred years after the New York Furniture Exchange opened, designers are still going to the same Lexington Avenue address to source furniture. They’re also shopping wallcoverings, lighting, vintage pieces, bath products, textiles, architectural materials, art, technology, and plenty that the building’s original furniture buyers probably never expected to find there. What a fascinating history!

Written by the DesignDash Editorial Team
Our contributors include experienced designers, firm owners, design writers, and other industry professionals. If you’re interested in submitting your work or collaborating, please reach out to our Editor-in-Chief at editor@designdash.com.